Nov. 17, 1999
Story Ran October 15, 1999 -
By Melissa Barnes, Missourian staff
Dressed in a baggy sweatshirt and workout pants, with her hair haphazard ponytail, Missouri swimmer Tawney Larm looks like the average student caught in the late morning hours. She shifts the straps of the backpack on her shoulders while she scans Brady Commons, looking for a place to sit. She smiles at two girls sitting at a table.
"I'll come and sit with you in a little bit, OK?" she said.
Winding her way through the room of crowded tables, Larm goes virtually unnoticed by the mass of people talking, studying or eating. There is nothing about her that marks her as different from the collection of students who frequent the food court.
Expect that she might be trying out for the Olympics in August.
While spending the summer training in Columbia, the West Chicago native competed in the 1999 U.S. Senior National swim meet.
"It's the biggest meet next to the Olympic Trials," Larm said.
Her goal this year is to qualify in the Olympic Trials, something her coach Brian Hoffer said is likely. Although Larm didn't place in the top 25, she said that she'd like to compete in the Senior Nationals again.
"I'm happy with how I did because I got my best time there," Larm said.
Larm, a senior nursing major, has spent the past three years playing a major role on MU's swimming and diving teams. She is the most decorated athlete in the program's 30-year history.
The swimming and diving teams will be starting their seasons at 5 p.m. tonight at the Black and Gold Intrasquad met at the MU Natatorium. The two teams will be split up to form a Black team and a Gold team. As captain of the women's swim team, Larm will coach one of the teams.
"I had a lot of coaches (tell) me she wasn't a Division I swimmer," Hoffer said. "Obviously they didn't do their research, because she is one of the hardest workers I've ever had, and I've been coaching for 17 years.
"Her name is on the record board for four different events, and she's been in the finals in the conference every year," he said.
An All-conference selection last season, Larm hold school records in the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke, 200 and 400 individual medley, and the 200 and 400 medley relays. She was also a first team Academic All-Big 12 selection.
"She's been unbelievable," Hoffer said. "I couldn't ask anything more out of an athlete both academically and athletically."
Larm's accomplishments demand an arduous weekday schedule.
The swimmer usually begins her day with weights or practice before 7 a.m. Larm said she get to sleep in on Wednesdays, because she doesn't have practice in the morning. Her idea of sleeping in is 7:30 a.m. - she has an 8 a.m. class. Throughout the day, Larm has classes or has to work at the hospital. She takes a break from 2-4 p.m. for another practice, and tries to get in bed by 10:30.
Despite her busy schedule, Larm seems less like superwoman and more like the everyday college student. She talks easily about the weekly gathering she has with friends to watch television shows "Party of Five" and "90210." She reflects on her favorite music.
"My favorite band is Fleetwood Mac, but my friends won't let me listen to it all the time so I listen to a lot of other stuff too," she said.
When the discussion moves on to her family, Larm say she has a very close relationship with her parents, Jerry and Carol, and her younger sister, Katalin.
"During high school my parents and I fought a lot, which is common with teenagers and their parents," Larm said. "When I first came here, my mom still thought of me as her little girl, but now that I've lived down here by myself, they see me as more of an adult."
Larm admits to being a little bit of a rebellious teenager.
"I always kind of did what I wanted to do - within reason," Larm said. "My curfew would be 1 a.m. and I'd come home at 2 a.m. It would be within reason. It's not like I cam home a 4 or 5 a.m., but I would still be coming in after curfew."
Larm hasn't quite curbed all of that early rebelliousness. It's hard not to notice the tongue ring that peeks out occasionally. The piercing is only three weeks old. Whe asked how her parents reacted, she laughs.
"They don't know yet," Larm said. "I guess I'll tell them when I go home for Thanksgiving. I can't really hide it."
Although they may not have always gotten along when she was younger, Larm credits her parents with giving her the push she needed to be successful in swimming.
"There were times when I would say 'No, I don't want to go to practice, I don't want to do this any more, I want to hang out with my friends," Larm said. "They would say 'No, you have to keep doing this if you ever want to get a scholarship,' and I think that really helped me. I mean, sometimes it was so tough with it."
Larm is grateful for that persuasion now.
"I love swimming, and I love racing," she said.
Larn tried to describe the moments right before a race when she was standing on the block. She put her elbows on the table on the table and leaned forward.
"I don't think about anything but the race," she said. "I think that is an awesome feeling. Because you don't have to worry about anything. Because you know you've put in the work. You know you've practiced 100 times to swim this race. Your mind is clear almost. It's great."
Larm sits back in her chair and starts looking around the room. Her friends that she had seen earlier are still waiting for her. She soon makes her way to their table and sits with them, just another face in the crowd.