Heart Transplant Recipient & Swim Coach Chris Rowe's Inspiring Journey, EP 242

When life throws you a curveball, do you dodge or catch it and throw it back? Coach Chris Rowe caught his curveball and turned it into a cannonball dive back into the pool of competitive swimming. From swimming for Auburn to the cusp of Olympic glory, through a life in accounting, and navigating the challenging waters of a heart transplant, Chris's journey is nothing short of extraordinary. Now, he's on Champions Mojo, pouring out pearls of wisdom on coaching, the transformative power of sports, and how a heart filled with passion can overcome the most daunting odds.

Join us as we explore the deep end with Chris, where champions are not made by their victories, but by their refusal to accept defeat. This episode isn't just about swimming; it's a masterclass in life. Learn how the support of a team can push an individual to greatness, and how a community finds joy in the ripples of their shared experiences. The Hampton Aquaplex isn't just a building; it's a beacon for swimmers like Chris, who, with a new heart, has found a renewed purpose in nurturing the next wave of athletes. Tune in and be inspired by a story that proves it’s not just about the race, but the swimmer's journey, the coach’s guidance, and the splash they make together.

Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.

Transcript

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Welcome to the award-winning Champions Mojo hosted by two world record-holding athletes.

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Be inspired as you listen to conversations with champions and now your hosts, kelly Palace and Maria Parker.

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Hello friends, welcome to the Champions Mojo podcast.

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I am your host, kelly Palace, and, as usual, I am with my co-host, maria Parker.

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Hey Maria, hey Kelly, it's great to be with you here today.

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Yes, and Maria, this is a special edition of Champions Mojo from the pool deck and we have a great interview for you today.

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It's brief, it's short, but it's powerful.

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Yeah, and we.

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I wasn't there, but I was able to listen to the interview and some great takeaways.

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Yeah, we hope you'll stick around and catch the takeaways.

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And here we go.

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I'm on deck with Chris Rowe.

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He's a coach with Coast Guard Blue Dolphins.

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When Chris has an amazing pedigree, swam at Auburn, two Olympic trials Olympic trial finalists, semi-final incredible pedigrees.

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But now you're coaching.

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You had a career, as it's 20 years as an accountant and you're back on deck.

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Tell us about Coast Guard Blue Dolphins.

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Coast Guard Blue Dolphins is a wonderful program.

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I came back to Virginia because I wanted to give back to swimming.

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All the high got out of it.

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I left Virginia a long time ago when I was a teenager, because we didn't have a program or didn't have a coach.

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So I moved away, got fast, came back and wanted to provide an opportunity for kids that are one or reset Olympic levels, a place where they come here in Virginia and Southern Virginia so that we can have whatever they need.

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If we're on deck at the Carl Warner Open, USA can swimming at the incredible Hampton Aquaplex, which is a unique name, incredible facility.

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Tell us a little bit about this facility.

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This is a long time coming.

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It's a combination between city of Hampton and a couple other entities throughout the Tidewater area.

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We have needed this for a long time here in the Tidewater area.

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It's a beautiful bowl.

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This got fast water, so we're looking forward to having a lot of good teams come down.

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I have a lot of big championships meet down here.

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Yes.

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So, chris, you and I talked a bunch today on deck.

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All the swim stories that we shared were about the same age.

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But I learned something about you that just is so inspirational.

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That is, you are a part transclan recipient and you're swimming a little bit just to be easy, but you don't want to push that.

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Tell us just a little bit what that transplant has done for your life.

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Definitely made me humble.

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I found a new purpose.

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When you're lying in the hospital bed and you're wondering if you can ever walk again, you're like huh, now why I have a special gift that I've been blessed with.

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So now I'm just trying to give back more to swimming you of what I got out of it.

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It's the passion for this fort, it's the love of the children, it's giving back to them, seeing them achieve their goals.

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Just have a run with it now.

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If you're like I am, I call a swimming evangelist.

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Get everybody into swimming.

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So last question, just I'm around a lot of swim parents when I'm at these meets and swim parents give so much to their kids to be in this fort and when we interview Olympians on champions mojo, a lot of them say they won the parent lottery.

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But I'd like to ask you, as a USA coach of kids, what advice do you have for kids?

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What advice would you give to swim parents and to be the best they can be to help their kids?

