Beach Patrol welcomes Olympic rookie

www.galvnews.com By Scott E. Williams The Daily News Published March 13, 2003

GALVESTON — Every year, the Beach Patrol welcomes a new class of lifeguard hopefuls with differing degrees of swimming experience. This year, one of the rookie class members has a little more than the typical first-year lifesaver. “We met one morning when I was teaching a course in Venezuela,” said Peter Davis, Beach Patrol assistant director. “I had been swimming, and he was willing to swim with me, so I thought, ‘Great, I finally have someone to work out with who can keep up with me.’ About a third of the way through, I realized what I was up against. He really put me through some pain.” Gerardo Vera started swimming when he was 4 years old in his native Venezuela in the 1950s. At six, he went to his first swim meet, and about a decade after that first meet, he was training to represent his country in the 1972 Olympics. “My coach, Gregorio Tavio, asked me if I wanted to try for the Olympics, and I said, ‘Sure,’” said Vera, 48. “He told me, ‘When I say eat, you eat. When I say sleep, you sleep. When I say run, you run.’” Vera said he was used to training hard, year round. “Swimming has no season,” he said. “You have championships in March, so you have to keep in competitive shape through the December break.” Vera said he changed everything about his life to revolve around his training. “I changed schools to be two blocks from the pool. I moved in with my sister because it was closer,” he said. He swam against U.S. champion Mark Spitz, who ended up winning five gold medals to go with the two he had won in 1968. Vera finished 11th in the 200-meter race, 13th in the 400 meters and 17th in the 1,500 meters. His finishes in the shortest two races made him the highest-finishing swimmer from any Latin country, including Italy and Spain. A bout with hepatitis B kept Vera from competing in the 1976 Olympics, and by the end of the year, he had decided to attend the Universidad Central de Venezuela to study veterinarian medicine. He put swimming aside and pursued that field while working as a teacher and technical service director throughout the Western Hemisphere until he was sent to perform technical support in his homeland. There, political unrest caused his office to close, and he decided to make a change. A few weeks ago, he ran into Davis, who was teaching a course in CPR and water rescue to lifeguards in the area. Vera asked about becoming a lifeguard. “We’re lucky because, in Venezuela right now, it’s tough to get work, so it worked out for us to get someone of his caliber,” Davis said. Vera said he felt like the lucky one, and hoped to catch on as a full-time lifeguard. “I feel great,” he said. “The rest of the kids here, they’re really educated swimmers. I’m really impressed with the high level of recognition and responsibility here. When I’m out with the other starting lifeguards, they’re all so much younger, it feels like I’m swimming with Luis. He’s my oldest son. “I’m really happy to be here. It makes me feel younger.”