Senior swimmer Tyler Pennington has overcome an unfortunate diagnosis to remain a contributing member of the Pioneer swim team this season, tallying several victories and earning Sun Belt Conference Swimmer of the Week on Jan. 10.

Early last summer, Pennington was diagnosed with Parsonage-Turner Syndrome, a disease that weakens the muscles of the shoulders, arms and back. Given the extreme rarity of the disease, doctors were unable to give Pennington a reliable prognosis.

“He didn’t know if he’d ever swim again,” said head coach Brian Schrader.

Despite what might have been a major setback, Pennington still chose to continue his swimming preparation for DU. The disease kept Pennington from working on his upper body all summer, and for a swimmer whose main events are freestyle and butterfly, this may have meant the end for competitive swimming. However, Pennington remained dedicated.

“All summer long, all he did was work on his legs, and when he got back in the fall he was kicking like a monster,” said Schrader.

While it was unclear whether he would ever be able swim competitively again, Pennington dedicated his summer to strengthening his kicks and form.

Pennington said he still has some muscle loss, but this has not prevented the senior athlete from having what he describes as his best season yet.  While it has not been easy, Pennington has demonstrated resiliency, collecting his first honor as SBC Swimmer of the Week after his performance against Florida Atlantic and Cincinnati on Dec. 17.

In Florida, Pennington set a new career-best mark in the 1000 freestyle, placing first with a time of 9:33.9, almost 13 seconds better than the second place finisher. Later that day, Pennington recorded another first place finish, completing the 200 butterfly in a time of 1:55.87. Pennington also claimed a victory in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:42.42 on Jan. 21.

With multiple meets and events, including the SBC Championship, still to come, Pennington’s story is not yet finished, but his hopes remain high.

“We’re training harder than ever before, and it’s already paying off,” said Pennington. “This may be our best year yet.”