By Pat Tintle
Staff Writer
Waking up before the crack of dawn for practice is just another day in the pool for swimmer Jimmy Martin.
The six-foot-three senior, hailing from Bristol, Conn., has made a name for himself in his three and a half years as a Bonnie. Numerous times, Martin has been named as one of the top performers in the Atlantic 10.
Known by his teammates as a dedicated student-athlete, Martin is one to lead by example, according to Head Coach Sean McNamee.
“He’s not a very vocal kid,” McNamee stated. “But he’s one of the hardest workers in and out of the water that we’ve had, and it’s reflected in his performance, as he’s been one of our premier swimmers. He’s one of the highest-recruited kids that we’ve ever had come into the program, and he backs that up with his actions.”
Despite having a reserved personality, Martin still finds ways the demonstrate leadership to the younger players on the team.
“Trying to develop as a leader has been a major key for me,” Martin said. “I love it.”
Martin’s latest victories came on Jan. 25 against Niagara. Leading his team to a 145-86 victory, Martin captured two first-place finishes in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard breaststroke, with times of 1:46.23 and 1:00.70, respectively.
“I’ve been just trying to go out there and execute the race,” Martin said. “We’ve been training harder than ever this year, and I guess it’s been paying off so far.”
Martin has individual talent, but McNamee is more impressed when he performs with his teammates.
According to McNamee, Martin’s natural competitiveness comes full circle when competing in relay races because he is asked to work for the betterment of his fellow swimmers.
“He’s a great team player,” McNamee said. “A lot of his best swims end up being on relays, when there’s emotion tied into it. It’s not that he underperforms in individual events, it’s that he over performs in relays.”
Having the added responsibility of helping his teammates win a race is Martin’s greatest strength as an athlete, according to McNamee.
“He loves that part of it,” McNamee said. “Swimming is a difficult sport because you train a certain number of hours a season with your face in the water. When it gets to relay races, especially at focal times like at our championships, there’s a lot of emotion that rolls in. All of a sudden it gets there, and it gets really emotional to learn to transfer that excitement and feeling into his performance.”
Martin is no stranger to living his life in the pool. Stemming from genetics, Martin first discovered his talent just barely after learning to walk.
Martin’s mother, a former swimming star at both the University of Miami and Texas A&M, was sure to pass the talent down to her young son.
“I’ve been swimming since I was two years old,” Martin said. “My mother taught me everything I know about swimming.”
Martin’s work ethic and pure talent has caught the eye of the longtime Bonaventure veteran McNamee.
Throughout his twenty years as head coach of the men’s swimming team, McNamee has not seen many swimmers who can match up to Martin’s collegiate career.
“He’s absolutely one of the top five or six out of my twenty years here without a question,” McNamee said.
Next on the list for Martin is the upcoming A-10 Championships, which begin on Feb. 19.
“That’s always the main goal,” Martin said. “We train hard throughout the year for this. It’s the big one.”
