Junior Rory Chea serves as captain of the CUNY Queens College Knights' Women's Swimming and Diving Team who is majoring in Communication Science and Disorders. In meets, she swims the 50 and 100-yard freestyle or 100 fly and for team events, she enjoys competing in the 200 medley relay. Rory believes in leading her team through motivation and morale.
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Rory is a hard worker–during the season, she wakes up at 5:30 AM for practice. But she also identifies the impact swimming has on mental health. Coaches expect athletes to swim faster in the following meets, improving times is an ongoing process, and placing in events can be another high expectation. It's a lot to juggle, but Rory said that “working with teammates that cheer for each other really supports you.” She believes such inspiration allows athletes to focus and enjoy the hard work that comes with being a college athlete.
Rory uses a simple phrase to motivate her team to shake off mistakes: “One event does not define the meet.”
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Image Credit: QC Athletics
* Originally published on December 23, 2022, by Britt Trachtenberg
