Alyssa Greymont is a talented swimmer. Her dominance in the pool has translated well in her freshman year at Buffalo State. But don’t let the freshman title deceive you – her accomplishments go well beyond what she has done at the midpoint of the season.

She has certainly faced some challenges throughout her swimming career. Greymont said her brother inspired her to get into swimming because of his own interest in it.

As time progressed, Greymont used swimming as an escape from the struggles of life. She kept practicing until she became good, then eventually great. Greymont’s motivation is to keep striving to be better every day, whether it’s in or out of the pool.

Greymont’s struggles include her hearing disability.

“Being deaf in the water has definitely impacted me in ways that are somewhat expected,” Greymont said. “Because I can’t hear, I’m extremely lonely in the pool, which is a positive as well as a negative. I can’t hear my teammates or participate in conversations, but at the same time, I’m almost 100 percent focused on what I’m doing in the pool.”

In 2015, Greymont traveled to San Antonio, Texas for the Deaf World Championships as part of Team USA. Greymont was the only U.S. female to win gold. She won gold in both the 800 and 400-meter freestyle and bronze in two relays. It was a major accomplishment as 83 countries participated in the event.

Having a hearing disability can be mentally and physically draining on a person, especially when you have to engage in intense exercise in order to stay on top of your game. Despite all of that, Greymont has pushed on. She does not take the easy way out or cheat herself. She knows what kind of work she has to put in, and that’s why she has been so successful.

“Honestly, coming to Buffalo State was my redemption,” Greymont replied when asked about her breaking Buffalo State’s 1000-meter freestyle by seven seconds. “After World Champs last year, I had some serious issues that were unavoidable and that meet was my first competition in over a year and a half.”

After she broke the record, Greymont was extremely happy and grateful after facing much adversity. She arrived at a place where she was going to either underperform or rise to the occasion under the brightest of lights. She did the latter.

Greymont recalls crying in the locker room later that day when she realized that all her hard work was paying off. Greymont learned that in life if you want to succeed at something, you just have to keep at it, and you will achieve your goal eventually, but it takes hard work.

With her work ethic and recent successes, Greymont’s future is bright. When asked about her long term goals, Greymont noted that she would like to become an All-American by her senior year. She also aims to join Team USA in July 2017 for the Deaf World Olympics in Turkey, perhaps even as a captain.

email: [email protected]