Gary Tanner and Alex Leland (Left to right) pose for a picture at the Jayhawk Country Club on June 25, 2018. Both Tanner and Leland will participate in the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle from July 1-6.

Alex Leland has been swimming for as long as she can remember.

The water has always been her favorite place, as she first started swimming competitively in junior high. Leland, who is now 26, will have an opportunity to show her love for the sport next week at the Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle. The event starts on Sunday and will run through July 6.

Leland will compete in four different swimming events, serving as one of two members from Douglas County participating in the USA Games. Gary Tanner will coach powerlifting, which features two different athletes from Kansas.

“It’s the only sport I really have a connection to,” Leland said. “When I was younger, I was always in the pool. I have always loved it. When I was little, I used to go to the beach and I was always in the pool. Swimming was the only sport that I was really committed to.”

Leland went through an application process to qualify for the event, in which she had to do an interview. Leland will compete in backstroke, breaststroke and a relay.

Around this time last year, Leland discovered that she will be one of four swimmers from Kansas attending the event. There are two females and two males from the state, while 42 total Kansas athletes are competing in eight different sports.

Leland began to train when she received the good news, so that she would be ready to compete this July. She received help from people who donated to Special Olympics to sponsor her. The Douglas County Jayhawks also provided plenty of support and encouragement.

“I feel like I have improved so much since I first started,” Leland said. “I was not very confident in what I was doing. I was not challenged enough. By doing this professionally, I have pushed through and that is really awesome.”

Douglas County Special Olympics volunteer coaches Abby Baden and Jay Shultz assisted with Leland’s training over the past year.

In addition, Leland practiced with the Ad Astra Swim Club three times a week. Leland actually had to pack her clothes to Mrs. E’s, a cafeteria at the University of Kansas, where Leland works. Leland then rode a bus to practice, a feat she admitted was more difficult during the winter.

But Leland has remained committed during her training, despite what has been thrown at her. Leland sustained a groin injury in early April, though she was able to get back to full strength via therapy from LMH Sports Performance.

“I can’t believe I’m going to Seattle this week,” Leland said. “It is nerve-racking, because I have been training for this for so long. It is going to be such a relief, now that I can go onto whatever is next.”

It will also be Gary Tanner’s first appearance in the USA Games, an event that features 4,000 athletes and coaches from all 50 states. The members will compete in 14 different sports.

Tanner, 60, has been involved in coaching all his life. He’s coached powerlifting for 20 years, while directing the state powerlifting meet every March. Tanner has also served a variety of different coaching roles with Haskell Indian Nations University.

Tanner was the program’s head football coach from 1986-2000 before electing to retire from the gridiron. Since then, Tanner has also held roles with the fastpitch softball team and the men’s golf team.

“I’ve just been coaching all my life,” Tanner said. “I enjoy success. To me, success is not just winning. It is the process. If you only look at the wins and losses, then you lose out. That’s what motivates me.”