DO'd wimmers, take
your marks!"
By Rich Wallace
Tara leaned forward.
Explode off the starting block,
she told herself.
A beep signaled the
start of the race, and Tara
dived into the pool. This
was the first time she was
competing in the individual
medley, or IM. She was
a strong swimmer, but
thinking about this IM had
made her very nervous.
Tara burst through
the water and began the
butterfly stroke. She'd be
swimming four laps of the
pool, and each lap required
a different stroke.
Butterfly, backstroke,
8
Art by Marta Kissi
breaststroke, freestyle. She'd
been repeating that list in
her head all morning. She'd
messed up the order several
times in practice.
Tara drew into the lead,
but the swimmers to her
right and left were nearly
even with her.
She'd be swimming four
laps. Each lap required
a different stroke.
Power, Tarathought. This
is your best stroke. Use it!
As Tara approached the
turn, the girl to her left
ahead. Tara
pulled slightly
touched the wall and turned,
pushing off hard. She did
one frog kick and drew her
arms under the water for the
breaststroke, then quickly
flipped to her back.
Butterfly, BACKstroke,
breaststroke, freestyle. She
knew the order, but she'd
messed up again. Had the
officials seen her mistake?
Tara smoothly completed
her backstroke lap, staying
in a tight race with the two
closest swimmers
NOW do the breaststroke,
she told herself. She moved
ahead, and she kept the lead
through the freestyle lap,
SCoring a comfortable win.
"Great race," Tara said,
shaking hands with the
second-place finisher. "That

was a tough one."
Tara looked up at the
scoreboard. The results
listed her as the winner.
Would that hold up after
her mistake?
Tara walked slowly
through the crowd of
swimmers and coaches.
Teams from six YMCAs
were participating in the
meet, so the pool area was
crowded. Tara joined her
teammates in the bleachers.
"Nice race," said her
brother, Bryan. "But you
slipped up a little on that
first turn."
"Yeah," Tara said,
shaking her head.
"Brace yourself for
a DQ," said Bryan.
Bryan was right. A few
minutes later, the announcer
read the results of the
individual medley. Tara had
been disqualified. DQ'd.
Instead of scoring big
points for her team, she'd
scored none.
"Butterfly, backstroke,
breaststroke, freestyle,"
Tara muttered. "I knew
the order."
No matter what sport Tara
participated in, she made
sure to know the rules. And
she did know these rules.
Would that
win hold up
after her
mistake?
"My mind was ready,"
she said. "My body just
took over."
"You have another race,"
Bryan said. "Make up for it."
Tara nodded but sighed.
"Maybe I'm doing too
much." She was in two
YMCA sports this winter.
In fact, she'd be playing in
a basketball game later that
afternoon. Her basketball
teammates Devin and
(Continued on next page)
9
 (Continued from page 9)
Jordan were watching thee
Swim meet.
Tara shook her head after
thinking about it more. "It
isn't too much. I love sports.
I just need to focus."
Tara glanced at the
scoreboard again as she
prepared for the final relay.
Her team was tied for
the overall lead when the
officials called the girls to
the starting area.
We'd have this meet
LDTapped up if l'd won that IM,
Tara thought. It all comes
down to this final relay.
Tara was slotted for the
anchor leg. Each of the four
relay team members would
complete one lap of the
25-meter pool, and all
would swim freestyle. As
the final swimmer, Tara
had an opportunity to
redeem herself.
"Let's go, Tara!"
Devin yelled.
Tara waved quickly, but
she kept her eyes focused
on the water. She needed to
concentrate on the race.
10
The first swimmers for
each team were lined up at
the end of the pool, shaking
out their arms and legs as
they loosened up.
Tara reached her arms to
the sides and gently swung
them. All set, she thought.
Tara's teammates swam
well. After two lengths of
the pool, they had a small
lead. But the third swimmer
fell backa bit. As the leader
approached the wall, Tara's
teammate Hannah was two
meters behind.
"Come on, come on!"
Tara whispered. She
leaned forward,
ready to spring as
soon as Hannah
touched the wall.
The leader dived into
the pool. After two more
strokes, Tara did too.
Catch her, Tara told
herself. Make up for that DQ!
Tara churned through the
water. Every stroke had to
be fast. Her head drew even
with the leader's knees,
then with her waist. With
10 meters to go, Tara was
within inches of the lead.
She stroked harder. The
water was a blur. Every
muscle strained.
Whap! Tara slapped the
wall hard. Had she done it?
A turn toward her
competitor gave her the
answer. The girl had her
arms raised high, and her
relay mates were cheering.
Catch her, Tara told
herself. Make up
for that DO!
Tara hadn't won.
"Ouch." Tara shut her
under the
eyes and dipped
water. So close, she thought.
After shaking hands with
the winner, Tara scrambled
out of the pool and gave
Hannah a quick hug. "We
should be champions."
Hannah shrugged. "We
all swam well. You almost
won it for us."
"Almost," Tara said,
breathing hard. But
almost isn't good enough!
she thought.
She wrapped a towel
around herself and sat
on the lowest step of the
bleachers. The meet was
over. Devin, Jordan, and
Bryan gathered around her.
"I wish I could swim that
IM again right now," Tara
said. "I wouldn't mess up"
"Save your energy
Devin said. "The basketball
Court awaits!"
Tara looked at her
swimming teammates,
who were celebrating their
second-place finish. No one
on her team seemed gloomy
or upset. After all, they'd
done very well today
Tara smiled. "Tll be right
back," she said.
Tara joined the swim
team, bumping fists with
her teammates.
Her coach came over and
pointed to his clipboard.
"Your IM time would have
been a team record," he said.
"It doesn't count, of course,
but do you want to give it
another try next weekend?"
"Definitely," Tara said. She
laughed. "Tl have an entire
week to memorize the order.
I think I can handle that!"
Rich Wallace is the author of
dozens of sports novels jor
kids, including the books in the
Winning Season and Kickers
series. He has played and
coached a lot of sports too.

Every
muscle
strained.