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Opinion by Greg Hansen : In a flash, deaf UA swimmer hits stride | www.azstarnet.com ®
Introduced to a raucous crowd at the Qwest Center on Sunday night, Marcus Titus did not nod in appreciation or give a perfunctory wave. There's a good reason for that.
"When Marcus is swimming without his hearing aid, he can't hear a thing," said Hans Ferguson, a former Tucsonan who often serves as Titus' interpreter. "When he's training at the UA pool, he can't hear those jets in the landing pattern for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base."
Titus couldn't hear the beep to start Sunday night's semifinals in the 100-meter breast stroke. While others in the group of eight at the USA Olympic swimming trials waited for the beep, Titus looked for a flash of a strobe light.
And then he was sensational.
Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff set world records during the opening night of the trials, but what Titus did — finishing 11th overall in the 100 breast stroke — might have trumped them all.
Three months after the UA sophomore from Flowing Wells High School came out of nowhere to finish second in the NCAA finals, he put his name on the swimming map with indelible ink.
"It just brings tears to my eyes,'' said his father, Mark Titus, who works for the city of Tucson water department. "He was just fantastic; I lost my voice.''
Titus was born deaf and until he was 10 was educated in Tucson at the Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind. In the fifth grade, he began attending Tucson public schools and his progress has been dazzling.
"I've made some big improvements,'' he said after Ferguson translated a reporter's questions in sign language. "But I can do better. I'm going to do better.''
Titus came to the Olympic trials ranked No. 22 in the 100 breast stroke and leaves 11 places higher. His time of 1 minute 1.7 seconds in Sunday's preliminary heats is his personal record. He suggested he was a bit fatigued as he finished Sunday's evening semifinal in 1:02.12.
Keep this in mind as Titus merely scratches the surface of his swimming potential (he turned 22 last week): a world-class male swimmer usually doesn't peak until his mid-20s. By the time the 2012 London Olympics arrive, Titus could be swimming the 100 breast stroke in under 1 minute.
Why not?
"For whatever reason, Marcus has risen to the occasion in the big meets, first the NCAA championships and now the Olympic trials,'' his father said. "He's got the ability to step to the plate in the big moment and make the best of it.
"He's got two years left at the UA, with all of those great coaches helping him with his training, and the first thing he's aiming for is to win the NCAA championship next year. Maybe I shouldn't step up and say that, but he's made some amazing progress.''
Titus was a champion at Flowing Wells. He won the state 5A 100 breast in his senior season and accepted a scholarship to Arizona State. For whatever reason, Titus chose to leave the Sun Devils after the 2006 season and transfer to Arizona. The Sun Devils were so chafed that they refused to grant Titus an immediate transfer, forcing him to sit out the 2007 season as a redshirt.
No wonder. He enters the 2008-09 college swimming season as one of the sport's elite performers.
Titus has done so well for so long that sometimes his teammates and coaches forget that he's deaf.
Ask UA coach Frank Busch about Titus and his eyebrows arch. "Oh, wow,'' he says.
"When he puts in a hearing aid, he can hear about 50 percent out of one ear,'' said Ferguson. "He can talk on the telephone in that fashion, although it's not always clear or easy for him. The hearing aid is very important; it allows him to hear the coach's instructions and to communicate better with his teammates. He isn't easily deterred.''
Mark and Mieko Titus did not learn their son was deaf until he was almost 3. It was shortly thereafter that Mieko taught him to swim in their backyard pool.
He played soccer and golf while growing up and didn't join a swim team until he was a freshman in high school.
"In his first year of swimming, his coach told us 'hey, your son could be a pretty special swimmer,' '' Mark Titus said. "So we put him in the Ford Aquatics program and he really began to show improvement. He liked it. He's taken it from there, but we could never have predicted he'd be here at the Olympic trials, swimming against the best breast strokers in the world and holding his own. It's overwhelming.''
And perhaps just the start of something really big.
