Jack O’Neil has many roles that he plays throughout his day. He is known as a college athlete, a Paralympic swimmer, a journalism major, a son and a brother to two siblings.
For O’Neil, he’s never seen his disability as a reason to complain. And if you really know O’Neil, you know that it also isn’t something that keeps him from competing at a high level.
O’Neil grew up in Colorado Springs, just three short hours away from Laramie. The high school he attended did not field a swim team, so he joined the Pikes Peak Athletics swim club. His times were impressive, but he didn’t garner much attention from many coaches. So, O’Neil decided he would take matters into his own hands.
“I emailed a lot of schools when I was looking to swim in college and I got a lot of mixed responses,” O’Neil said when explaining his college recruiting process, “From absolutely not, to no responses, to yeah, for sure, let’s get on a call sometime. That’s what I got from [Coach] Dave.”
O’Neil knew the opportunity to swim under Wyoming Swimming head coach Dave Denniston was too great an opportunity to pass up. Denniston was one of the only coaches to give O’Neil a chance.
Denniston, who competed in the 2008 Paralympics and has helped coach the U.S. Paralympic swim team since 2010, saw not only the potential O’Neil had, but also his grit and determination.
“He’s somebody that is always going to try to do his best, and he’s never going to complain,” Denniston said in reference to O’Neil’s character. “He’s been here three years and I haven’t heard him complain about anything once, so it’s just kind of his personality.”
In just those three years here in Laramie, Denniston has watched O’Neil not only grow into the person he is today, but he’s also watched him evolve as a swimmer.
One thing that Denniston never doubted was O’Neil’s leadership ability. He knew from the second he spoke to O’Neil that he was a natural born leader.
“He actually came in pretty much possessing those leadership qualities, first by leading by example then being vocal when he needed to be,” Denniston said.
Being a leader for the team is one of the most important roles in O’Neil’s life right now. As one of the elected captains for the Wyoming Swim and Dive Team, O’Neil has not only put the responsibility on his own back, but his teammates trust him in the role as well. They don’t see him as any different or inferior to them.
“It’s almost easy to be a leader because everybody just responds to one another so well,” O’Neil said, “The guys here are awesome.”
Another big part of O’Neil’s recruitment by UW was the fact that Denniston was a Paralympic coach that worked out of his hometown in Colorado Springs. O’Neil has aspirations to compete in the 2024 Paralympics in Paris.
Just a few short years ago, in 2021, O’Neil competed in the Tokyo Paralympic trials. Unfortunately, O’Neil was unable to secure his international classification, which is used by Paralympic athletes to compete with one another at international events. However, when it comes to the coming 2024 Paralympic trials, he already has his international classification secured. Now all he has to worry about is training to get himself prepared to compete at a high enough level at the trials.
“I’m just kind of training as a normal college swimmer, and it lines up pretty well,” O’Neil said. “Right now I’m also training for the Pan American Games, so in three, four weeks from now I’m heading down to Chile to compete in that.”
The Pan American Games are similar to the Olympics in the sense that they are played out every four years and feature a variety of different events to compete in. The only difference is, the Pan American Games are only played between the Americas, so it is not as wide-scale as the Olympics.
O’Neil sees the Pan American Games as a big step in the process towards his journey to the Paralympic trials. He sees it as an opportunity to not only prove what he can do to the world, but to himself as well. When summer rolls around again next year, O’Neil is prepared to pour everything into making the Paralympics.
“In June next year, I’ll start dialing in on training for trials, and it’s going to be the same thing, just staying here, staying with Dave and the team and just surrounding myself with the guys and people who push me,” O’Neil said.
O’Neil knows that he has what it takes and with his team, his coach, and his family behind him, he knows he can achieve great things. He knows that is all he needs to succeed, and he thinks no matter who you are, you can achieve greatness if you just put in the work.
“I think for other disabled athletes, able-bodied athletes, honestly anybody with a goal, it’s just putting your head down and doing the work. It’s not easy, and nobody is going to do it for you and you have to be committed.”
O’Neil knows that there’s no better place to put in the hard hours than in Wyoming.
“It’s about finding a group of people that’s willing to pour themselves into you and support you like I have here in Wyoming.”
So, the next time you see Jack O’Neil, remember to not judge a book by its cover. The next time you see him, you may just be in the presence of a Paralympic champion.
