With just one limb, swimmer has 32 national records

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Because Kayla Wheeler was born without legs, with only a short stump for a right arm, and with a malformed left arm, there are some things she cannot do.

But not as many as you might think.

Wheeler, a 17-year-old senior at Mountlake Terrace High School, is a member of her school’s Honor Society. She plans to attend college and perhaps law school. She enjoys drama, with Miss Hannigan from “Annie” and Mrs. Potts from “Beauty and the Beast” two of her favorite roles.

And she is a member of her school’s robotics and rocketry teams.

But remarkable as it sounds — remarkable, of course, since she has just one limb, not four — some of her greatest achievements have come in sports. Because despite needing a wheelchair to get around in her daily life, Wheeler is an accomplished swimmer with 32 United States records (a combination of disability classes, short course and long course, meters and yards) and world records in the 50-meter butterfly in two disability classes.

“My parents had no idea when I was born that I was going to be a world record holder in the 50 butterfly,” Wheeler said, flashing one of her frequent smiles.

She started swimming when she was 8 months old, though at that age her pool time was mostly spent splashing. Her mother, Joyce Wheeler, wanted her to be comfortable in the water, and capable of righting herself if she ever fell in.

Back then, Joyce Wheeler said, “it never occurred to me that she would actually swim, let alone compete.”

Kayla Wheeler began learning strokes when she was in kindergarten, but did not start competing until six years ago. She swam at a junior nationals event for disabled athletes that same year, and has competed nationally and internationally ever since.

What hooked her on swimming, she said, “was when I started winning. And at that first junior nationals, I came home with mostly gold (medals).” After that, she said, “I just kept swimming … and just kept getting better.”

She races roughly six times a year, usually in the United States or Canada, though she has also been to Mexico, Brazil and the Netherlands. Her goal is to be on the U.S. team at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, and perhaps again at the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo.

“Breaking records is awesome, and so is winning medals,” she added. “But it’s not necessarily all about that. It also feels good when I beat a time that I haven’t been close (to before).”

Wheeler trains partly on her own and partly with the Shadow Seals, a disability swim club in the Seattle area. Her Shadow Seals coach, Kiki Van Zandt, said Wheeler “is pretty special. … She’s a great, great representative of the sport, of our region, and even of our country when she goes to international events. She’s personable, articulate, she knows what she wants, and she sets goals and goes after them.

“Despite her disability, she’s like any able-body swimmer,” Van Zandt added. “She has dreams and aspirations to achieve at the highest level she can. And the fact that she’s out there doing it and setting the mark for (other disabled) people around the world is amazing.”

Wheeler can swim all four strokes — breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly and freestyle — but has difficulty rotating her shoulder in the backstroke, “and it actually kind of hurts to do it,” she said.

She prefers the other three, and has the most success with the butterfly. The remarkable thing is that she generates all her speed through the water with one arm. What makes it more difficult is that her arm does not bend properly, and she has just three fingers, two of them fused together.

But with no weight from her legs, “I’m actually very buoyant,” she said. “My butt floats.”

No one is quite sure why Wheeler was born with three missing limbs.

According to Joyce Wheeler, the best guess by medical specialists “is that it was something vascular” during fetal development. Joyce Wheeler had ultrasounds at eight, 15 and 37 weeks, “and they didn’t detect anything.

Said Kayla: “I was born like this and my mom was very surprised.”

“There’s an understatement,” Joyce Wheeler added. “‘Shocked’ would be a better word.”

Kayla Wheeler uses a special wheelchair that she operates with a joystick and buttons, and she has a service dog — a 10-year-old black labradoodle named Cadet — that she takes most places, including school.

Despite her disability, she is a typical teenager in many ways. She occasionally argues with her brother, sometimes feels stressed at school and gets frustrated with certain peer relationships.

The great thing about swimming, she said, “is that it gives me something to do, but it’s also a release.” On most days, she said, “I just enjoy being in the water. The feel of it, the weightlessness, and the fact that you can let all your other emotions go, no matter what else you’re dealing with.”

