Lakeville North swimmer Blake Adams, who is legally blind, is pursuing his ultimate goal: the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

He didn't know it then, but Blake Adams has been working toward his dream of swimming at the London 2012 Paralympic Games since he was 4 years old.

"I just started swimming because I was good at it," the Lakeville teen said.

Blake, 16, is legally blind. He was born with aniridia, a genetic condition that delays eye development. However, Blake does have some cloudy, near-sight vision.

"He functions very well," said his father, Carl Adams.

When asked if being blind has hindered his swimming, the tall, thin 10th-grader from Lakeville North High School casually said, "Sometimes it does."

But he stumbles when trying to explain why.

"It's hard somehow," he said. "It's different. I don't know how."

Since he began swimming with the U.S. Paralympic team, Blake has set eight U.S. Paralympic swimming records and earned more than 15 Paralympic medals. He traveled for the first time last fall with the team to Colombia.

He also swims for Lakeville North and the South Metro Storm Swim Club, a club serving residents in Lakeville, Prior Lake and other nearby communities.

"It's a big commitment" for Blake, Carl Adams said.

Swimming is a time commitment for his parents, too. They take their son on road trips to competitions out of state. But, his father said, the sacrifices - and miles - are worth it.

"It's a great opportunity that most kids don't have," he said.

Growing up, there were few sports Blake could try with his limited vision.

Adams learned to swim at a local YMCA in Oklahoma, where he used to live. His parents always valued swimming because his mother, Karen, was a swimmer in high school.

"He just always seemed to gravitate back to swimming," Carl Adams said.

By sixth grade, Blake was competing on the Storm team, and the next year, he joined the Lakeville junior varsity swim team.

While competing in a Lakeville schools meet that year, Adams lost his goggles - which made it impossible for him to see the pool's line lanes and know when to flip at the end of the pool. After the meet, a volunteer coach told him about Paralympic swimming.

Adams soon began training with a Paralympic coach at Courage Centre, a nonprofit specialising in rehabilitation services and accessible sports for those with disabilities. He also began competing in U.S. Paralympic swim meets.

The Paralympics categorises athletes according to the severity of their disability. There are three categories for visual impairment. Adams swims in S13, for the most able-bodied athletes.

Blake's vision allows him to maneuver around the pool deck like any other swimmer. In school, he attends regular classes with the help of a video magnifier device connected to his laptop, which enables him to zoom in on the teacher and lessons on the board.

"Most people don't know he has an issue," Carl Adams said.

But unlike with other swimmers, Blake's coaches need to verbalise techniques to improve his swim strokes because Blake can't see his coaches clearly from the pool deck.

Dan Schneider, his coach from Lakeville North, said he records video of Blake and his teammates swimming so Blake can learn the correct stroke techniques.

The other swimmers also help Blake read the clock during drills.

"I don't think he's any different than any other kid that wants to be part of the team and be with the guys," Schneider said. "We hope that he has good success here."

Adams is ranked as the third varsity swimmer on the Lakeville North team, Schneider said.

In his Paralympic category, Adams is ranked No. 9 in the world in the 400-metre freestyle.

While competing with the U.S. Paralympic team last fall in Colombia, he scored gold and bronze medals before falling ill with the flu and pneumonia on the trip.

Blake, who stands 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 135 pounds, lost 10 pounds. He is still trying to regain his swimming time, which took a hit from the illness.

Blake hopes to fully recover by March for the next U.S. Paralympics competition in San Antonio, Texas. The results could lead him to the International Paralympic Committee World Swimming Championships this summer in the Netherlands.

After that, he could be headed to the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

"That feels really weird," Blake said. "I didn't think I would get to there."

To prepare, coach Marlene Fure said she plans to help him with conditioning and stroke development. But he would have to place among the world's top swimmers to make it to the Paralympic Games.

"He has a shot," Fure said.

"It's probably going to take a lot of work," Blake said.

Blake swam his best time this month on the Lakeville team — 25.7 seconds during his leg of a 200-yard freestyle relay.

"He showed me something that I hadn't seen before," Schneider said. "I said - we need to see more of that in the future." (The End)