Elijah Flood - Boys Swimmer of the Year!
Boys Swimmer of the Year: Pine Crest Swimming
Elijah Flood, of Pine Crest, is the Boys 2008 Broward County Swimmer of the Year.
(Michael Laughlin, Sun Sentinel )
Elijah Flood couldn’t imagine his life without swimming.
The Pine Crest senior had missed his entire junior season with inflamed ribcage cartiliage and was determined to get back in the pool and finish his high school career at the 1A state meet.
"The idea was to mainly make states and see if I could still do it," Flood said.
"When I did start swimming again, I started having more faith in myself. The team had more faith in me and we all grew back together. I just had to go to state no matter what. I knew that everybody was counting on me so I had to go for it."
Flood earned All-American honors as anchor leg on the 200-yard medley relay (1:35.05), leadoff leg on the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:25.27) and 100-yard freestyle event.
He was the Panthers’ leading point gainer (49 points) with third-places finishes in both the 100 (45.96) and 200-yard (1:39.75) freestyles. His times in both events qualified him for the USA Swimming Nationals.
For his outstanding comeback season, Flood is the Sun Sentinel Boys’ Swimmer of the Year.
"I was shocked how I did at the state meet, just the fact I was there and then dropping all my times was really amazing," Flood said. "I am a determined person and I was really determined. The state meet was painful but I knew I had to go out fast and strong because I felt like the pressure was on."
Flood, a varsity swimmer since his freshman year, said his career-threatening injury put everything in perspective.
"I couldn’t walk or do anything athletic because it hurt to breathe, it was so painful," Flood said. "I realized how much I missed swimming and I knew I had to get back into it.
"I started to understand my body a little more and knew how far to push myself when I got back in the pool. With the chest pain getting lighter, every day I was able to do more workouts and focus on my main goal. Everything worked out the way I hoped it would."
