In his last home meet on Jan. 29, senior Gered Doherty left his mark on Uris Pool, capturing two records in the Lions� 140-103 defeat at the hands of Princeton. In setting a pool record in the 50-yard freestyle and contributing to a record in the 400-yard medley relay, Doherty capped off a career of excellence in the pool for the Light Blue.

Doherty is the consummate champion; he is modest and poised. He doesn�t boast about his Ivy championship in the 100-freestyle, but rather said he hopes that it �provides a good example that how you do it is just as important as the results.�

As far as influences, he doesn�t believe in role models, but credits his parents for their never-ending support and thanks his teammates and Head Swimming Coach Jim Bolster for all they have done to help him develop over the past four years.

Doherty also points to Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Thomas McKinney, whose arrival at Columbia in 1997 marked a turnaround in Doherty�s career. He did not swim well his first season at Columbia and credits McKinney�s arrival with the beginning of his emergence as a dominant swimmer.

�I�m characterized by discipline, sacrifice and a love for what I�m doing. You put that together with Jim Bolster and Thomas McKinney, and you have a formula that worked really well for me,� Doherty said.

Doherty�s love of swimming began early, as he started taking lessons at age four in �a lady�s backyard,� and began competing for fun when he was six.

�My parents made me start swimming to wear me out,� Doherty said.

After competing through elementary school, Doherty took seventh and eight grade off, only to return as a single season swimmer in high school. His arrival in Morningside Heights marked the beginning of his year-round training.

Looking forward to the finale of his senior season, Doherty hopes to perform well at Easterns, where he believes the 200 and 400-yard medley relays have a good chance of winning (he swims the butterfly lengths), and sets his ultimate goal at qualifying for the NCAA Championships.

Looking back, Doherty marks the meet in which he broke his first varsity record as his most memorable experience. This feat was accomplished during his sophomore season, in a meet against Army at West Point. Doherty was not favored to win or even to do well in the 100-yard freestyle. He ended up breaking the varsity record that had been held by his former captain Scott Sherman and had stood untouched for two years.

Beyond the accomplishment, another thing that made the day memorable was that while shaving for the meet the night before, Doherty had cut a mole on his torso, causing a bloody mess. Before he swam, he forgot to take off the Band-Aid that was covering the wound, but broke the record despite the added weight and friction.

When Doherty, whose mother is a former employee of Johnson & Johnson, broke the Uris Pool record in the 100-yard butterfly, he again was wearing a Band-Aid, because of another cut to the same mole.

With all his records and accomplishments, however, Doherty is levelheaded regarding keeping up with his academic load as an achievement equal to those in the pool.

Overall, said he has enjoyed his time at Columbia, both in and out of the pool. �I hope to look back one day and say that I had a good time,� he concludes.