But all that was before the treacherous pothole pulled Maureen from the water the summer between her freshman and sophomore years. Despite the injury, she was elected captain of the team in recognition of her talent for leadership.

"Sometimes it's really hard to have to stand on the side with my cane and yell and scream, I sometimes think if I could get out there. I might be able to help the team," Gildea says.

Maureen's physical therapy takes several hours every day, which the combines with a little swimming.

"She works really hard. Sometimes she came to practice and got in the water when I'm not sure she was supposed to," says teammate Debbie Zimic.

Maureen has always worked hard, Frank Lloyd, her last high school coach, recalls than when Maureen broke her leg, doctors "fitted her with a waterproof cast, and she trained with it. By the time they look it off, she had built up so much strength in her leg that she dropped her time by 20 seconds," he says.

The hard work has finally paid off for Maureen Gildea. Coach Vicki Hays expects her to swim in the league championships next weekend. It's been a long, hard road back. But Maureen Gildea is no stranger to hard work, nor is she a stranger to long roads. When the Navy brat weighs anchor at the Ivies next weekend with a working knee, she can claim to have won her greatest victory of all.