Calvin Student Competing in Paralympics

Nydia Langill, a Calvin College junior, is in Rio de Janeiro this week competing as a swimmer in the 2016 Paralympics, something for which she has been preparing for many years.

“Swimming has been a part of her life since she was six or seven,” said Becca McBride, an assistant professor of political science at Calvin and a close friend of Langill, who was born with a mild form of cerebral palsy.

“Nydia had to undergo many surgeries as a child. Water therapy was part of her recovery, which got her interested in swimming,” said McBride.

McBride said she and Langill, who is from Mississauga, Ont., became friends a year or so ago when McBride led a Calvin interim group to Disney World in Florida.

“We spent a lot of time together as I was helping to get her in and out of where she needed to be,” said McBride.

“I learned that Nydia is a very unassuming person. You wouldn’t think of her as a powerhouse athlete, although she would spend three or four hours every day training in the Calvin pool,” said McBride.

Given her low profile, in fact, few people on campus are probably aware that one of their own is competing in the games in Brazil, said McBride.

“Nydia is a very inspiring person. She never complains about the barriers she has to overcome. I’m so excited to see her fulfill her dream.”

Langill is studying communications and international relations with the goal of working for an organization such as the International Paralympic Committee.

“Because of all she has overcome, she has a passion for persons with disabilities being treated fairly” and encouraging them to succeed in things they want to do, said McBride.

Garth Pauley, a Calvin communications professor and Langhill’s advisor, said she  has been a pleasure to get to know and that “is soft-spoken, which may lead some people to underestimate her.  I find her to be curious, intellectually engaged, and hard-working.”

In 2014, Langill made her first placement on a national team, representing Canada at the Pan Pacific Championships, and last year she competed at the IPC World Championships in Glasgow and the Para Panam games in Toronto, according to the Chimes, the Calvin student newspaper.

“In order to make the Paralympic team, Langill competed in the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic trials in early April,” said the newspaper.

Competitors are selected for the team based on their final times, world ranking, and an additional point system.

In Rio, Langill is competing in the 100-meter breaststroke and the 200-meter individual medley.

“What I have always dreamed about is getting a Paralympic ring,” she told the Chimes. “Olympians and Paralympians alike, we each get a ring for the games we compete at. It will be a ring with the Paralympic symbol on it.”