Swimmer brings home gold
Mandarin's Betsy Zahn wins gold and silver at the Special Olympics
By SANDY STRICKLAND, Florida Times Union

The large sign stretched across the front porch expressed a father's pride. In red and blue letters, it read: Welcome Special Olympics Champion Betsy Zahn.

Max Zahn hung the sign outside his Deercreek home to celebrate his 26-year-old daughter's victory at the first national Special Olympics Games in Ames, Iowa, last month. Zahn, a swimmer, won gold and silver medals and a fourth-place ribbon in her three events.

"I'm like a water baby," said Zahn, who learned to swim when she was 4 and whose nickname is Flipper. "I'm constantly swimming and could spend hours and hours in the water."

The Jacksonville native suffered brain damage when the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck at birth cut off oxygen to her brain.

Zahn, who's on the First Coast Dolphins Swim Team, was the only Duval County athlete in the games, which were held at Iowa State University. She and her coach, Linda Waarum, were among 1,800 athletes from 28 states who flew to Iowa on private jets provided at no charge by Cessna. The pilots returned a week later to take them home.

Though competition was stiff, Waarum said she expected Zahn to do well because she was among the fastest sprinters. Besides, she had won three gold medals at the state level in 2004 and again in 2005.

"I'm very, very competitive," said Zahn, who lives in Mandarin with two roommates and works at the Mandarin Publix.

Like football players do before a game, Zahn said she put on her swim face when she got on the starting block. She dove into the water with an adrenaline rush, blood pumping and goose bumps rising on her arms.

Her best event was the 50-meter backstroke, which she won by three seconds with a time of 48:75.

In the 50-meter freestyle, she missed the gold by 1/100 of a second. Her time was 38:65.

Zahn was nervous when she swam the 100-meter freestyle, not her best event. In the preliminary, she had an uncharacteristic panic attack and stopped swimming.

"When I got out of the water, I was so upset," she said.

Since it was a qualifying race, she was allowed to start over. But Zahn said she was disappointed in the finals when she finished fourth, for the first time ever. Still, when she received her medals, Zahn flashed her trademark infectious smile and said she felt like a superstar.

Zahn began swimming competitively during her seven years in boarding school in East Sandwich, Mass. She swam for three more years after moving on to the Horizons School for the learning disabled in Birmingham, Ala. After graduation, she joined the First Coast Dolphins team, where she has been trained by Waarum and Jennifer Rimer, with assistance from her sister, Katie Zahn.

Waarum, who has coached Special Olympics swimming for more than 25 years, said she could tell Zahn had natural ability when she joined the team. Moreover, she said, she was enthusiastic, had an enviable work ethic, never complained, was well-liked by teammates and faithfully attended practices at the University of North Florida.

Zahn raised more than $5,000 to help with the trip's expenses and with the First Coast Dolphins. The Mandarin and San Jose Rotary clubs each gave $1,000. She also received donations for swimming 274 laps.

Aside from his daughter's events, there were many emotional moments at the games, said Max Zahn. He attended the games along with his wife, Eva; Zahn's mother Kit Thomas and her husband, Corky, and Katie Zahn.

The games hosted 3,000 athletes competing in about 15 sports; 2,000 coaches and delegates and 10,000 family members and friends. Max Zahn said 8,000 volunteers were needed and 11,000 offered their services.

In the swimming competition, a huge crowd was always on hand to cheer on the athletes. The applause reached a crescendo as the slowest swimmers made their final turn and a standing ovation when they touched the wall, Max Zahn said. He was particularly touched by an Arizona swimmer who slowed down to let another girl pass her on the last lap because she already had a gold medal and knew her competitor wanted one.

The opening and closing ceremonies were equally moving, he said, with country singer Jo Dee Messina, Irish tenor Ronan Tynan, comedian Tom Arnold and rock musicians Hootie and the Blowfish among the entertainers. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, who grew up in Iowa, emceed the closing ceremony.

As for Zahn, she plans to collect more medals and swim "till the day I die."