HEROES
Southern Connecticut swimmer
Dan Elliot was one of the best
in the Northeast-10, and had
big plans for this upcoming
season. But Elliot’s career has
been put on hold.
As a junior, he won multiple
conference championships and
broke the conference record,
both individually and on relays.
But at Jones Beach on Long
Island this summer, everything
changed. Elliott was working
as a lifeguard one day when a
swimmer called for help.
“It was actually the day that Hurricane Bertha was rolling in, so the swell was much bigger, and the tide was coming in and out much more quickly,” he said.
As a lifeguard for the last five years, Elliott had probably made over 200 saves. He thought this one would be routine, but it was anything but.
“The guy was stuck out in a rip current, and I went out to get him, and a wave was coming in, and it just happened to be bad timing,” Elliott explained. “I wound up diving and actually hitting my head. Immediately I knew something had gone wrong because I hit my head, and I felt a shock go through my entire body.”
After struggling to get back to shore, Dan was airlifted to a local hospital. He crushed the bottom of his C-6 vertebrae in his neck, and his C-7 vertebrae was completely collapsed. He was in surgery two days later. “It was probably some of the worst pain that I’ve ever been through,” he said. “The day that I woke up from surgery, about four or five hours later I was able to walk, which was an amazing feeling.”
Two months later, Dan is walking, and admittedly doing a little more than he probably should. But he still hasn’t been cleared to get back into the pool.
“It’s definitely been frustrating, and I think about it every day,” he said. “I want to be in there so bad.”
“I watch them every day. I give them tips and hints, and I try and motivate them. Today I was DJ’ing in the coaches’ office, they love that,” Elliott said.
He cannot swim competitively this year, but after receiving a medical redshirt, he has plenty of options.
“Sometimes you really do get those model student-athletes, and I think Dan has proven that he is one,” said Southern Connecticut head coach Tim Quill.
To view a feature on Elliot's heroic tale, click his picture above.