COVID-19 derailed Morgan Ray's first chance at world swimming gold. Now, he's back

For Morgan Ray, the countdown is on.

As the clock ticks toward next week's World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester, England, the St. Johns County resident is splashing into the pool to chase gold for the United States — and he's determined to soak in every moment.

"Let the fun begin," he said.

Compared to last summer, his times are a little quicker. His hair is a little longer. And this time, his European excursion — he hopes — is set to stick to the plan a lot more closely.

Ray's schedule consists of the men's 200-meter individual medley on Aug. 2, the 4x100 mixed medley relay on Aug. 4 and the 100 breaststroke on Aug. 5.

The world championship is the second in as many years for the former Bartram Trail High School swimmer because of rescheduling due to the coronavirus pandemic. His first trip didn't unfold as expected, and for that, he can also point to the coronavirus pandemic.

After last year's unexpected interruption, he's spent another another summer preparing for a pool half a world away from home, while his family and friends cheer him on from home on the First Coast.

"This time around," said his mother, Mary Ray, "he's totally prepared for anything."

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SECOND CHANCE AT WORLD MEET

Last June, Ray traveled to his first world championships in Madeira, Portugal with dreams of gold.

Then came trouble. Shortly after arriving, Ray tested positive for COVID-19, leaving his participation in limbo. Officials eventually cleared him to return to the meet, but not before he had to scratch nearly half of his races.

"I did all this prep with it, staying healthy, taking my vitamins, doing all the necessary stuff to prepare for it, wearing the mask and everything they wanted," he said. "And then I end up testing positive.

"Watching my teammates on one of our relays that I was [scheduled to be] on break a world record and win gold while I'm stuck in my hotel room, that was really hard to watch."

The unexpected pause didn't leave him rusty. Once cleared to swim, he raced three events and captured a silver medal in the 100 breaststroke.

Along with his medal, Ray said that he drew some psychological positives from his Portugal trip. Like many a swimmer around the world, he said he has a love-hate relationship with the sport because of its grueling demands on time and energy. After last summer, the relationship is swinging closer to the love end of the spectrum.

"When it comes down to it, I do love [swimming], and I think when you take it away, you remember how much you missed it," he said.

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SPLASHING TOWARD NEW CHALLENGES

Diagnosed at 11 weeks with achondroplasia, a genetic condition considered the most frequent form of dwarfism, Ray is used to fighting through obstacles.

"Swimming's always been my outlet to just fall back on," he said. "It's an individual sport. Even though you swim for a team, you're in control of most if not all the work you put in, and having that kind of freedom to walk in each day and how you want to approach it, it's pretty special."

Since his experience last year, he's raced to several of his best performances. He surpassed an American para swimming record during the spring in the 100 breast, considered his favorite event, and recorded a 50 breast time under the national record for his category while swimming at Bolles three weeks ago.

But swimming is just one piece of the puzzle for Ray, who will celebrate his 21st birthday during the championships. On top of the twice-a-day drives from his St. Johns County home to Bolles for training, he resumes studies next month through the University of North Florida's Brooks College of Health.

Ray has gone through several changes in his training routine this year, and Bolles senior coach Alexis Keto said that those adjustments appear to be paying off.

"We've really loved how he's changed which group he's been training with, and that's really elevated his ability and his opportunity to train at a different level," Keto said.

One other change from last year, Keto said, is increased support from U.S. Para Swimming, giving swimmers like Ray better odds in their quest to go for the gold.

"The amount of staff they're sending this year is extraordinary. The communication that they've given to the coaching staff has been really helpful and the amount of resources they've allocated to the national team has been great," Keto said. "Going to camp there this year has been transformational."

Ray's long-term goal is drawing closer by the day, also in Europe: the Paralympic Games in Paris, from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8, 2024. To qualify, he will have to clear the U.S. Paralympic Trials next year, at a time and location still to be announced.

In Manchester, he's hoping to sample an advance taste of Olympic-style energy.

"We haven't had spectators in three years [because of COVID-19 protocols]," Ray said. "That'll be a whole new experience, taking the headphones off, the roaring and all that. I'm just going to try and ride the excitement."

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Morgan Ray races for United States in World Para Swimming Championship