This fall, Naperville Central High School swimmer Lexi Goldstone is diving into the pool with a slate of entirely different events.

Over the summer, an elbow injury made it impossible for Goldstone to continue with her old events.

“[The injury] made it hard to pull with freestyle. It hurt really bad, so I switched to swimming mostly backstroke because that made it easier,” said Goldstone, a junior at Naperville Central.

When swimming freestyle, Goldstone hyperextended her elbow, which led to her injuring her ulnar nerve.

Her swim journey started at age 6, when she joined River Run, a recreational summer team. Goldstone then swam more competitively for Fox Swim Club before moving to Maverick Swim Club, followed by Hinsdale Swim Club. As soon as she entered Central, she joined the swim team.

“Essentially, I got into swimming because my mom put me on a summer team and I loved it,” Goldstone said.

She currently leads off with backstroke in Central’s fastest Varsity 200 Yard Medley Relay, a race in which there are four competitors, each swimming with a different stroke. Before Goldstone’s injury, she anchored the same Medley Relay with her 50 freestyle. She also anchors the 400 Yard Freestyle Relay.

“I’m so used to swimming short events [prior] to my elbow injury, but I like the longer events,” says Goldstone.

Prior to Goldstone’s injury, she swam shorter freestyle events, due to her natural speed. Swimmers generally stick with the same events in order to track their progression, making Goldstone’s experience unique.

“I swam the 50 Yard and the 100 Yard free[style] every single meet, [so eventually] I got really tired and bored of it,” Goldstone said.

Most people on Central’s swim team participate in two relays and two individual events. Coaches assign events for each meet. Their decision comes down to a combination of interest and personal strengths, as well as the competitiveness of the meet.

“It really depends on which team we’re competing against and how good they are,” Goldstone said. “For example, the better team we swim, the more likely we are to swim our best events.”

Her elbow has since gotten better with the help of physical therapy. As for next year, she plans on keeping her new events, especially since she spent the entire summer focusing on the technical elements of strokes other than freestyle.

“Things can change, but I’ll probably stick with these,” Goldstone said. “I’ve trained backstroke the entire summer, so I’m mostly a backstroker now.”

During the summer Goldstone describes how she spent two hours a day for four days a week practicing backstroke, as she could no longer swim freestyle like the other swimmers due to her injury.

“I swam primarily backstroke because it did not hurt my elbow as much,” Goldstone said. “Doing so much backstroke definitely helped improve both my 50 and 100 races.”

Goldstone’s teammates are inspired by her perseverance through her injury, motivating her team to do the same.

“[Goldstone] is always super focused and is always doing the best she can to achieve her goals. When there are difficult practices she is always in a positive mindset,” said Maddie Saccameno, a junior and Goldstone’s teammate.

The swim team is thankful for Goldtone’s active role in boosting spirits and representing what a real team should look like both at practice and at meets.

“[Goldstone’s] always having fun and joking around, but she can pull it together and be serious when she needs to be. She is super welcoming and overall helps create a positive atmosphere for our entire team,” Saccameno said.