By all accounts, senior backstroke champion Kim Abbott is an exceptional swimmer and human being.

“Kim is a true leader, she knows what is best for the team, works hard, and has got a big heart,” said senior Daphne Murphy, a teammate.

Abbott describes the team as “close.”

“We rely on each other for motivation,” she said.

In the eyes of her teammates, Abbott plays an important role in raising morale.

“She brings a lot of spirit to the team,” senior Sara Waitsman said. “She is everyone’s biggest fan. She cheers her heart out for everyone’s races.”

This is not surprising to her former coach, Jennifer Massaro, who helped Abbott realize she wanted to pursue swimming competitively back in high school.

“Kim was one of those amazing few students who worked really hard to achieve goals she set for herself,” Massaro said. “She had a lot of friends, a cheery disposition, and was very supportive of her fellow team members.”

The support and feeling of community Abbott brings to her team is especially important for swimming, a sport in which the athlete relies on him or herself more than a team.

“You are always relying on yourself,” Abbott said. “I have gotten second place in a race by a one hundredth of a second.”

“Swimming is a difficult sport because you don’t have team members to depend on, you are always aware of your success or failure,” said Massaro.

To succeed at such a competitive sport, a swimmer must be exceptionally dedicated and Abbott has the kind of motivation you need.

“I’ve never seen anyone push harder, even with all her injuries,” said Murphy.

Abbott’s drive to succeed has led to injuries common to swimmers who overwork their bodies.

“I have constant shoulder and joint pain,” Abbott said. “It’s gotten to the point where I just stopped going to doctors because they all told me to stop swimming.”

Despite her injuries, Abbott has pushed through to achieve best 50, 100 and 200 yard time in backstroke.  She is the top back-stroke swimmer on the team and comes in second with 140 in overall points.

Her injuries are not the only obstacles that have stood in her way over the last few years. Abbott transferred to Guilford from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, N.Y. after the college closed the pool. Shortly after her arrival, Guilford closed its pool as well.

Now Abbott and her teammates drive to Greensboro College for practice.

“In the pool nothing else matters,” Abbott said. “If I’m having a rough time I take it into practice.”

Abbott said that the feeling of peace that comes in the water makes daily hassles seem less important.

“To be a dedicated swimmer you have to love it and it almost has to be a source of therapy in your life,” Massaro said.

Abbott’s affinity for the water is something she has carried on from an early age.

“I have always loved swimming,” she said. “My parents used to tell me I was like a fish in the water.”

After she graduates this spring with a major in Business Management, Abbott hopes to pursue coaching or perhaps competitive skiing.

“I would love to see her coach, since I already consider her one,” said Murphy.

Her teammates are not the only people cheering her on.

 “If she ever moves back to Malone I’d love to have her help [coaching],” Massaro said.