Dwight Montgomery

Dwight Montgomery was pulling himself out of the water when he looked up and saw the crowd was clapping and cheering for him.

Three years after a horrific motorcycle accident left him with one leg, the Jamaican-born swimmer finished his first Nike Swim Miami two weeks ago in a little more than two hours.

"They made me feel as if I won the race, even though I finished 174th out of 182 swimmers," Montgomery said. "I did the [3.1-mile] race as a challenge. It was one of the most taxing and rewarding things that I ever have done. The pain lasted for two full days."

The next week, Montgomery, 48, of Tamarac, was right back in the pool, training for more challenges. He will compete in the Last Chance Short Course meet at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

"The first thing that goes through your mind is, 'How is this possible?'" said Coral Springs masters coach Chris Jackson. "Somebody who has lost a limb, you figure it would be pretty tough being a swimmer. Dwight has no fear. He doesn't let anything hold him back, even with his disability. He enjoys the challenge and relies on what he has. It's pretty amazing to swim with one leg."

Much better swimmer now

Montgomery said that he is a much better swimmer now than he was when he had two legs. He knew how to swim for fun, but never swam laps. He became a technically sound, efficient swimmer with endurance after he met Jackson and joined the Coral Springs masters programme last June.

"I am beating a few people who are my age with two legs," Montgomery said. "Somehow, I compete with a passion. These guys who swim a lot better than me isn't because they have two legs, it's because they work hard every day.

"I know technique now. The first week I started, I would roll over like a barrel. I don't do that anymore. Now I am working on my starts off the block."

Montgomery said it was like starting all over when his life changed on January 8, 2006. He was riding his motorcycle on Sunrise Boulevard when a car going the wrong way caused him to wipe out on his bike. His knee hit the car's tire going 50 mph.

"I am a destiny person ... anything that happens is destiny, it happened for a reason," Montgomery said. "Destiny is when you are late for a flight, you miss the plane and the plane crashes. Things happen for a reason."

After six frustrating surgeries on his left leg to repair a crushed knee, heel and broken ankle, bone infection set in. Montgomery decided his seventh surgery on December 21, 2007, would be amputation above the knee.

He wears a prosthesis every day, except in the pool. He uses forearm crutches to get around the pool deck.

"I still do everything like before, it's just good to have help," Montgomery said. "One leg shouldn't stop me from doing anything. It hasn't so far.

"I am not a 'why me' person. That doesn't work for me. It just delays getting over the problems and getting back to normal.

"Of course now, this is not normal. This is way beyond normal, the grind of getting up at 5:15 in the morning to get to swim practice at 6 is tough. I do say sometimes, 'What am I doing?', but I am not one to sit at home and feel sorry for myself. I got up and moved on."

Family life

Montgomery works for an insurance company in information technology and is a photographer. He lives with his wife, Jacqui, a nurse, and their son, John, 23, who is autistic, and daughter, Sarah, 10, who also swims.

"I find now that as I am doing all of this I am motivating my daughter even more," said Montgomery, who hopes to compete in triathlons.

"The lesson she learns isn't just about swimming. The lessons she gets by watching about not quitting and being in pain and getting past that is invaluable. It says that you can do anything."

Reprinted from the Sun-Sentineal newspaper in Florida

Dwight Montgomery dives into the pool during a recent practice match.