Tooele UT Swim Meet

The next Olympic Swimmer----Jonah Hafen Cedar High School :) Picture of him after the State Finals in Provo UT at BYU campus. He is a SHY Swimmer.

Friday at 12:00 sharp Grandpa John or Pete as he is called by the Hafen family took me to Cedar City UT to meet Annette and Eliza and travel to Tooele for the swim meet. Jonah had two races on Friday and we wanted to see them but the weather delayed us and also the traffic in Lehi. We turned off there because it looked a little nicer to drive in. It was time for the buses to pick up the students and took us 40-45 minutes to go 5 miles. It was a riot. Cars were even letting the buses cross the streets before they continued down the road. We were about 11 miles fromTooele when we hit some ice packed snow and we were lucky enough to follow a snow plow. We drove right to the swim complex and saw a couple and ask about the meet and they said it was over for the day. We were disappointed but knew he had one race Saturday. We found Jonah at Wingers and also his team mates. The bus stops in the middle of the town square and everyone eats where they want and where they can afford it. Everyone seemed happy to see Annette and Eliza. They even called me Grandma Pearl and that was nice. I've gone to a few of their meets so they know I belong to the Hafen family.
We didn't go to Richfield to the swim meet. It didn't start until 2:30 I didn't get much information . so I'll post this now.

Two Swimmers on the Olympic Teams for the USA that I liked to watch and shared a little about them on this blog for Jonah and anyone else that is interested.

Rowdy Gaines. During the 1980's Rowdy Gaines was known as the fastest swimmer on the planet. The Olympic Boycott of 1980 came during the peak of his career. He had a brief retirement then came back and in 1984 in Los Angeles , no swimmer won more races than he did. In 1991 he announced that he had contacted Guillain-Barre Syndrome, an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves. The doctors told him that swimming had saved his life. I was at the 2008 Huntsman World Senior Games and Rowdy was a guest speaker. He was great. He told how he had tried out for several major high school sports and was cut from the teams so at the age of 17 he decided to swim. And swim he did. He told all the youth never to give up, there was something out there for them and he promised to be back for the games when he turns 50.
Then there is our Michael Phelps:During the Summer Games in Japan I began to watch a young man who had big hands and a heart to match. His name is Michael Phelps. I had just gotten into swimming because our grandson, Jonah Hafen had turned from football to swimming. You have to realize that I have been involved in sports since I married John 50 years ago and still don't understand the rules of the games and it is fun when I can see a touchdown. I was just beginning to think I could carry on a semi-normal conversation with our sons and grandsons when they discussed football. It was hard for me to see this but because they live in Cedar City and we are able to see some of his meets I became a believer. Michael won more medals than anyone for the United States in the Olympic Games, 8 in all. Jonah may never be an Olympian but I'm sure he'll go far. We were in Tooele the 19th and 20th of December and I saw Jonah put on the B relay team as the anchor swimmer.Jonah has improved his time in most of his events but what would happen in the relay? All of the swimmers had better time than Jonah, but Jonah stepped up to the plate, he was never behind after the lead was established by his teammates. It was a thrill for all of us there and now Tuesday the 30th we'll go to Richfield,UT, weather permitting. Jonah is built a little like Michael Phelps and he started swimming as a Junior so that is why I compare him to Rowdy and Michael. Keep up the good work Jonah.
Jonah's younger sister, Eliza swims also . She has lots of potential and it will be fun to see what she can do as she pursues swimming.

I didn't get much information so I'll post this now. The Spectrum predict that The RedMen from Cedar High have a good chance to be State Champions. We'll be there rooting for them.