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Interesting question because I've spoken to parents or poor or swimming at place Olympians that have children in it and there's a common thread between all of them is that they step away, they lend the coach coach and they let the summer develop that relationship with a coach because there's nothing like the relationship you have with your coach.

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It's different than a parent and the communication and the message that you get from a coach is different than what you get from a parent.

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My parents also I won the lottery.

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They helped out as an official, as a volunteer for running the meat and stuff.

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They stayed out of my swimming lot as much as they could.

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They were there all the time in great support, great communication with the coach, but they didn't interfere.

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They let the coach and the athlete develop and take it from there.

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Yeah, I love that.

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That's what I've heard from parents, that the best parents are the ones that kind of let the coach coach and support the kid.

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We have a here.

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If it's an Olympian swimmer and they have an athlete in, they know well enough to stand back because they're part of the team.

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It's an individual sport but it's very much team-oriented.

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I know it's difficult for athletes to train alone, but when you have a team that you can muddle through the hard times with, it makes life so much easier and you go through the same thing together and you build that bond and it's a tried saying team.

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Together everybody achieves more.

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What is true?

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For a reason.

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I love that.

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Now, one of the questions we ask a lot of our champions is what do you think are a few traits that champions share?

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One they don't like to lose.

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It's not that they like to win, they don't like to lose Anytime, especially in practice is that's where you race?

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One of my favorite clothes comes in Jerry Rice, something along the lines.

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He would do things in practice that nobody else would ever dream of doing.

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That's why he has the rings, he has the MBPs, he has all that subbed.

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He did things that nobody else is willing to do.

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That's what I try to teach my athletes gotta be tough.

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Gotta be tough every time they step on the walks, every time they push off the lanes.

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I've had too many coaches.

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I've seen too many boo-hoo's at trials where they just list making the team and the coach goes.

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Maybe some of your CYRUS Bad workouts work good enough.

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Yeah, I love that, alright, and then is there anything that?

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I have not asked you that you want to share with the swimming community.

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Just enjoy the sport.

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It's a lifelong sport, it's something you can do cradle to grave and it's probably the best group of people that you could ever be around.

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We're sincere, we're helpful, we're fun and we love likes.

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Yes, it's a lifelong sport.

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I love it.

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Chris, thank you so much.

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You're an inspiration and a champion.

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Thank you very much.

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I'm glad you're here.

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Stay tuned for the takeaways.

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And now the takeaways.

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OK, maria, chris Rowe.

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He's a swim coach with the Coast Guard Blue Dolphins in Hampton, virginia, and it was so crazy and special for me to see the Hampton Aquaplex.

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You know I had lived in Hampton at one point and I heard many, many years ago that they were going to build this beautiful facility and it was so wonderful to go see it All built, have a meet there.

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This happened to be a very fasty pool Also.

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I swam in this meet and Chris Rowe his joy and purpose shined through from the first email that I got from him welcoming me to the meet as a swimmer.

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Yeah, and my big takeaway on Chris is, I think, obviously his heart transplant.

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Think about that.

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A heart transplant just gave him new purpose and he came back to the sport that he has such great experience in.

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He swam at the highest level of the sport, both at Olympic trials and in college, and now he really wants to get back.

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Yeah, I love that story.

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I loved how he said he was in the hospital and to know he was going to walk, but then decided when I'm back, what do I want?

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I want to give back, and I think that shows what kind of a person he is.

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That when he realized he was going to have more life, that he was going to get back to swimming, it says how important swimming is.

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It also says what kind of a guy he is Wonderful.

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There were many takeaways.

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I loved what he said about what champions do, etc.

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But what was your takeaway?

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Your main one?

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His the traits of champion.

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We hear him all the time, but I love the way he put this.

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Champions do what no one else is willing to do, which is just a way of saying they work hard, they're willing to make themselves uncomfortable, they're willing to get up early, they're willing to stay up late, they're willing to travel, whatever it is.

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Champions do what others are unwilling to do.

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I thought that was a great takeaway.

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Yes, that's you, Maria.

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You are willing to do those things that others don't want to do.

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Yeah, so it was just a wonderful interview, wonderful to meet Chris doing great things there, and another great one, another great on deck inspiration.

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Love you, Maria.

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Love you too, bye.

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Bye.

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Thank you for listening to the Champions Mojo podcast.

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