Pick up a copy of the June 2 issue of Sports Illustrated and you’ll read about her 13 pages before Martin Brodeur, 15 pages before Annika Sorenstam and 34 pages before Roger Clemens. Granted, Clemens has his face on the cover, but he doesn’t have the smile. It’s the big, warm, genuine smile of Rosanna Delurgio that pulls you in. It’s what she’s done that keeps you reading.
Delurgio — a sophomore human development major at John Muir College — won national championships in both the 100- and 200-yard breaststroke this spring, and as if that weren’t enough, she set new Division II records in each. Those accomplishments earned her a spot in this week’s “”Faces of the Crowd”” section of SI, and if you don’t understand why she’s smiling yet, consider where she was just two years ago.
Transitioning between water polo and swim seasons her senior year at Santa Cruz’s Soquel High School, Delurgio was pushed too hard, too fast and developed inflammation in her shoulder that limited her ability to compete, and took away her joy for the sport.
“”My passion for swimming kind of died off because of [the injury],”” Delurgio said. “”When you aren’t getting any reward or you can’t even try your best because it hurts too much, it kind of makes you not want to do it anymore.””
In spite of the injuries, Delurgio still had plenty of options for college. She considered such Division I schools as UCLA and USC, but she didn’t like what she found there.
“”It just seemed like the intimacy level between the swimmers and the coaches wasn’t as tight,”” she said. “”They couldn’t talk to each other about other things besides swimming.””
At UCSD and in Triton head coach Scott McGihon, Delurgio found a program and a coach that understood her needs and let her rediscover the joy of swimming. The relationship has worked out well for both — with Delurgio shredding the record books and the Tritons placing a strong third in this year’s national championship meet.
National championships are nice, but it’s easy for me to look into her eyes and tell that she wants something more. There’s a drive there that pushes Delurgio beyond the borders of competition. Across borders and oceans lies Athens, Greece — the site of the 2004 Summer Olympics — a place Delurgio might find herself in her dreams if she allowed them to drift that far.
But she doesn’t. For now, the biggest talk she’ll allow herself is of Olympic trials.
“”It’s really hard to admit you want something so badly and then to fail at it,”” she reminds me.
“”Yes Rosanna,”” I think to myself. “”But wouldn’t it be great to show the world your smile?””
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