In a flash, deaf UA swimmer hits stride
Introduced to a raucous crowd at the Qwest Center on Sunday night, Marcus Titus did not nod in appreciation or give a perfunctory wave. There's a good reason for that.
"When Marcus is swimming without his hearing aid, he can't hear a thing," said Hans Ferguson, a former Tucsonan who often serves as Titus' interpreter. "When he's training at the UA pool, he can't hear those jets in the landing pattern for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base."
Titus couldn't hear the beep to start Sunday night's semifinals in the 100-meter breast stroke. While others in the group of eight at the USA Olympic swimming trials waited for the beep, Titus looked for a flash of a strobe light.
And then he was sensational.
Michael Phelps and Katie Hoff set world records during the opening night of the trials, but what Titus did — finishing 11th overall in the 100 breast stroke — might have trumped them all.
Three months after the UA sophomore from Flowing Wells High School came out of nowhere to finish second in the NCAA finals, he put his name on the swimming map with indelible ink.
"It just brings tears to my eyes,'' said his father, Mark Titus, who works for the city of Tucson water department. "He was just fantastic; I lost my voice.''
Titus was born deaf and until he was 10 was educated in Tucson at the Arizona School for the Deaf and the Blind. In the fifth grade, he began attending Tucson public schools and his progress has been dazzling.
"I've made some big improvements,'' he said after Ferguson translated a reporter's questions in sign language. "But I can do better. I'm going to do better.''
Titus came to the Olympic trials ranked No. 22 in the 100 breast stroke and leaves 11 places higher. His time of 1 minute 1.7 seconds in Sunday's preliminary heats is his personal record. He suggested he was a bit fatigued as he finished Sunday's evening semifinal in 1:02.12.
Keep this in mind as Titus merely scratches the surface of his swimming potential (he turned 22 last week): a world-class male swimmer usually doesn't peak until his mid-20s. By the time the 2012 London Olympics arrive, Titus could be swimming the 100 breast stroke in under 1 minute.
Why not?
"For whatever reason, Marcus has risen to the occasion in the big meets, first the NCAA championships and now the Olympic trials,'' his father said. "He's got the ability to step to the plate in the big moment and make the best of it.
"He's got two years left at the UA, with all of those great coaches helping him with his training, and the first thing he's aiming for is to win the NCAA championship next year. Maybe I shouldn't step up and say that, but he's made some amazing progress.''
Titus was a champion at Flowing Wells. He won the state 5A 100 breast in his senior season and accepted a scholarship to Arizona State. For whatever reason, Titus chose to leave the Sun Devils after the 2006 season and transfer to Arizona. The Sun Devils were so chafed that they refused to grant Titus an immediate transfer, forcing him to sit out the 2007 season as a redshirt.
No wonder. He enters the 2008-09 college swimming season as one of the sport's elite performers.
Titus has done so well for so long that sometimes his teammates and coaches forget that he's deaf.
Ask UA coach Frank Busch about Titus and his eyebrows arch. "Oh, wow,'' he says.
"When he puts in a hearing aid, he can hear about 50 percent out of one ear,'' said Ferguson. "He can talk on the telephone in that fashion, although it's not always clear or easy for him. The hearing aid is very important; it allows him to hear the coach's instructions and to communicate better with his teammates. He isn't easily deterred.''
Mark and Mieko Titus did not learn their son was deaf until he was almost 3. It was shortly thereafter that Mieko taught him to swim in their backyard pool.
He played soccer and golf while growing up and didn't join a swim team until he was a freshman in high school.
"In his first year of swimming, his coach told us 'hey, your son could be a pretty special swimmer,' '' Mark Titus said. "So we put him in the Ford Aquatics program and he really began to show improvement. He liked it. He's taken it from there, but we could never have predicted he'd be here at the Olympic trials, swimming against the best breast strokers in the world and holding his own. It's overwhelming.''
And perhaps just the start of something really big.
In a flash, deaf UA swimmer hits stride