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The Marie Corridon Mortell Invitational swim meet Saturday at Norwalk High School isn't just another competition. It's also a way for Zeus swim team coach Omar Cruz and his young swimmers to honor the history of Norwalk swimming and salute the town's only Olympic gold medalist.
"A lot of athletes come out of Norwalk, but no one else has ever reached that status,'' Cruz said. "We have a great history. We've had some great Hall of Fame coaches. We have to recognize our history because we're proud of it. We have to show that Norwalk has a great future, too. It's not just a basketball or a baseball town. It's a swimming town, too."
The meet is named for Mortell, who won a gold medal as an 18-year-old in the 1948 Olympics in London. She was part of the winning 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay team.
Saturday's meet will feature swimmers ages 9 and younger, and teams from Norwalk, Greenwich, Westport and Rye, N.Y. will compete. Mortell's grandson will be among the competitors. Family members will attend a ceremony before the racing begins. The meet even falls on Marie's birthday. She died last year at the age of 80.
"We had the meet last year, but this year we thought we should name it after her,'' Cruz said. "We're pleased that people recognized it."
The Zeus team trains at the Norwalk pool and the YMCA. The program has a strong crop of young swimmers eager to prove themselves in a meet dedicated exclusively to them. "We're eager to see this generation of swimmers from the YMCA, the Parks and Recreation and the Swim America programs,'' Cruz said. "They've all helped us. We're pleased to have these kids coming out to swim on our teams."
Do you have a youngster swimming in the Marie Corridon Mortell Invitational? Send results and pictures to trenner@mainstreetconnect.us or egendron@mainstreetconnect.us.
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