Taking Flight in Water

In a university full of overachievers, Bill Bird found a home.

Bird, a co-captain on the Harvard men's swimming team, was not blessed with extraordinary size or strength, but his pool prowess enabled him to overcome those setbacks and become an Eastern champion.

He stands just under six feet tall in a sport where height makes might. Similarly, Bird's 165-pound frame continually put him on the lighter end of the swimming spectrum.

His best event, the butterfly, requires exceptional power and stamina. But nobody on the Eastern seaboard, bigger or smaller, was able to catch him.

Bird, who began to swim competitively at the age of nine, loved to compete, bearing an attitude that shows it.

"Swimming to me is a purely mental sport," Bird says, "and I pride myself on being mentally ready every time I race. My goal is putting 110 percent into every one of my races."

During Bird's career at Harvard, not everything went smoothly. He had trouble adjusting to the college format and specializing in a few events rather than swimming them all. But even then nobody questioned his drive or his dedication, quality that earned him a co-captain's spot this season over more-talented teammates.

The low point came at the 1987 Eastern Championships, when Bird, then a junior, watched his team get overwhelmed by an emotional Princeton squad and drop its first Eastern meet in nine years.

"That meet gave me the biggest feeling of loss, as though someone was taking a friend away," Bird says. "Too many people on the team gave up after the first day and that really hurt."

While the 1988 squad fell just short of recapturing the Eastern title, a lot of that bitter feeling was erased by the strong performance of Bird and his teammates. Not only did the Crimson win more that individual titles than the Tigers, but it also outscored Princeton in the 16 swimming events.

At Easterns, Bird placed first in the 200-yd. butterfly, second in the 500 freestyle and sixth in the 100 butterfly. He also swam in two Harvard relays, with each finishing in second place.

At the end of the meet, Bird was presented with the Hal Ulen Award for the highest point totals in four years of Eastern meets. The victory in the butterfly clinched the title.

"That last race was a high point in my swimming career," Bird said. "It was a fitting ending and very satisfying. I now leave the sport without any regrets."

Upon graduation, Bird will begin working in New York City and retire from the sport of swimming. But he leaves it with fond memories.

"Looking back, I will remember being a part of a diverse team, one that I enjoyed being a part of. I may still swim when I get the chance, but it will be different on my own. In my opinion, swimming is an absurd sport in many ways, but the bottom line is that I did it because I liked it."