For a swimmer that holds over 45 world records, one would assume that Diann Uustal, a member of the International Masters Swimming Hall of Fame, would be driven by winning. For the 79-year-old Uustal, however, what motivates her is not the continuous push to set even more records. While Uustal trains doggedly for her next race at the Selby Aquatic Center—the US Masters Swimming National Championships (USMS) in August are fast approaching—her time in the pool is not a recreation, but a re-creation of herself. “I belong in the water,” says Uustal, a Sarasota resident by way of Rhode Island. “I am better in the water than on land. It’s my sanctuary. I hope that I will swim until the day I die.” Swimming is in Uustal’s blood. From the time she could walk, her grandmother Ruth Coburn—an inductee into the Rhode Island Swimming Hall of Fame—would tie a rope to her, guiding her through the icy waters of Narragansett Bay. Uustal swam throughout her youth, being named Rhode Island and New England Swimmer of the Year at different points throughout her high school career. Despite several scholarship offers, Uustal knew that she was called to nursing, which she studied at the University of Rhode Island. After graduating in 1968, Uustal got married, had children and began to build a career as a professor of medical ethics, consulting, writing and teaching along the way. After a brief, yet extremely successful return to competition at the 1979 USMS Nationals, Uustal wouldn’t compete again until the age of 62. “The call in my life, from a nursing perspective, was very real. I needed a doctoral degree in medical ethics and did my postdoctoral work at Georgetown,” says Uustal. “I built my entire consulting career around that and traveled extensively teaching from the University of Massachusetts to Arizona State and back to the University of Rhode Island.” The most notable part of Uustal’s swimming career, however, are not the countless records that she has broken. Nor is it her pure talent. It’s the fact that she refuses to stop swimming, despite the obstacles that stand in front of her. In 2003, her car was rear-ended by a vehicle driving 60mph—doctors told her she may never walk again. While recovering from her injuries, she took a devastating fall in a public restroom, breaking her shoulder and tearing her rotator cuff and hamstrings. Swimming was the prescribed therapy.  Today, she battles Ehlers-Danlos Sydromes, a group of connective tissue disorders which brings chronic, debilitating pain, constantly threatening to keep her out of the pool. Through the support of her coaches at Sarasota Sharks, her family and her faith, Uustal continues to dive in, lap after hard-earned lap. “The disease requires serious emotional, physical, spiritual and familiar support. It’s taught me a lot about tenacity. A lot about what it takes to be focused on something that you dream about, what it’s like to be triumphant and what it’s like to be on the sidelines,” says Uustal. “I’ve learned that everything I’ve ever accomplished is because of other people. It started with my grandmother, but it’s my faith, my incredible husband, my amazing kids and grandchildren that keep me going.” SRQ