Olympic Champ on Excellence, Swimming Family

Olympic champion. Two words that describe such a small fraction of our society.

We strive for excellence in most aspects of our lives. If we work hard, some of us may achieve excellence in small aspect of our lives. But only an elite few are ever called Olympic champion.

In a sport such as swimming, where you line up against the fastest people in the planet, touching that wall first is a remarkable feat.

Melvin “Mel” Stewart touched that wall first two times at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics. In the process he set an Olympic record in the 200 meter butterfly. He brought home a bronze medal, too.

Mel Stewart grew up in North Carolina and graduated from the University of Tennessee, winning two NCAA titles for the Vols. He is widely recognized as the greatest 200 meter fly swimmer of his era. Stewart is still passionate about swimming, now working for the USA Swimming Foundation. 1) You have a large group on Facebook, GOLD MEDAL MEL. How have social media changed your life?

MEL: Social networking has brought me closer to swimmers at all levels; age-group, masters, world-class. I’ve always known that we all speak the same language — have the same likes and dislikes, the same oddities — but until I started social networking, it was just an opinion. Now I know it’s a fact.

Swimming really is a family. It’s so rewarding to be able to reach out at the speed of lighting and connect with everyone.

It has changed my life in the most positive ways. I’ve certainly developed a lot of close friendships. I’ve also been able to work with the USA Swimming Foundation and get the word out about their objectives, creating programs to support water-safety, raising money to fund those programs, etc. Without my social network it would be nearly impossible to make headway.

2) You’re very active with your own blog, http://www.goldmedalmel.typepad.com/. What are your goals for that blog?

MEL: My blog is currently under construction. I’ll relaunch by January 8th. My goal is simple. Promote swimming by any means necessary. I promote other bloggers (or columnists like our buddy Bob Schaller), elite swimmers, masters swimmers.

If you swim and you have an interesting story, I want it to reach readers. I’m also a huge fan of vlogs/video diaries. A lot of swimmers can’t take the time to vlog, so I try to follow their running narratives from competition to competition over the entire year.

3) I feel lucky to have been raised in a family where the Olympics were always very important. What can we do to foster that spirit in the next generation?

MEL: Get your kids involved. Take advantage of swimming’s openness! I don’t know of any other sport where you can attend a competition and rub shoulders with the world’s best.

That may be changing here in the Phelps era, but for most world-class swimmers, you can always approach them and start up a conversation.

I met John Naber when I was 8 years old, I and saw him every year until I reached the elite level. By the time I was going to Junior Nationals, I could go up and hug the guy.

Like I said, swimming is a family. Mary T. Meagher (now Mary Plant), or Madame Butterfly, was another great swimmer I worshiped as a kid. I met her, became friends, and she really helped me as I progressed.

Mary T. said, “Swim fly in practice until it’s easier to do fly than free. When you can do that, you’ll be world-class, or at the very least you’ll be fast enough to get a college scholarship.” I took her advice to heart, and she was so right!

4) You’ve won three Olympic medals — two GOLD! Some of that is attributable to natural talent. But hard word and drive likely played a bigger role in your success. How do we foster the relentless drive for greatness among young people?

MEL: I was lucky. I had great parents. My mother pushed me, but I never doubted for a second that she didn’t love me no matter what. I only needed to give my best.

My dad, however, was the smart one. I started swimming very early, was going to state champs in North Carolina by the time I was 8, competing in the 10 & under age group. By the time I was 12, I was done. I wanted to play basketball.

It was the early 1980s, and Michael Jordan was a freshman at UNC. He was a bright new sports star back then. I wanted to be him for a while there. My dad made a deal with me.

He said, “Son, play ball during the basketball season, but don’t let your swimming go completely. Tell you what, why don’t you swim at least 4 practices a week. That ought to keep you in swimming shape.”

So I swam 4 practices instead of 9 per week. By the time I figured out I wasn’t any good at basketball, which took a while because I’ve always been delusional about my talents outside of the water, I wasn’t totally out of shape.

Dad did the same with me when I started dating and growing my hair out long. (Again, it was the 80s, and yes, I had an outstandingly handsome mullet.)

Dad said, “Son, date and enjoy yourself. I don’t mind if you back off of your training. Just keep in mind that your swimming may be your best attribute when it comes to women.”

And Dad was right. I figured that out fast. I got a lot more dates when I swam.

5) Is it possible, even now, to put into words what you felt as the national anthem played in Barcelona?

MEL: I’ve heard a lot of athletes describe it many different ways, but it’s always emotional.

For me, it was a huge relief. I had dreamed my whole life about it, wanted it so much, when it finally happened I was lost in the moment. I want to say I was numb, but that’s not right. Parading around the pool, it was like walking through a fog, very dreamy, right up to standing on the podium.

When the anthem started, however, reality came rushing in. I remembered people that said I couldn’t do it, and others who said my chances were slim, and then I thought about all of my coaches and friends and my parents who supported me so selflessly.

I cried … a little bit. I was 23 years old and didn’t want to cry. I could’ve unleashed a waterfall on the podium, but I was fighting it back.

I’m 40 now. I don’t care what people think so much anyone. Looking back, I wish I would’ve just let it all hang out and had an absolutely ugly cry — a Miss America type cry. That would’ve been a true reflection of my feelings.

Follow Mel on Twitter at @goldmedalmel.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Mel Stewart

Tagged as: 5, 5 Questions, Olympics, swimming