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NEWS > SPORTS > SWIMMER COVERS UP FOR RACE, LOSES
SWIMMER COVERS UP FOR RACE, LOSES
February 9 2008
Lausanne, Switzerland – Olympic qualifying is a perpetual state of affairs in Switzerland. Under the shadow of the IOC headquarters and the Olympic Museum, Lausanne has long been the site of a tremendous amount of vigour over the Olympic movement. So what better place to train and compete for the future Olympic Games? That is exactly what Michel Courtier has been doing.
The sixteen year old has been swimming competitively since he was six years old. Growing up in the Lausanne suburb of Bottens, he learned early on that he felt most comfortable in the water.
“Both my father and mother were competitive athletes. My father was an Alpine skier and my mother a high diver.”
It was his mother who gave him a love of the water. She taught him to swim and drove into him the desire to compete.
“She gave both me and my sister a drive to be the best at what we do, no matter whether it is in sport or some other discipline.”
His sister is currently studying medicine in Geneva but was present, along with his parents, at Courtier’s most recent competition, a meet which was the site of the most disheartening race of this young man’s career.
Only seconds after the gun went off, Courtier was wallowing in the water while his competitors raced onwards.
“A lot of people are saying it was because of what I was wearing, but I don’t really think it was a significant factor. Being cold would have been just as much a detriment as anything I could have been wearing was.”
Courtier started the race wearing boots, long pants, a winter jacket, and a scarf. It has long been practice for swimmers to wear as little clothes as possible, most even shave off all body hair to reduce drag. Courtier rails against that view.
“I failed myself in the race. The water was really cold and I didn’t want to get sick. I refuse to use what I was wearing as an excuse for my failure.”
Many are being critical of his choice of clothing for the race. The local newspaper, which has long advocated Courtier as a major part of Switzerland’s Olympic hopes was harsh, but perhaps the hardest criticism to take was from his own mother. 
“I never want to second guess my children. I love them and have great faith in them to make the correct decisions in their lives,” Said Marie Courtier. “In this case though, I think he misjudged. At the very least he should have removed the scarf.”
This latest loss, though, will not deter this young man with dreams of Olympic glory. “I vow to continue with swimming and am determined to represent my country in the Olympics. And I will do it my way.”
Alexi Orton, Sports Correspondent
NEWS > SPORTS > SWIMMER COVERS UP FOR RACE, LOSES
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