Every morning, while the rest of campus is still asleep, one swimmer grabs his swim bag, puts on his suit, ties up his worn shoes, and makes his way to the Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center. It’s a routine he’s followed since arriving at Piedmont. But in October, something changed. The moment he hit the water, every stroke left him gasping for air.

“It happened on a random Thursday back in October. I ate some bad food and it caused a bunch of health problems,” said Luke Borgmann, a junior butterflyer for the Piedmont Lions. “This has made me unable to swim due to the health conditions that had arrived. It’s been a big struggle not being able to swim, not being able to support the team … it’s been a real struggle.”

Borgmann is navigating the most difficult challenge of his career. Not just finding answers, but trying to find the strength to keep swimming, even when the finish line feels farther away than ever.

Swimming has been central to Borgmann’s life over the past five years. He started swimming in his sophomore year of high school and wanted to fulfill his dream to swim at the collegiate or professional level. Not a day goes by that Borgmann isn’t at the pool, focusing on his technique, speed, and every detail needed to be a better swimmer than he was the day before.

But focusing on swimming is hard when it’s difficult to even eat.

“I ate some bad food, so my body had to associate food with bad,” said Borgmann. “So it was a struggle to start eating again.” 

What started as a slight breathlessness after his early morning workouts soon turned into a relentless struggle to catch his breath. Borgmann’s training — which used to be “the best part” of his day — suddenly became the worst part as his strokes became effortless. At first, Luke thought he just needed a day off from swimming because he had a tough week of training. Every swimmer has those days.

But once he returned to the pool, his body couldn’t handle practice. Borgmann tried to push through the pain because he thought it was mind over matter. Coach Theodore Guyer, head coach of the Piedmont swimming team, told him to take a break for a while and get better. Ever since he got out of the water, he wasn’t the same swimmer.

“Luke looked tired every time I saw him at The Commons,” said senior Erick Fortner, his former teammate. “I was worried for him, and I thought he was dehydrated or he just had low blood sugar. I don’t know. I didn’t want his season to end so soon.”

The stress of not knowing what was happening to his body was very scary. Borgmann wanted to find a solution and be part of the team as they competed against tough opponents. Borgmann said his coach and teammates were by his side, checking on him often and giving him hope that he will be back soon in the water. 

“I’m glad I have my team to support me and, most importantly, my family,” said Borgmann. “What was actually helping me was going to practice, talking to my teammates, helping them get better, and not thinking about what’s happening in my body.”

“Luke is a great swimmer and a great guy,” said Guyer. “I was hoping things would get better quickly, but they did not, and he just needed time; there was nothing I could do but give him time and continue to pray for him.” 

After weeks of going to the doctor, running tests, taking blood work, and trying to find a solution, Luke still couldn’t figure out what was going on with his body. As days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, he found himself going to the doctor frequently and taking more tests. The doctor had no answers.

“It just sucks to see Luke like this. He is one of our best swimmers,” said Fortner. “I can’t imagine how he is feeling right now. He is a strong guy, he puts a smile on his face every day. I don’t know how he is doing that. Much respect.”

“This has set back the goals I wanted to accomplish this year,” said Borgmann. “This is a time thing to get back where I was. So it will be a while where I was before all the health issues, but other than that, this is the only setback.”

Even though Borgmann’s junior season ended earlier than expected, this is not stopping him from focusing on what he loves most, swimming. He has helped many of his teammates get faster, stronger, and mentally ready for the conference championship, which the team won in February.

Borgmann is not letting health conditions keep him down. Guyer continues to support him. He doesn’t pressure him to get back in the water; he just wants “Luke to be 100%.”

The future of Borgmann’s swimming career is unknown, but he is still pushing forward one stroke at a time and has developed a new sense of gratitude for his accomplishments. “Don’t take the things you do for granted because whenever you realize you can’t do those things like you used to, it really sucks,” he said. “It hurts; you can’t finish a 50 free without some sort of health issue or get through practice with some sort of  health issue, so don’t take everything for granted.”

Guyer still has confidence in his swimmer and said Borgmann’s current struggle shows just how strong he really is. “I continue to tell him, ‘You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.’ And Luke is strong and motivated to beat this.”