David Huggins hadn’t been in a pool for a competitive swim meet in 28 years. That’s a long time, long enough to make Huggins’ high school record in the breaststroke a distant memory.
On Saturday, Huggins, of Colorado Springs, reclaimed his old form and all the excitement that comes with racing through water at the 2006 Rocky Mountain State Games, an Olympics-style competition with nearly 6,000 athletes from ages 6 to 80, participating in sports such as archery, wrestling, track and field, volleyball, golf and billiards.
“All the old adrenaline and excitement came right back, like when I was a kid,” Huggins, 46, said.
Last year, Huggins competed in table tennis at the Games. His competitive streak sufficiently stoked, he turned this year to swimming. And because he swam in enough events – six on Saturday, with two more today – Huggins clinched a gold medal in the 40-49 age group.
“They told me,’If you make it from one end of the pool to the other without drowning, you’ll win the event.’ But I did beat one guy, so I feel like I earned it a little,” Huggins said.
Huggins edged Monument’s Kevin Christensen in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1 minute, 29.15 seconds. But Christensen’s 1:12.95 time in the 100 freestyle returned the favor.
The Colorado event is one of 37 taking place this summer across the country. They all lead to the 2007 State Games of America next August, with more than 10,000 athletes expected in Colorado Springs to compete for national titles.
