The Summer Olympics are set to begin in Rio de Janeiro this month, and while Hannah Cox of Hartland, Vermont, won't be there, she did recently get to compete in the qualifying trials for the games. And her story of becoming an elite swimmer is no less remarkable for not having qualified for Brazil.
Cox enjoyed swimming outdoors in summer as a kid in Woodstock, but she didn't become competitive until the Upper Valley Aquatic Center was built in White River Junction. Still, she didn't swim year round until she was a freshman in high school.
"That's when I committed myself to swimming. I've been doing it year round since then," Cox said.
She was aware of competitive year-round swimmers in Lebanon, New Hampshire,, but it was too far to go to train.
"When the Upper Valley Aquatic Center was built it was pretty perfect, being so close to home. If it wasn't built, I wouldn't have continued my swimming."
"As the youngest of 5, we were not looking for another sport to drive her to," said her father, Kevin Cox. "The fact that it was built 10 minutes from our house, on the way to [Interstates] 89 and 91, for our family couldn't have been more perfect."
Kevin Cox didn't know much about swimming when his daughter became competitive. They worked through his role in his daughter's training. Hannah said her parents' lack of knowledge about swimming helped keep it relaxed for her.
"I actually like that more than him trying to figure out split times," she says.
"When the Upper Valley Aquatic Center was built it was pretty perfect, being so close to home. If it wasn't built, I wouldn't have continued my swimming." - Hannah Cox, competitive swimmer
"I can remember last year at a meet at Brown [University], I came to the table to pay and go in and the gal knew you, and she said, 'Did you see that?' and I said, 'See what?'" Kevin Cox said.
"I think it was the 200 freestyle. I might have broken a New England record. So yeah, he missed that," Hannah said, laughing.
She credits her swim coach at the UVAC, Dorsi Raynolds for pushing her and helping her become a better swimmer. "I've gotten strong physically from her and also emotionally," Hannah Cox said. "I wouldn't have gone to the Olympic trials without her."
Raynolds is currently battling cancer. "She's taking good care of herself while also having a team to care for. I think she's done a good job of balancing it, but I can't imagine what's it been like for her," Hannah Cox says.
Cox has graduated from high school. She'll be attending the University of Arizona in Tucson and will compete in the College World Series of Swimming.