The clock is running, nearly 30 kids are gathered at both ends of the lane, screaming and yelling for Lindsay Schroeder as he kicks off the wall for his final lap of the 200 free relay.  Mere inches in front of his biggest competitor, Schroeder’s hand hits the wall first and the team erupts into cheers. 

Schroeder, who identifies as male but competes against girls, climbed out of the pool exhausted as his coach runs over and hugs him, his clothes getting soaked as she congratulates the swimmer that just won them the most intense race of the season.

This was at the City Championships, in which Grady won first place. Schroeder swam four  events that night, and made the state qualifying cut for all four of them.  In addition to that, he finished 21st in state and 6th in the region for cross country, taking 3rd place among Grady’s finishers. 

Lindsay Schroeder is an athlete; there’s no way around it.  Since the age of 5, he’s been swimming, at first just a summer league, but soon moved onto a year round swim program.  In addition to swimming, he does cross country, and he also bikes.

“Lindsay is a really great teammate,” said freshman and cross country teammate Emilia Gustafson. “He was really supportive during the meets and cheered us on as we ran … I consider him a leader.  He always placed under 10th and was such a great asset to the team.”

This leadership was recognized by his coaches as well.

“Lindsay took our team concept seriously, bonding with the girls, running in close-knit groups in races and practices, and verbally encouraging everyone on the team.  He was a major reason we finished 1st at city, 1st at region, and 5th at state this year,” said cross country coach Jeff Cramer.   

Not only is Schroeder an avid athlete, but he also participates in many of the other programs Grady has to offer. Book Club, Latin Club and art take up his time when he’s not swimming or running.

“Latin club is really fun. The teachers are really passionate about it, and you look forward to being there,” Schroeder said.  “I really like art; it’s nice to have a class where it’s not just worksheets, and I get to relax.”

While Schroeder is involved at school, he’s also very active in his community and passionate about social issues.

“I’m very passionate about transgender rights.  The bathroom bill in North Carolina really bothered me … but Grady is really liberal.”

Though the school may be liberal, Schroeder, who identifies as male, is still faced with a huge choice.  The Georgia High School Association lets him compete with either gender, in both swim and cross country.

However, during the club season, he’s only permitted to swim with other females because of USA swim rules.  Those rules also prohibit Schroeder from taking any kinds of testosterone because it qualifies as a steroid, so if he were to want to take testosterone, he’d have to quit swimming.

“I would like to swim in college, and my ultimate dream is making the Olympic team,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder’s dream is supported by teammates and coaches, who all believe he has what it takes to get to that level.

“He understands the amount of time and dedication training takes to be a great athlete. I think that he has an excellent future ahead of him in a college career,” said coach Carmen Carrion, who has been Schroeder’s summer league coach since 2010 and Grady coach this year.

“I could see Lindsay getting some scholarships with cross country and swimming; he’s that good.  He’s always pushing himself to do better,” Gustafson said. 

His coaches and teammates recognize how much he cares for others on his teams. Instead of resting after a race or event, he’s helping his teammates and giving them encouragement and tips to improve.

“One time at cross country practice I was running with his group.  I wanted to stop because of how tired I was, but Lindsay motivated me to push myself, and I eventually finished the set,”  Gustafson said.

Schroeder’s motivation shines through in everything he does, whether running or swimming or involvement in social action and clubs, and he has a quote that he often thinks about:

“Dum spiro spero: While I breathe, I hope,” Schroeder said.