Tucker Dupree, the only North Carolina swimmer to compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, was named one of seven American men to represent the U.S. Paralympic Team at the Short Course World Championships in Brazil in early December 2009. Dupree set five American records in his disability class en route to this selection at the CanAm Championships last week in Edmonton, Alberta.

"The selection committee made a decision to only bring the top few athletes who had world rankings high enough to challenge for a spot on the medal stand at the world championships in Brazil," said Kit Raulerson, Head Coach, Raleigh Swimming Association in Cary, where Dupree trains. "Tucker is currently ranked in the Top 5 in the world in many of his events and hopes to reach the medal stand in Brazil."

Last summer, Dupree represented the United States at the 2008 Paralympics Games in Beijing. He spent the 2008-09 school year as a varsity swimmer at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C., near Shelby.

At age 17, Dupree, while a standout high school swimming, began to lose his vision and was diagnosed with a rare disease called Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. In a short period of time, he lost 60-80 percent of his central vision in both eyes. Since that time, he has become a stronger swimmer and has also set a new life ambition: personal inspirational speaking.

The Paralympics are Olympic style games for 4,000 elite athletes representing 136 countries in 13 different disability groups, emphasizing their athletic achievements rather than their disabilities. Dupree qualified to represent the United States at the 2008 Paralympics in Minneapolis last April at the Paralympics swimming trials where he won five Gold Medals.

In 2008, he won six gold medals at the U.S. American Open Swimming Championships, and two Gold and four Silver medals at the Pan-American Games in Vancouver in 2007. After swimming in the 2008 Paralympics in China, he currently holds the following World Rankings:

▪ Fourth in the 400 meter freestyle ▪ Fifth in the 100 meter freestyle ▪ Fifth in the 100 meter backstroke ▪ Fifth in the 100 meter butterfly ▪ Sixth in the 50 meter freestyle ▪ Seventh in the 200 Individual Medley

Dupree, a 2007 honors graduate of Garner Magnet High School in Garner, N.C., has received the following recognition for his outstanding character, determination, and talent:

▪ The Garner Magnet High School Swimming MVP ▪ The Tim Stevens Scholarship Award ▪ The WSY Andy Craver Determination Award ▪ The Greater Raleigh Sports Council Courage of Character Award