Swimming found me. I’ve got you. You’re not going anywhere, swimming told me.

Manny Gutierrez emigrated from Venezuela to give his family a better future. He discovered masters swimming almost by accident. After wandering in to the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex, he quickly made friends and was invited by the coach of Coral Springs Masters to swim with the team.

He has moved past the Johnny Weissmuller freestyle drill and is now competing in freestyle and breaststroke. And he continues to meet friends beyond his own team at meets.

In this episode, he shares the ups and downs of his journey.

A special thanks to Carol Brzozowski, shown below, for connecting me with Manny after I read her article about him in Swimmer magazine.