Annual California Classic Puts Spotlight on Para-Athletics

Publish Date: Oct. 25, 2022

Swimmers with physical or intellectual limitations at all ability levels – from new swimmers to Paralympic hopefuls – took center stage at the annual California Classic for para-athletes.

The two-day swimming event – held September 17 and 18 at the Crafton Hills College (CHC) Aquatics Center – invited these athletes to put their skills to the test in various events. But the main attraction was athletes encouraging one another to the finish line.

This year’s entries included athletes Jamal Hill, Matthew Torres, and Han-nah Nelson who competed in the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics. Torres, pictured above, brought home the bronze medal from Tokyo in the 400- meter freestyle.

“It’s absolutely fabulous,” said Colleen Clifford of Atlanta, GA. “My son is an S2 athlete (a class for participants who have limited use of their arms, and no or extremely limited use of their hands, legs and trunk), and to see him swimming alongside the [Paralympic] medalists competing here today, it’s exciting to see where he can go.”

Since 2015, CHC has partnered with U.S. Paralympics to host the event, and its community of volunteers who lend their time to help athletes in and out of the water, time events or do other much-needed tasks to make the event successful.

Nathan Manley, the Director of U.S. Paralympics, said the event not only serves as a new or reintroduction to para-athletics but also allows seasoned athletes an opportunity to share the deck, engage and take on a mentorship role with others.

“The athletes here are probably less concerned about performance and hopefully equally engaged about meeting people and creating relationships,” he explained.

Among that bunch was 11-year-old Chloe Cederholm of Salt Lake City, Utah, an ambitious athlete who has her sights on becoming a future Paralympic participant and pediatric surgeon.

Diagnosed with McCune-Albright Syndrome, a rare disorder that affects bones, skin and hormone-producing tissues, Chloe found out she could not run or jump, which meant participating in some sports she loved was not possible. But then, when she was six years old, she found the water, and she never looked back. As events continued throughout the morning on September 17, Chloe was focused on doing her best.

“When I’m in the water, I always just try to go. I try to get every step down to get a good race in,” she said. “When I’m swimming longer races, like the butterfly, I play a song in my head to make it through, a fighting song.”

After Chloe finished her event, a huge smile would not leave her face. Nor her dad’s as he waited to get the post-race stroke-by- stroke account.

“I never thought I’d have a swimmer in my family because I sink whenever I go into the water,” Chloe’s dad, Wayne Cederholm, said with a chuckle. “But now I’ve taken up swimming a lot so I can see what she’s going through, and it just makes me super excited to see that she’s willing to put in the work.”

Another perk for dad is watching other para-athletes rally around Chloe.

“It was really special to have all of these people come and give her a big hug and treat her like they’ve known her her entire life,” Cederholm said. “Everyone here is faced with unique circumstances, but everyone here wants to see everyone happy.”

Some athletes will move on to similar competitions held across the nation this year and beyond while others will set their sights on future summer Olympic Games in France (2024) and Los Angeles (2028). To learn more about Team U.S.A. and what’s to come, visit teamusa.org.

To volunteer for next year’s California Classic, contact Heather Chittenden, Crafton’s athletic director, by email at hchittenden@ craftonhills.edu or by phone at 909-389- 3605.