He came in and was working with one of my employees. Super nice guy. He talked about R.A.C.E. - the Rockwall Aquatics Center where is the head coach among other things. In all of our conversation he failed to mention that he was an Olympian. AND he was a 2 time gold medalist!
But then again, why would he? It's not like he'd stroll in and say hello, my name is Neil and I'm an Olympic champion. That would be weird.
I found out about his awesomeness by accident. A local publication called "Lakeview Image" was delivered to work and right smack dab on the front was a picture of Neil wearing his medals. Craziness!
I quickly turned to the article and learned more about Neil and his many accomplishments. He also has a website swimwalker.com and his bio page includes the following:
"Neil finished his collegiate career as one of the most decorated athletes in Texas history, and as one of the best Longhorn swimmers ever. In addition to his 25 All-American awards, he won two back-to-back NCAA individual titles in the 100yd backstroke, and six individual Big XII titles. In 1997, he set an American, US Open, and NCAA record in the 100yd back, with a time of 44.92, a record that still stands. He also set the NCAA record in the 50yd free with a time of 19.08. His accomplishments, which were shortened by a broken hand he received the second day of the meet, earned him the NCAA Swimmer of the Year award for 1997. Since finishing college, he has gone on to swim in numerous international meets, including several World Championships, Pan Pacific Championships, and the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games. Considered one of the most versatile swimmers, Walker has held records in every stroke (breaststroke through an Individual Medley record) and over multiple distances as well."
See what I mean? Pretty impressive.The very next time I saw him I approached him about his swimming career. We talked for a little while. I mentioned the article and before I could even go through the awkward "I'd like to ask for an autograph / pic but I don't want to invade your privacy" moment, he volunteered to do both!! Yea!!
He's pretty tall, isn't he? I should have asked him for a High 5. Wonder how that would have looked?
As a kid we always watched the Olympics and being involved in gymnastics of course I always watched the summer games. I've always been inspired by the dedication and the determination that these athletes show.
It was a pleasure to meet Neil Walker. As I said he was a super nice guy with some major accomplishments to his name. It was a privilege and certainly an honor to be able to talk to someone who represented my country in the Olympics. It's something I'll never be able to do myself and it's pretty impressive if you think about it.
So yeah....I met an Olympian!
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