From The Inquirer archives: Bucks swimmer prepared for the 11th Paralympic Games

This article originally appeared in The Inquirer on June 21, 1992.

A stream of water splashes over Mike Doyle’s face as he digs another stroke. Powered by muscle and ambition, he whips through the pool with an eye on Barcelona.

A nationally ranked swimmer with scores of medals, Doyle is a member of the U.S. Disabled Sports Team and is training to join 3,000 other athletes for the 11th Paralympic Games in September.

Athletes from 96 countries will gather in Spain for the “other Olympics,” which will follow the 22d Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona.

“This is what it’s all about,” Doyle said, resting his arms at poolside during a one-minute break in a schedule that would make even Matt Biondi take notice.

The pool has been a second home for the 36-year-old Warrington native, who lost his right leg in a 1976 motorcycle accident near New Hope.

The years after the accident were difficult, Doyle said, remembering how he was sent home days afterward to adjust and adapt to his loss. To exercise and fight boredom, Doyle turned to swimming in 1983.

Soon after, he began competing against other disabled swimmers, winning medals at national meets.

“He’s so positive and motivated. Mike’s a wonderful young man,” said Germantown Academy coach Dick Shoulberg, Doyle’s coach and mentor for the last four years.

It is barely daylight when Doyle hits the water at the academy’s Fort Washington pool, squeezing in training time before work. The pool soon becomes a beehive of activity, as academy students who also train under Shoulberg begin their laps.

Doyle’s disability is barely noticeable as he outdistances many of his younger counterparts.

“I should pay him to come here. He’s an inspiration to everyone,” Shoulberg said, sipping coffee by the poolside. He calls Doyle’s positive attitude a model for his other swimmers, who in addition to his students include Olympians David Berkoff and David Wharton.

“We all have a handicap; his is a (visible) one,” Shoulberg said. ''Mike’s attitude brings out the best in all of us."

The morning routine is repeated nearly every day as Doyle pushes for the fall competition. He swims an average of 40,000 to 50,000 meters per week — between 25 and 30 miles.

Though swimming is his passion, Doyle’s time is divided between training, work and college. The 1973 graduate of Central Bucks High School West lives with his mother in Warrington.

A draftsman for the Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster, Doyle is completing studies toward an engineering degree at Temple University. He concedes that he has little time for a social life or sleep, but does not complain and looks forward to completing his degree in May.

No power bars or carbohydrate loading here. Doyle’s training table is simple: cereal, fruit, and whatever his mother cooks. “I’m not a high-tech athlete,” he said.

The basement of his family home is filled with medals from Doyle’s swimming career. And while he has won medals from competitions all over the world, he believes the Paralympics is the pinnacle for disabled athletes.

Barcelona will be his second trip to the world competition; he won three silver medals and a bronze in Seoul, South Korea, in 1988.

The Paralympics began in 1948 as a companion to the Olympic Games, according to Jan Wilson, summer competition manager of National Handicapped Sports in Colorado Springs, Colo. — the Paralympics’ sponsoring organization.

Doyle is focusing on the individual medley and freestyle; Wilson believes he is a medal contender in at least three events. While he will compete with other above-the-knee amputees, Doyle also will duel with swimmers with other disabilities.

“The real competition is against yourself,” he said, chuckling at the sound of the cliche.

His biggest obstacle is money — he is seeking financial help to raise the $4,000 he needs to train for and compete in Barcelona.

Doyle believes the games give credibility to the disabled by showcasing their abilities. “I’d like to go there and get some medals,” he said. “But I do it because I enjoy it, and I’ll keep it up as long as I continue to do well.”