Swimmer's return earns ovation

Isaac Grombacher overcomes brain surgery to compete in the 200 butterfly at the Olympic trials.

By JOHN ROMANO

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 12, 2000

INDIANAPOLIS -- Isaac Grombacher was far behind the pack and struggling to finish the 200-meter butterfly when he heard the commotion. His first thought was that somebody ahead of him was swimming a world-record time. As he moved closer to the wall, the noise continued. When he touched and lifted his head out of the water, it reached a crescendo.

It took a few moments before the startled 25-year-old from Austin, Texas, realized the ovation was for him.

"It was the most amazing feeling I've ever had. To get a standing ovation at the Olympic trials, I will remember it for the rest of my life," Grombacher said. "I will be telling people stories about this for the rest of my life."

It was not Grombacher's time that was special, it was his story.

A little more than three months earlier, Grombacher had survived a six-hour operation to remove a tumor from his brain. After the surgery, doctors determined the mass was benign, but Grombacher was far from all right.

His left side was paralyzed for two weeks. He was not allowed to operate a car for three months. He moved from one hospital to another as he rehabilitated. The entire time he focused on recovering quickly enough to attend the trials.

Grombacher was 13 in 1988 when he attended the trials as a fan in Austin, and he had made it a lifelong goal to compete in them. Two summers ago he made the trials with a qualifying time at senior nationals.

"My first thought when I was in the hospital was that I would come to the meet," he said. "I wasn't sure if I would swim or not. But I was sure I would come here to watch."

Grombacher, who has a 6-inch horseshoe-shaped scar just above his hairline, began swimming about two months ago. Doctors were concerned that the trauma his brain endured could lead to a seizure and would allow him to swim only above the surface.

Grombacher said his left side is weaker than his right, but he finished a timed 200 butterfly a couple of weeks ago and decided to compete in the trials. Grombacher, who has a degree in mechanical engineering and hopes to become a physics teacher, said that even before the surgery, the trials were going to be the end of his career.

It turned out to be a heck of a send-off.

The public address announcer at the IU Natatorium relayed his story to the crowd as Grombacher labored through the final meters. With fans cheering madly, other swimmers moved to his lane to congratulate him.

"I was wondering what to do. ... I couldn't believe it was for me," Grombacher said "It was an amazing moment."

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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