{"id":28945,"date":"2014-10-13T05:27:33","date_gmt":"2014-10-13T10:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=28945"},"modified":"2014-10-13T05:27:33","modified_gmt":"2014-10-13T10:27:33","slug":"leroy-colombo-champion-swimmer-and-record-breaking-lifeguard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2014\/10\/13\/leroy-colombo-champion-swimmer-and-record-breaking-lifeguard\/","title":{"rendered":"LEROY COLOMBO: Champion Swimmer and Record-Breaking Lifeguard"},"content":{"rendered":"

LEROY COLOMBO: Champion Swimmer and Record-Breaking Lifeguard<\/strong><\/p>\n

LeRoy Colombo (1905 \u2013 1974) was mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records for having saved 907 confirmed lives during his 40-year career as a lifeguard, breaking all records at the time; some reports suggest that he saved more than a thousand lives. Colombo was diagnosed with spinal meningitis at the age of 7, resulting in a complete loss of hearing and paralysis in his legs. His family encouraged him to learn to swim to strengthen his legs, and within a year he was able to walk again.<\/p>\n

His love for swimming shaped his destiny. Colombo became involved in long-distance swimming and was accepted into the Toboggan Club in Galveston \u2013 a feat that mandated an entry test of three straight hours of swimming without pause \u2013 and swam across the Gulf of Mexico in eleven hours. At the age of 18, he became a lifeguard along the beach at Galveston, although by that time he had already saved several lives in an unofficial capacity, beginning with a rescue at the age of twelve. Some were unsure that, with his hearing loss, Colombo could serve as an efficient lifeguard, but his service soon proved that he was more than up to the task. Jean F. Andrews, a professor in the Department of Deaf Studies at Lamar University recently published a book on Colombo\u2019s life titled High Tides, Low Tides.<\/p>\n

After Colombo\u2019s death in 1974, a plaque was erected along the seawall in Galveston, recognizing his accomplishments.<\/p>\n

Attributions:<\/p>\n

* Start ASL: http:\/\/www.start-american-sign-language.com\/leroy-colombo.html<\/a>
\n* VC Interpreting: http:\/\/www.vcinterpreting.com\/bloggin-about-community\/overcoming-the-odds-leroy-colombo\/<\/a>
\n* If My Hands Could Speak blog: http:\/\/ifmyhandscouldspeak.wordpress.com\/2009\/12\/01\/leroy-colombo-life-saver\/<\/a>
\n* Lamar University Press: http:\/\/www.lamaruniversitypress.org\/nonfiction.php<\/a><\/p>\n

Part of Disability History Month provided by\u00a0Office of the Governor Rick Perry – Committee on People with Disabilities<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LEROY COLOMBO: Champion Swimmer and Record-Breaking Lifeguard LeRoy Colombo (1905 \u2013 1974) was mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records for having saved 907 confirmed lives during his 40-year career as a lifeguard, breaking all records at the time;…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[175,847,22529,22526,22528,19266,22527,17],"class_list":["post-28945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-book","tag-galveston","tag-guinness-book-of-world-records","tag-high-tides","tag-jean-f-andrews","tag-leroy-colombo","tag-low-tides","tag-texas"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-7wR","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3456,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2008\/05\/25\/street-renamed-after-legendary-lifeguard\/","url_meta":{"origin":28945,"position":0},"title":"Street renamed after legendary lifeguard","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 25, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Street renamed after legendary lifeguard By Leigh Jones The Daily News Published May 24, 2008 GALVESTON \u2014 Leroy Colombo, Galveston\u2019s best-known lifeguard, last week received another posthumous honor when the city council voted unanimously to give his name to a two-block stretch of 57th Street. 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August 1st-3rd, 2013 Conference Site Moody Gardens Hotel Spa & Convention Center Galveston Texas Seven Hope Boulevard Galveston, Texas 77554 888-388-8484 Call and identify as attending\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Conference Banner 2013","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Conference-Banner-2013.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":23804,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2013\/07\/10\/tad-conference-hotel-discount-deadline-is-71113-more-details\/","url_meta":{"origin":28945,"position":3},"title":"TAD Conference: Hotel Discount Deadline is 7\/11\/13 & More Details","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"TAD Conference: Hotel Discount Deadline is 7\/11\/13 & Updated Videos The deadline to take advantage of the Moody Gardens 4 star hotel rate of $ 189 is JULY 11, 2013 . 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