Erin Popovich remembers Jimi Flowers as a leader who was full of energy and made each swimmer he worked with feel like they were his number one priority.

“He just had this infectious energy that just spread across everything,” the U.S. Paralympics Swimming director said of Flowers, whose long association with USA Swimming and U.S. Paralympics Swimming included time as the national team manager and resident team coach when Popovich competed in Beijing in 2008. “He was always so positive and such a go-getter. Just an incredible human being.”

Flowers died tragically in 2009 as the result of a climbing accident, and the annual Jimi Flowers Classic Para swim meet honors his memory. The meet will be held this weekend at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

What’s special about this particular meet, besides honoring and remembering a legend in the community, is that it draws swimmers of all levels to compete in a relaxed, low-stakes environment. Young athletes of 10, 11 and 12 years old get to share the pool deck with the same athletes they watched competing and medaling in Tokyo three years ago, including decorated veterans such as Jessica Long, McKenzie Coan and Elizabeth Marks.

“It’s just an awesome meet because you have everyone from some of the young kids who are getting their feet wet in Para swimming to some of our Paralympic champions that are here,” Popovich said. “Any time where it’s not a super high-intensity meet, it’s not a selection event, or anything where you have to make all these huge standards, there’s the opportunity for camaraderie. And for that next generation, it can be their first time seeing the national team athletes or the Paralympic or world champions here competing, and seeing where they could get to.”

Then there’s the matter of being at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center and getting to experience everything that means. Not to mention, Popovich said, getting a little taste of what it means to swim at altitude.

It’s been a busy six months for U.S. swimmers, with many national team members competing at the world championships last summer and others competing at the 2023 Parapan American Games in the fall. The national championships were also just a month ago.

But there’s something special about turning the calendar page and being part of the first meet of a Paralympic year.

“The energy is definitely higher, the nerves a little more, and you really start the planning and figuring out what needs to be accomplished to be eligible for the Games.” Popovich said. “There’s a lot more energy and also a lot more opportunity with that. It’s exciting to see and refreshing in a Games year. Even though it was a short quad it seems like a long three years since the last Games so it’s exciting to have that excitement leading up to the big show.”

Following this meet, athletes will have the chance to compete in the Para Swimming World Series circuit before the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials, which will be held June 27-29 in Minneapolis.

Long, Coan and Marks will be joined this weekend by a number of their Tokyo Paralympic teammates, including Julia Gaffney, McClain Hermes, Natalie Sims, Haven Shepherd, Jamal Hill, Zach Shattuck, Leanne Smith and Keegan Knott.

Noah Jaffe, who was the athlete of the meet at the recent national championships as well as a standout performer at the world championships, will also be competing, as well as Taylor Winnett, the most decorated U.S. athlete at the Parapan American Games.

They’ll be joined by a number of tweens and young athletes whose Paralympic dreams of Los Angeles 2028 and beyond will be stoked by their time side-by-side with the stars of today. Nearly 60 athletes will be competing this weekend.

“Some athletes come to Para later in life because of injury or illness, and others have been in the Para world since birth,” Popovich said. “It’s fun for them to realize, hey, I remember when I was a kid and I saw Trischa Zorn (who won a record 55 Paralympic medals) or the other big names from back in the day and remember that wow factor. So it’s neat when they put it together that the younger athletes see that in them as well.”

Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic and Paralympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.com on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.

Unique Opportunities Abound As Swimmers Kick Off Paralympic Year At The Jimi Flowers Classic

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