Duckworth brings experience, speed to swim team

Junior swimmer Tyler Duckworth practically grew up in a Speedo.

"It really hardens you to the real world," Duckworth said of wearing the necessary aquatic apparel. "It gives me this undeniable air of confidence."

Duckworth's consistently strong performances on the men's swimming and diving team have further earned him the right to be confident in a Speedo. He has been named co-most valuable swimmer two years in a row, and with a time of 2:07.72, he holds the 200-meter breaststroke school record. Duckworth broke the previous mark as a freshman, improving his record at the National Championships last year.

Besides his record-breaking breaststroke race, Duckworth also swam the 200 individual medley and the 400 IM at last winter's National Championships. He finished 19th in a tight breaststroke field.

Tufts' lone representative at last year's NCAAs, Duckworth has yet to qualify this winter and will need to improve upon his season-best 2:11.7 in the 200 breaststroke. Dropping his time to the provisional qualifying mark of 2:09.99 would place Duckworth's name on a ranked list from which the top 20 swimmers will be invited to nationals. This meet will be held March 20-22 at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.

With Duckworth as one of its top point-scorers, the Jumbos have acquired an 8-1 record this season. This weekend, the team will travel to Williams College for the NESCAC Championships, where it came in fourth last year. Duckworth will swim the 200 breaststroke and the 200 and 400 IMs.

Duckworth claims that when he competes, he does so by the motto of figure skater Michelle Kwan, for whom he confesses an "undying love."

The motto--"Work hard, be yourself, and have fun."

Judging by head men's swim coach Don Megerle's description, Duckworth does just that.

"Tyler enjoys it, he really does. It's not work, it's not arduous, it's not boring, it's fun for him," Megerle said.

Megerle described Duckworth as "very conscientious and very compassionate," as well as having "a lot of personal insight."

Duckworth is also a hard worker and is not opposed to constructive criticism.

"He listens well and follows advice very well. And he likes being a leader and likes expressing his ability in the water," Megerle said. "When you have someone like that, they're going to improve and they're going to reap a lot of rewards from it because they'll carry it with them for the rest of their lives."

Swimming has already played a significant role in most of Duckworth's life.

"As a child, I was obsessed with being in the water," Duckworth said. "Whenever my brother was taking a bath, I would run and jump in the tub. I was constantly jumping in, even if my mom was bathing the dog. My baby book is littered with naked pictures of me and my dog bathing together."

Despite early signs of Duckworth's love for the water, he toyed with several other sports before finding his niche in the pool. The Burnsville, Minnesota native said that when he was in the fifth grade he decided to try swimming, as something different.

Duckworth's talent and potential in the pool surfaced quickly, so he joined a club team in the United States swimming program and dedicated up to 5 hours a day to practicing.

Duckworth continued competing with his club throughout high school. By the time he graduated, he had broken two Minnesota records and won a total of 17 state championships. However, the often-grueling time commitment for US Swimming meant that Duckworth had to clear out all other activities.

In college, Duckworth's extracurricular schedule has expanded considerably. He is employed as a student resource worker at the LGBT Center.

"I've also had stints in the pool and weight room," Duckworth said.

As a freshman, he attended an open casting call for MTV's The Real World, where his unique personality interested producers enough for him to last through several rounds of cuts.

"They decided not to accept me, but that's a good thing because that season was 'Back to New York' and it was a horrible season," Duckworth said.

Back at Tufts, Duckworth is on the executive board for Spirit of Color, one of Tufts' dance groups, and will dance in six pieces this semester.

In last fall's SOC performance, Duckworth choreographed a dance entitled "Firestorm." He described it as a "high kick precision dance," which he said involved at least 40 high kicks in different directions, choreographed to a fast techno rhythm.

"Tyler has got the best kicks in SOC," junior Erica Kung, another SOC choreographer said. "He gets his leg incredibly high."

Coach Megerle has never attended an SOC show, though often he sees Duckworth dancing on the pool deck.

In his Speedo, of course.