It was the average cold, numbing January day. My swim team and I were at a local high school for an invitational meet. My swim coach came up to me; she told me that she moved me into a tougher heat of my 200 yard freestyle, and that I needed to beat the top swimmer of that heat who is on our biggest rivals team. 

“I won’t let you down.” I tightened my goggles, put on my swim cap, and hopped onto the wet, grippy starting block. My adrenaline was pumping through my body faster than the strongest of floods. I felt electric, fully charged and pumped up.

The meet official picked up the microphone. “Take your mark…” 

“BEEP.”

I extended my legs and exploded off the block, into the cold water below. My arms felt like a twenty man rowing team, and my legs felt like a speedboat motor on full throttle. With every flip turn, I could see my opponent trailing close behind me. The race goes on; every muscle in my body is burning with the heat of a thousand suns.

Now for the final lap. I landed my final flip turn and burst off the wall. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of my opponent, beginning to catch up. He wants this win, but I want it more. I pumped my arms and legs harder than I thought was possible. All I could feel was the stinging burn that had engulfed my body, along with the loud yet muffled cheers of my teammates on the pool deck above me. I slammed into the wall with the force of a tsunami. The pool erupted with cheers from my teammates, and I saw my coach smiling on the other side of the pool deck. I looked up at the scoreboard to see my name with a “1” next to it. 

Our team went on to win the meet. The feeling of being able to contribute to something so great will stick with me for the rest of my life.