Her daughter’s extraordinary successes in swimming are “a total surprise,” Joyce Wheeler admitted. “Our first year we were flying to Maryland for a swim meet and I was thinking, ‘What? Really?’ And then I cried through the whole meet. The French team was all by the side of the pool, cheering her on, and it was so surreal. It was like, ‘Wow, that’s my kid.’”

Swimming is not only great exercise, “it gives people a reason to talk to her and acknowledge her when they might otherwise not,” Joyce Wheeler said. “Because now she’s not just the disabled girl, she’s the disabled swimming girl.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Sports

Dennis Williams, head coach and GM of the Everett Silvertips, shakes hands with an assistant coach at the end of a season opening victory over the Vancouver Giants on Saturday, Sep. 24, 2022, at Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Coach, GM Williams leaving Silvertips for Bowling Green State

After seven successful season leading Everett, Dennis Williams is heading back to his alma mater. He’ll stay with the Tips through the WHL playoffs.

Everett’s Alana Washington poses for a photo at Everett High School on March 24, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
The Herald’s 2023-24 Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Alana Washington

The Everett senior upped her game in the postseason to help the Seagulls overcome injuries and claim their first state trophy in 41 years.

Left to right, Arlington’s Samara Morrow, Kamiak’s Bella Hasan, Everett’s Alana Washington, Lake Steven’s Nisa Ellis, Lynnwood’s Aniya Hooker, and Meadowdale’s Gia Powell, pose for a photo at Everett High School on March 24, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
The Herald’s 2023-24 All-Area girls basketball teams

A look at the top prep girls basketball players in the area from the 2023-24 season.

Silvertips players celebrate during a game between the Everett Silvertips and Tri-City Americans at the Angel of the Winds Arena on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024. The Silvertips won, 5-3. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Silvertips land No. 1 pick, chance to draft generational talent

Landon DuPont is the consensus top pick in next WHL prospects draft. Everett chief operating officer Zoran Rajcic said the team intends to select him.

Mountlake Terrace’s Jaxon Dubiel talks with head coach Nalin Sood during the 3A boys state basketball game against Todd Beamer on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 in Tacoma, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
‘It was just time’: Mountlake Terrace basketball coach Sood steps down

Nalin Sood guided his alma mater to 381 wins and 15 state berths in 24 seasons as head coach. He spent over four decades with the program.

Stanwood High School student athletes during their signing day ceremony. (Courtesy of Stanwood High School)
Local class of 2024 athletes who have signed to play in college

A running list of 2024 high school athletes who are set to compete at the next level.

X
Prep roundup for Tuesday, March 26

Prep roundup for Tuesday, March 26: (Note for coaches/scorekeepers: To report results… Continue reading

Silvertips’ Kaden Hammell (47) enters the rink during a game between the Everett Silvertips and the Tri-City Americans at the Angel of the Winds Arena on Sunday, March 24, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Patterson: Overachieving Silvertips had season worth celebrating

In a season when some thought the team’s playoff streak could end, Everett put together one of its greatest campaigns.

Washington State athletic director Pat Chun, center, watches players on the first day of NCAA college football practice, Friday, Aug. 6, 2021, in Pullman, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Washington hires AD Chun away from rival Washington State

UW quickly targeted its in-state rival’s athletic director after Troy Dannen’s sudden departure.

Seattle Mariners' Mitch Haniger hits a single against the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning of a spring training baseball game Monday, March 11, 2024, in Peoria, Ariz. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Why the Mariners could win the AL West, and what could hold them back

Starting pitching, a renovated offense and regression in the AL West are in Seattle’s favor, but injury issues, bullpen concerns and the Houston Astros could be a problem.

X
Vote for The Herald’s Prep Athlete of the Week for March 18-24

The Athlete of the Week nominees for March 18-24. Voting closes at… Continue reading

X
Prep roundup for Wednesday, March 27

Prep roundup for Wednesday, March 27: (Note for coaches/scorekeepers: To report results… Continue reading

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.