For some it would have been the end – the easy way out. The simple solution would have been to quit, forget about a career that had lasted nearly two decades and succumb to an injury that had begun to affect your everyday life. That’s for some.

For Syracuse swimmer Kalei Mahi, a squatting injury at the beginning of her sophomore year was not the end, just a mere bump in the road. Well, perhaps more than a bump. Mahi, one of two seniors on the Syracuse women’s swim team, injured her back nearly two years ago while squatting with her teammates.

This afternoon, Mahi and her swimming and diving teammates will be in Hamilton to begin their 2003-04 season against Colgate. It will mark the beginning of Mahi’s final season in the water.

But as a sophomore, Mahi’s herniated disk jeopardized her swimming career. She injured the disk while maxing out – squatting the most weight she could for one repetition – in the weight room without a spotter or weight belt.

Three cortisone shots in six weeks, extensive physical therapy, regular anti-inflammatory medication and a modified practice and weight lifting routine took over Mahi’s swimming season. As a freshman the previous year, she set a school record in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.04). It’s a record that still stands. She was an All-Big East selection and made an immediate impact at SU.

Then, being able to lead a normal routine and compete became her focus.

The back problem persisted and began to affect her daily life.

‘It got so bad that fluid leaked out of the disk and infected some nerves,’ Mahi said.

Mahi chose to deal with the pain after her doctor recommended she not get surgery.

‘My legs used to go dead,’ Mahi said. ‘I would loose the feeling in them. It is more under control now.’

Her road to recovery was long, but Mahi got her redemption last spring. After a year of fighting pain and overcoming the injury, she placed sixth at the Big East meet. That meet also marked the first time her parents had watched her swim in her college career.

‘When I think about her,’ SU head coach Lou Walker said, ‘I think about mental toughness. She is very competitive, always at her best on the most difficult competitions. With the injury there was never an excuse.’

A graduate of Notre Dame High School in Salinas, Calif., Mahi said she chose to come to Syracuse because she needed to get away from California.

The daughter of Lono Mahi, a former USC football player during the Ronnie Lott and Marcus Allen era, Mahi was recruited by Purdue, Washington, Alabama, Tennessee and UNLV. The senior will compete in the 100 and 200 breaststroke this season. She fondly remembers her visit to Syracuse.

It was four years ago that Mahi and fellow senior swimmer Elyse McDonough were both at SU for a visit. Then, the two high schoolers had no idea what college would be like. Now, as the lone seniors on the women’s team, they’ve set records and left their mark.

‘The way she trains, her practice routine,’ Mahi said about McDonough,’she is so talented and has been an inspiration for me.’

In her last season, Mahi faces her biggest critic day in and day out – herself.

‘Never except your first try,’ Mahi said. ‘I know it sounds clich, but I am my toughest critic, because nothing for me is ever good enough.’

Published on October 16, 2003 at 12:00 pm