You wake up at five in the morning to get to school and catch a bus that’s leaving at six. After an hour’s drive, you put on a tight swimsuit, swim cap, and goggles. It’s finally time to dive into the freezing pool and start your race.
Most people don’t have to experience this misery in the morning. They can stay in their warm bed and sleep in to their heart’s content.
But for Highland senior Veronica (Roni) Black, she doesn’t get this luxury. But waking up so early every morning has helped her achieve her greatest accomplishment in swimming; breaking the overall Utah state record for the 100-meter breaststroke.
The original breaststroke record was 1:02:09, while at the Region 6 meet, Black was able to beat it by a little over a second, leaving the new record at 1:01:06.
Black has been swimming for 14 years, and she currently swims year-round for Highland and the Wasatch Front Fish Market (WFFM) swimming club.
Black is now training for 17-19 hours every week with both the school and her club.
Breaking a state record after working so hard for most of your life is an amazing accomplishment with an even greater feeling. For Black, it was no different.
“I was so excited. I knew I wanted to break it,” Black said. “I was aware of it, but I just didn’t know whether I would actually break it or not.”
The swim team has been very supportive of her through her journey and are very excited and proud of this next step in her athletic career.
“Everyone was excited. I don’t know if everyone knew what the record was before, but most of my friends did and definitely the coaches did so they were really excited,” Black said.
Black has beaten the record before in a club meet, but because it wasn’t a high school meet, her time wasn’t counted as the new record. This experience helped boost Black’s confidence, because she knew she could do it again.
Black wouldn’t be where she is today without her parents helping her every step of the way.
It takes major discipline and drive to waking up everyday at ungodly hours to get in the pool, and Black’s been doing it since she was six. But she hasn’t been doing it alone.
“There was a lot of driving to and from practices and coordinating carpools,” Black’s mom Brittany said. “I used to wake up with her at 4:45 am to get her to her morning practice three times a week. Her brother and I adjusted our dinner schedule every night so that we could all eat dinner together, just before nine pm.”
Black has been in the pool for thousands of hours, and she showed everyone what hard work can do for a person if you’re passionate enough to follow your dreams.
“I’m so proud of her. I think Roni is an incredible athlete,” Brittany said. “She works hard, is so dedicated, and she loves to compete. That sort of energy in the pool helps Roni push herself and makes it all very fun.”
It’s safe to say that Black and everyone around her are all very proud.
