The fall semester brought exciting news for first-year DPT student, Casey Francis, as she was selected to compete with the USA team in the 2018 Lifesaving World Championships in Adelaide, Australia.
After swimming competitively for 17 years, Casey found a new passion for surf lifesaving.
“I love anatomy and I think what I am learning in school helps tie into my training because I get a better idea of how to strengthen certain muscle groups in addition to my prior knowledge from swimming in undergrad,” Casey said.
From November 21-25, she will be competing in a number of pool events as well as the Open Surf Race and Rescue Tube Race, both taking place in the ocean.
“Although I am relatively new to the sport, my strong swimming background has allowed me to progress quickly in the swimming and paddle board events,” she explained. “I started by competing in local lifeguard competitions last summer when I found out about the potential of competing internationally. I was selected for the National Team last summer and got to travel to New Zealand and Japan which is when I realized how big of a sport this is.”
We’re thrilled to see Casey compete on the world stage in Australia, and we’ll be supporting her throughout this journey! We’re so proud of our DPT students!