Gators’ Richter found purpose, passion in pool
Abby Richter tried several sports — unsuccessfully, she said — and thought she might have finally found her niche with swimming.
It took a major health scare 5½ years ago to convince her.
Richter, a junior at Green Valley, contracted viral meningitis at age 11, and being out of the water for an extended period helped foster her affinity for the sport.
Richter has since developed into one of the nation’s top swimmers and will compete Saturday at the Division I state swimming and diving meet at UNLV’s Buchanan Natatorium.
“I love the work, and I love swimming fast and racing and all that encompasses it,” Richter said. “It was challenging to get back into it, but I’m glad that I did.”
Richter, who started competitive swimming at age 10, came down with meningitis during Thanksgiving week of 2010 and was hospitalized for a week, according to her father, Jeremy. She lost 15 pounds and missed nearly two months of workouts with the Boulder City Henderson Heatwave club program while recovering from the illness.
“I knew it was going to take a long time to get back to where I was,” Richter said. “I wasn’t that invested in it, but I knew that I loved it, and I wanted to keep doing what I loved.”
By the time she was 12, Richter qualified for the USA Swimming Junior National Championships. As a freshman for Green Valley, she was second in the 200-yard individual medley and fifth in the 100 freestyle at the state meet, and last season Richter won state titles in the 200 IM and 100 backstroke, setting meet records in both events.
Richter captured Sunrise Region titles last week in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke, and her time of 54.62 seconds in the latter is the fastest in state history at a region or state meet, according to the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association record book.
Richter is the top seed at state in the 200 freestyle and should be pushed by Galena’s McKenna Meyer, the meet record holder in the event (1:49.25), along with Sunset Region champion Erica Sullivan of Palo Verde.
“When it comes down to regionals and state, you know you’re up against Nevada’s best,” Richter said. “I really like knowing that I’m going to have someone to race against, because I don’t get that a lot.”
Richter recently made an oral commitment to Virginia after also making unofficial visits to Auburn and Southern California. She is expected to make an immediate impact in the backstroke for a team with two straight fifth-place finishes at the NCAA Championships.
“I got onto Virginia’s campus and I was like, ‘Ooh,’ ” Richter said. “I just got that feeling there that I belonged there and that I’m going to have a successful time.”
Richter, who stands nearly 6 feet 1 inch tall, qualified for this summer’s Olympic Trials in the 100- and 200-meter backstroke along with the 200-meter IM. She also will compete at the Junior Nationals in August and has her sights set on making the national junior team.
“She works hard, and she’s very focused,” Green Valley coach Bob Swift said. “She loves to be around the other swimmers of all abilities, and the team is very important to her.”
Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ
