On my return to the United States, from the Netherlands, I actually didn’t go back to my home town of Raleigh, North Carolina, but ended up returning to the United States Olympic Training Center (OTC) located in Colorado Springs, CO where I am a resident for the next 2 years. I am loving it so far.
The Olympic Complex is a state-of-the-art sports medicine and sport science center, with an athlete center, which includes a dining hall, recreational facilities and two residence halls able to serve up to 557 coaches and athletes at one time.
I will spend much of my time training at the aquatic center which is a 45,000 square feet complex which contains a 50-meter x 25-meter swimming pool, two meters deep at the ends and three meters deep in the center. The pool has two moveable bulkheads, 10 50-meter lanes and 20 25-meter lanes and contains 810,000 gallons of water.
My room is very nice and the beds are super comfortable. As you can see I have already started to decorate my room. I have my own bathroom and share a common living area with a roommate, who is also a Paralympic swimmer. The cafeteria is amazing as well and the staff will make you what ever your appetite is for the day. The people here are overly nice and very helpful.
I am truly humbled and honored to be able to train at this state-of-the-art facility and to be grouped with the some of best elite athletes in America.
Until next time…….
Photo by Corey Jenkins
Very exciting news, this amazing photo was taken by Corey Jenkins, a high school student at Athens Drive High School in Raleigh, NC, will be printed on t-shirts for the upcoming Senior Championships host by the Triangle Aquatics Center in Cary, July 22-25. These shirts will be given to all participants and available for sale to the general public. Check out Corey’s web site at www.coreyjenkinsphoto.com/.
This has been a huge milestone week of my life. To kick off the week, I went to Kick Back Jacks at 12:01am. At 12:00pm, I went to Carolina Ale House to continue the celebration with friends. That evening I returned to Kick Back Jacks for dinner with my family. Wednesday I went to a Durham Bulls game then joined friends at Tyler’s Tap Room following the Game. Thursday I went out to FuBAR for an evening of dancing and spirits.
This weekend I’m heading to Cincinnati to compete in the 7th annual GTAC Disability Open to compete in 4 event’s:
100 Fly
100 Back
50 Free
100 Free
This meet is an opportunity to Race in an environment of the Disabled world and makes the body feel bad while racing. This way you can feel better when it comes race Time during Taper you will feel 10 times better.
What has happened in the last month? I made the World Championship team that will be going to Holland in the fall. This meet is huge and means a lot to me and just the fact that I swam fast enough to make it. The number of medals this team brings back from that meet determines how many spots will be opened up for the 2012 team…. No pressure.
My Birthday is right around the corner. I am so ready for my big 21st birthday. My 21st actually falls on a Tuesday and I will be celebrating my actual birthday weekend in Cincinnati, Ohio at a swim meet. Story of my life!
Until Next time..
Happy New Year to everyone! I hope everyone had a great holiday season and brought the New Year in as best they could. I know that the year of 2009 was an amazing year for me.
2009 Highlights:
- Went to Cincinnati for Spring Can-Am’s
- Went to Canada and qualified for the World Championship Team
- Went to Brazil and won Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze
- Won the 100M Butterfly and walked a way a World Class Athlete and a World Record holder
- Got my first Tattoo
- Was recognized by the Mayor of Garner for my Outstanding Character
- Was named number 4 North Carolina Athlete of the Decade
Speaking:
On January 22, 2010 I will have the opportunity to speak to the entire student body of the Governor Moorhead School for the Blind. I love to give back to a great school that does so many amazing things for the Raleigh area visually impaired population. I will be speaking for 30 minutes followed by 30 minutes of question and answer session.
Sponsorship:
The New Year is off to a great start so far. I am proud to announce that AmbuTech Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of mobility canes and mobility aids for the blind and visually impaired, have agreed to partner with me and become a sponsor. I am really excited about this opportunity and will be sharing more details at a later date.
Swimming:
This upcoming year has a whole lot in store as far as swimming goes. I have a meet in Texas the weekend of March 25th. This meet is huge as I will have to swim extremely fast to insure a spot on the US Team for the 2010 Long Course IPC Swimming World Championships that will head to the Netherlands in August.
So now it is back into the pool and the weight room. I have a long 7-month stretch ahead and I am ready to put my working cap back on. So please follow me and I will keep you up to date on everything.
Until next time,
Tucker Dupree
Tucker made the short list for The News & Observer Athlete of the Decade for North Carolina. Please vote for Tucker Dupree. Voting must be completed by Monday, December 21. Please help spread the news.
Click here to vote.
On Tuesday, 08DEC, I went to get my first tattoo. I woke up around 11:00 am and some friends of mine picked me up. We went to Bo Jangles because it was the number one food that I missed while in Brazil. When we got to the tattoo place I handed them several different options of how I wanted the Olympic rings to be placed on my back. After a little running around we finally got into the tattoo booth. We set up the video camera, I laid on my stomach and the outlining of the Olympic rings and USA began. 40 minutes later, I had a beautiful tattoo on my back.
The News & Observer sports department needs our help to find the one and only area Athlete of the Decade. Please vote for Tucker Dupree. They are accepting submissions until December 11. Please help spread the news.
Click here to vote.
Just a quick reminder and update:
Interview:
Please be sure to catch the interview on “The Story” with host Dick Gordon at 1pm or 8pm on 91.5 FM on Monday, 30NOV.
Update from Rio:
Tucker has not had time to blog due to his schedule as well as some internet issues. Hope to get that resolved shortly. However, below is his competition schedule:
Tuesday, 01DEC
- 17:07 Men’s 100m Butterfly
- 18:07 Men’s 400m Freestyle
Wednesday, 02DEC
- 18:52 Men’s 50m Freestyle
Friday, 04DEC
- 18:00 Men’s 100m Backstroke
Saturday, 05DEC
- 18:33 Men’s 100m Freestyle
Today I went on my third round of golf in my life! And whoa can this blind kid lose a lot of golf balls. It was a great day to get out of the pool and relax and shoot around with the guys. I am ready to get in the water this week and get ready for the meet this weekend. Please feel free to come watch me swim at the Triangle Aquatics Center (TAC). This will be a great opportunity to swim against able-body athletes, race when my body doesn’t feel the best and get into race mode while getting ready to go to Brazil. The count down in my mind is on, 45 days to go till I will be on the plane going to South America. Just thinking about it makes the thoughts from China come back into my mind and make the butterflies in my stomach start going crazy. Just the thought of swimming against the world blows my mind. The pictures that a Paralympic coach put up of the pool and places to go in Brazil doesn’t really help the excitement either. It will feel so good to be on the podium and finally know that all of this intense training is paying off!
If you have Facebook, look up the Tucker Dupree Fan Page Group and feel free to comment and join.
Until Next Time
Tucker Dupree
General | tucker | 
08/27/2010 1:40 am | 
Comments (0) 
Subscribe
