Kerry Babcock beats all of the women, most of the men, By Lindsey Siegriest West Milford Kerry Babcock’s performance at the first Special Olympics USA National Games showed where her nickname “The Shark” came from. Competing against girls who were both bigger and taller than her, 20-year-old Babcock came home with a fourth-place finish in the 50-meter freestyle and a first-place finish in the 50-meter backstroke. In the freestyle event Babcock competed in the top heat for her age group, and in the backstroke event she competed in the top heat overall. She finished with the fastest time out of all 38 women competitors in the backstroke, and only three men finished with a faster time than her. “I hunted them down and didn’t give up,” Babcock said. To win the gold in the backstroke, Babcock came from behind in the second half of the race. “It was a very exciting race,” her mom, Kathy Babcock, said. “She has a competitive streak and is very determined. She wins a lot of races coming from behind because she just doesn’t give up.” While watching a video replay of the medal ceremony, Babcock could still barely hold in her excitement. A huge smile spread across her face as she watched herself on the podium. After being given her first-place medal, Babcock threw her hands in the hair and hugged her fellow medal winners. “I felt proud,” Babcock said of how she felt after the win. “Wow, it was amazing.” Babcock learned how to swim at Bubbling Springs where her two sisters, Megan and Shannon, are now swim instructors. Three years ago she joined a swim team out of Rutherford, New Jersey, called The Penguins, and began to swim competitively. Every Saturday she practices with The Penguins, which requires being in the pool for an hour and a half doing laps. Kerry had previously been involved with Special Olympics through track and field and bowling, and was one of seven swimmers to represent the state of New Jersey for the Special Olympics Aquatics team. Since last summer Babcock trained with The Penguins every Saturday and the Bergen County Special Olympics team in Ocean City and at Ryder College once or twice a month. “Kerry’s a disciplined athlete,” her mom said. “She likes to train.” On top of her practices, Babcock exercised, used videos, walked every day, and ate healthfully to train for the National games. Every day she walked one mile to her neighbors, the Fitzgeralds, and did laps in their pool. Before competing Babcock said she felt nervous, but a teammate who had a lot of experience helped her by giving her pep talks to calm her down. Becoming close with her teammates was one of the best things about being on the team, but also the hardest. The seven team members are spread all across New Jersey making it hard to see each other often. Though Babcock talks on the phone and e-mails them, she still misses them a lot. “They’re a nice tight-knit group, and a good support system for each other,” Kathy said. At home Babcock got cards of support and well wishes. Some cards were from people she had never even met before, but who had heard about her and wanted to send words of encouragement. “It made me feel special,” Babcock said about when she had read the cards. The games took place in Ames, Iowa at Iowa State University. During the competition, there were dances every night and social activities planned which allowed the athletes to develop closer bonds with their teammates and form new friendships with their competitors. On the 4th of July, Barilla Pasta hosted a pasta party for the city of Ames at the university where the team danced to a band and watched fireworks. “A very special spirit lived there that you felt wherever you went through out the entire week,” Kathy said. “We kept thanking Kerry for allowing us to have this experience.” In the future Babcock plans to keep training and wants to compete in the butterfly, breaststroke and individual medley, which is swimming all four strokes in one race. She strives to go back to Nationals and compete in Worlds and continue to win more medals. “I want to go out in the real world and compete,” Babcock said. “I’m ready for it.”