02/Jul/2008
B.R. Swimmer Takes Special Olympic Gold
By: Jacqueline Mouton
Baton Rouge has its very own Olympic winner! Throughout his
lifetime, Greg Gros has won hundreds of medals at state, national
and international Olympic competitions for swimming.
Gros has always been athletically inclined. At the ripe age of
five, Gros competed in the frisbee throw, and the long jump for the
Special Olympics. At age seven he competed in a 50-yard dash. It
wasn’t until 1979, when he was eight years old, that Gros started
swimming at the Huey P. Long swimming pool at Louisiana State
University.
“At first we were just trying to get him to swim from one end to
the other. Just 25 yards, so he wouldn’t get disqualified [at a
swim meet],” said his mother, Arty Gros.
Once Gros learned to swim the full 25 yards without holding onto
the lane ropes or swimming to the side, there was no stopping him.
He began participating in swim-a-thons, events where swimmers are
paid for each lap they swim. He collected a total of $739 one year.
In 1983, Gros swam at the World Games for the first time. He
competed in a 25-yard swim and a 50-yard swim and won gold both
times. Gros was asked to return to the World Games in 1987, 1995
and 1999. He won a bronze and a silver medal in ’87, two gold
medals and a silver in ’95-one of which was given to him by Ms. USA, and five silver medals in ’99.
In order to be qualified to compete at the World Games, one must have won at least one gold medal at state. Those winners’ names are then placed in a hat and randomly selected to attend the World Games. Gros excelled so much in swimming, that people became a little suspicious when he was selected so many times to compete.
“Some people would say, ‘Why is Greg going to all the World Games?’ and I heard the State director say, ‘His name really came out of the hat, we drew his name out of the hat!’” said Arty Gros.
In addition to his medals he received at the World Games, Gros has a plethora of medals he won at State and National Championships throughout the years. He has traveled all over the country and even to Japan for competitions-not only for swimming but snow skiing as well.
Gros’ hundreds of wins even merited him an invitation to the White House to meet and talk with President Reagan.
Nowadays, Greg gets up at six thirty in the morning three times a week to swim laps at the LSU Rec Center. If you’re up early enough, you may catch a glimpse of our very own Olympic gold
medalist.
By: Jacqueline Mouton
Baton Rouge has its very own Olympic winner! Throughout his
lifetime, Greg Gros has won hundreds of medals at state, national
and international Olympic competitions for swimming.Gros has always been athletically inclined. At the ripe age of
five, Gros competed in the frisbee throw, and the long jump for the
Special Olympics. At age seven he competed in a 50-yard dash. It
wasn’t until 1979, when he was eight years old, that Gros started
swimming at the Huey P. Long swimming pool at Louisiana State
University.
“At first we were just trying to get him to swim from one end to
the other. Just 25 yards, so he wouldn’t get disqualified [at a
swim meet],” said his mother, Arty Gros.
Once Gros learned to swim the full 25 yards without holding onto
the lane ropes or swimming to the side, there was no stopping him.
He began participating in swim-a-thons, events where swimmers are
paid for each lap they swim. He collected a total of $739 one year.
In 1983, Gros swam at the World Games for the first time. He
competed in a 25-yard swim and a 50-yard swim and won gold both
times. Gros was asked to return to the World Games in 1987, 1995
and 1999. He won a bronze and a silver medal in ’87, two gold
medals and a silver in ’95-one of which was given to him by Ms. USA, and five silver medals in ’99.
In order to be qualified to compete at the World Games, one must have won at least one gold medal at state. Those winners’ names are then placed in a hat and randomly selected to attend the World Games. Gros excelled so much in swimming, that people became a little suspicious when he was selected so many times to compete.
“Some people would say, ‘Why is Greg going to all the World Games?’ and I heard the State director say, ‘His name really came out of the hat, we drew his name out of the hat!’” said Arty Gros.
In addition to his medals he received at the World Games, Gros has a plethora of medals he won at State and National Championships throughout the years. He has traveled all over the country and even to Japan for competitions-not only for swimming but snow skiing as well.
Gros’ hundreds of wins even merited him an invitation to the White House to meet and talk with President Reagan.
Nowadays, Greg gets up at six thirty in the morning three times a week to swim laps at the LSU Rec Center. If you’re up early enough, you may catch a glimpse of our very own Olympic gold
medalist.
