Thatcher Springs to Top of Sport
Just a day after Cameron Thatcher was born, Paul and Kristin Thatcher were devastated when they learned their son had been diagnosed with bicuspid aortic valve stenosis.
Paul and Kristin worried about Cameron's long-term health, as his congenital heart defect had the potential to lead to multiple catheterizations or even open-heart surgery to correct the narrowing of his heart valve.
Paul, who played baseball at Bowling Green State University, and Kristin, who played basketball and tennis in high school, also were disappointed when doctors said Cameron would never be able to play contact or fast-paced sports at a high level.
"It was scary, because one moment we were celebrating the birth of our son, and the next, we were being told he has a pretty serious heart condition," Kristin said. "His father and I both had a lot of positive experiences through sports, so we wanted Cameron to have those same opportunities, and we wanted the sky to be the limit for him. It was hard to hear that our first-born son wouldn't have that."
Or so they thought.
Now a junior in high school, Cameron has developed into the most successful diver to compete for the Olentangy Liberty boys swimming and diving team. He also is one of the top divers in the country in his age group.
"It's just shy of a miracle that one day everything that had been progressing with Cameron's heart just stopped, and he never had to have surgery or take medication for his heart," Kristin said. "He still has to be careful to not overdo it with his lifting and conditioning, but Cameron has been blessed enough to be able to dive at an elite level. If someone would have told us back when he was a baby that Cameron would be able to dive the way he does today, we would have been shocked to hear that."
Cameron's heart condition actually is what led him to diving, after it hampered his attempts to compete in other sports.
"I played as a goalie in soccer, but I was bored with the position, and my dad pulled me out of soccer when he saw me doing cartwheels and sitting on the ground when the ball wasn't on our half of the field," Cameron said. "My heart limited the amount of weight training I needed to be able to do to keep up with everyone in basketball and baseball as I got older, so I dropped those sports. I also tried swimming, but I hated it after I swam only one race. But one of the lifeguards at the pool that day was a diving coach and he asked me to try diving."
Cameron fell in love with competitive diving at age 9, and that year the former Sylvania resident began training with the Legacy Diving Club at Eastern Michigan University.
After the Thatcher family moved to Powell during the summer before his freshman year at Liberty, Cameron began training five days per week with the Ohio State Diving Club.
That work has paid off, as Cameron finished sixth in diving (468.2 points) in the Division I state meet as a freshman and second (558.55) behind Stephen Romanik (565.1) of Macedonia Nordonia last year.
Now that Romanik is diving for Ohio State, Ohio State Diving Club coach John Appleman said Cameron is the favorite to capture Division I state titles this season and next.
"Cameron should run away with the state title this year if he dives well there," Appleman said. "He definitely has the natural talent and ability to be successful at this sport, but his amazing work ethic sets him apart. Diving is very skill- and detail-oriented, and Cameron works 25 hours per week to perfect every detail."
In August, Cameron combined with Jordan Windle to win a gold medal in the boys 16-18 3-meter synchronized competition in the USA Diving National Championships in Knoxville, Tenn. The duo then placed fifth in synchronized 3-meter in the FINA World Junior Championships in September in Penza, Russia.
"I was shocked that I was able to win my first national title because my original partner, Grayson Campbell, injured his knee the day before we competed in Tennessee and Jordan and I only decided to team up at the last minute," Cameron said.
Cameron missed the first half of his junior season while he focused on competing in the USA Diving Winter National Championships in late December at Ohio State, but he has turned his attention back to trying to become the first member of his high school team to capture a state title.
"There's a little more pressure on me now that (Romanik) has graduated, but my goal is to win a state title, for sure," Cameron said. "I've learned three or four harder dives that I'll use at district and state this year, and hopefully, that will give me an edge.
"My No. 1 goal is to keep getting better so that I can earn a scholarship at a good school to help pay for my college education."
Regardless of where he goes to college, Cameron plans to become a doctor.
"There are a lot of reasons that I'm inspired to become a doctor," he said. "First of all, I have my heart condition. Also, my grandma (Katherine Gill) died of cancer when I was only 5 years old, and my younger brother, Joey, has type-1 diabetes, so I want to do what I can to help other people the way that doctors have helped me and my family.
"Another far-out goal would be to dive in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo because that will be my senior year in college and, hopefully, I'll be peaking at that time."
Cameron said he's proud that he hasn't let his heart condition hold him back and he's grateful that it led him to discover diving.
"In that way, I've taken a negative situation and turned it into a positive," he said.
