In the women’s 100-yard freestyle Saturday, Syracuse’s Carolyn Delkus and Boston University’s Eve Kinsella raced shoulder to shoulder from start to finish. With torn ligaments in her ankle, Delkus’ legs slapped the water with authority on each kick. It didn’t hurt.

‘While you’re swimming, adrenaline overrides everything,’ she said. ‘I could go out with a broken arm, but I don’t think I would feel it.’

Delkus didn’t break her arm. Close. In June 2006, the freshman-to-be broke her ankle. To this day, Delkus cannot run on it. But she can swim – and did so all last season and into this one. After one final lunge, Delkus touched the wall and immediately lifted her eyes to the scoreboard. She had edged out Kinsella for second place by .01 second (53.26 to 53.27). The gold-silver combo of Delkus and Katlin O’Hara for the Orange helped, yet the Syracuse women’s swimming team lost at home to BU, 122-119, for its second straight defeat.

Losing is frustrating, but not as frustrating as not swimming at all. Delkus continued competing on her broken ankle in every meet last season after refusing surgery. She knew surgery meant missing her entire freshman season, so she toughed it out.

It’s paying off: Through four meets this season, Delkus has placed first in four of seven relays. Last year, she did not break the 54-second barrier in the 100-yard freestyle until her sixth race.

After more than a year, the torn ligaments still haven’t gone away, but the pain is minor. That’s what has Delkus excited: Pain no longer bogs down her conscience.

‘Compared to last year, it’s nonexistent,’ Delkus said. ‘My ankle is not bothering me. It’s uncomfortable sometimes, but I wouldn’t consider it pain at all. Not like last year.’

Last year was a blur, starting in June. While leaving her house in Barre, Ontario, one day, Delkus tripped and fell. It seemed like nothing at the time.

‘I’m clumsy,’ Delkus laughed. ‘I work better in water than I do on land. I said, ‘Ahh, I just tripped,’ and kept going on with the day. The next day, I knew something was up.’

Still, it took a lot to get Delkus to the hospital.

‘Everybody told me I should go to the hospital, and I said ‘It’s fine,” she said. ‘But I guess when you can’t walk, you have to go.’

Delkus went and for the next two months with a cast on her foot. But by the time the season rolled around, she never missed a meet, while being cleared, uncleared and cleared again by doctors throughout the season. She continued to shun surgery, visiting SU’s training staff for rehab every day instead.

Delkus framed her practices differently – flip turns and kicks were initially out of the question. Gradually, she did more and more. Gradually, she was able to practice without tape on her ankle, and gradually, her times improved. By the end of the year, she was competing in the 100- and 200-yard freestyles at the Big East Championships.

It wasn’t a smooth, exponential progression, though. Delkus’ teammate and roommate, Katelyn Schumacher, witnessed Delkus’ struggles at the personal level.

‘It started out really bad,’ Schumacher said. ‘I don’t even think our coaches knew what she was going through mentally as well as physically. She was worried if she would be able to swim or not. The doctors kept telling her that she had to have surgery or to not swim. So, she did what she thought was best for herself. Obviously, all of her hard work is paying off because she is swimming really well despite the pain. It’s mind over matter.’

One area that Delkus has particularly found a niche is the 100-yard freestyle, where she teams with freshman O’Hara. The duo has finished in the top three in four straight meets.

‘We have a great 1-2 punch with Katlin and Carolyn,’ said SU head coach Lou Walker. ‘We have great kids, and she is certainly an example. Last year was the tough year. It makes the character of the group stronger. You want to give up, and she’s over there battling away.

‘Essentially, she was swimming on one leg.’

On two legs, Delkus has finished under 54 seconds in each of her first four 100-yard free races with her time dipping each meet (53.87 to 53.83 to 53.34 to 53.26).

Running may just be a thing of the past for Delkus. Swimming? Well, that’s different.

‘I try to run, but the next day I always regret it, so I’ve kind of given up on that,’ Delkus said. ‘When you’re racing, you’re not focused on the pain. You’re focused on who you want to beat.’

Published on November 4, 2007 at 12:00 pm