At 63, Paralympic swimming champion John Morgan’s competitive spirit still burns bright

SINGAPORE – Veteran swimmer John Morgan is the proud winner of 13 Paralympic gold medals and the 63-year-old has a place in the United States Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame.

While his peers have hung up their swimming trunks and goggles, the competitive spirit of the sexagenarian – who is competing at the July 26-Aug 22 World Aquatics Masters Championships in Singapore – continues to burn brightly.

The flame was first lit in his childhood – growing up by the ocean in Southern California, swimming was as much about survival as it was about sport.

By eight, he was racing competitively, inspired by local heroes such as Olympic champions Shirley Babashoff of the US and Danish swimmer Greta Andersen.

But a freak accident in his teens almost ended his budding swimming career.

During a workout with stretching bands, the equipment snapped and the metal springs struck him in the eyes, detaching his retinas. The injury eventually led to blindness.

“When that happened, I couldn’t swim immediately and actually for two years, I was in surgeries and it was very difficult,” said Morgan, who competed in five events at the championships.

“I kind of thought that swimming would no longer be a part of my life, so that was a very difficult thing to accept.”

His despondence turned to hope when he discovered that there were blind swimmers, which reignited his ambitions.

He said: “It brought me back to something that I enjoyed doing and it made me feel like I could accomplish things that were very difficult for a blind person... I could swim again and I felt like I could still do it fairly well.

“That encouraged me to do other things – I went back to school and I started studying, and I got encouragement because I was meeting other blind people who were doing things that for a while I thought were impossible, and so it was a big part of my recovery.”

Morgan made his Paralympic bow in 1984 – when it was known as the International Games for the Disabled – and won five events.

At Barcelona 1992, he finished on the podium for all 10 events, winning eight golds and two silvers. In addition to his 15 medals at the Games, he also set 14 world records throughout his career.

Morgan has continued to challenge himself by running marathons and completing in Ironman triathlons and the gruelling Gran Fondo cycling events – which are long-distance road cycling rides – and even climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

Swimming remains a constant. In Singapore, he made his second appearance at the World Aquatics Masters Championships after his debut at the 2023 edition in Fukuoka.

He said: “Swimming for me is almost like anybody else brushes their teeth, or it’s a habit that I have that I do every day, and so it’s not even a question and competing like this motivates me.

“It makes things more interesting for workouts that I do every day, but also meeting new people and actually meeting people that I’ve known for years.”

Beyond fuelling his competitive spirit, swimming also shaped Morgan’s personal life – it was through the sport that he met his wife Carmit Romano-Hvid.

At a reception during a conference in 1999, Dane Romano-Hvid noticed the swimmer’s posture and struck up a conversation. They became friends, later dated and got married eight years ago.

Romano-Hvid, who swam in high school and at her university club, has been instrumental in Morgan’s Masters career.

Now living in Denmark, the retired couple train and travel to meets around the world together.

“The fact that we share this hobby, and that it means so much to us, and we understand each other, we talk about the races before and after,” said Romano-Hvid, 68.

“And one important thing for John, since he’s with me, he can go to all these meets, because before he met me, it wasn’t easy for him to get around. I’m also very good at using the computer to find cheap flights and good hotels.”

Swimming is a shared obsession and they keep up with the latest records and news in both Masters and elite swimming. The couple even plan their meals with competitions in mind, discussing what to eat before a race and shopping together to make sure they have the right nutrition.

In Singapore, the pair closely tracked each other’s swims throughout the day. They did not finish on the podium.

“It’s something we have in common that makes us happy and gives us something to look forward to,” said Morgan.

“We get excited about the planning and training. She’s very patient with me, getting me here and there, making sure I’m healthy, so we take care of each other.”