Five minutes before practice begins, coach Andrew Campbell lifts Elizabeth Mathews from her wheelchair and positions her on the aquatic lift at the edge of the pool. The lift lowers slowly into the water.
Swimmers slice through the lanes at Gibbs High School, arms pulling, legs kicking in rhythm. Mathews, 14, keeps pace in her own lane using only her arms, her legs floating motionless behind her as she propels herself forward.
Mathews is paralyzed from mid-chest down following a car accident when she was 5. This fall, she joined the Gibbs girls’ swim team, competing in freestyle and backstroke events using only her arms…