Morgan Ray, Stung By Near-Miss Of Tokyo Games, Has A Fire Inside As He Chases Paris

As Morgan Ray arrives to train each day alongside some of Team USA’s fastest Para swimmers, he looks to a whiteboard they have set up beside the pool.

One number on the board represents the days until the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials in Swimming. Another counts down the days until the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

Those numbers serve as motivation, sure. But for the 21-year-old Ray, one of the most promising up-and-coming swimmers on the U.S. team, he has a fire burning deep inside that surpasses all the external motivators that surround him.

Three years ago, in 2021, he missed the Tokyo Games by two-tenths of a second.

Named the team’s first alternate, Ray was told to train as if he was going to Tokyo. And he did just that, putting everything he had into that Paralympic dream … until he saw the team leave for Tokyo without him.

“That was a very difficult summer, because the whole time I was thinking, ‘OK, I got to put everything out there, but there’s a good chance I actually go,’” Ray said.

The native of St. Augustine, Florida, took time away from the sport after that, and then went on to begin his freshman year at the University of North Florida.

In the time since, Ray has recalibrated his mindset and motivation, realizing that the sting of missing Tokyo could be converted into fire to win a medal in Paris.

“Last time around, I wanted to just make the team,” Ray said after a recent morning swim session. “I want to go and freakin’ medal. I want to go there and be on the podium. For Tokyo, I was like, ‘OK, just make the team. Just try to make the team.’ … And now my expectations are so much further than that.”

Ray’s hard work is starting to pay off. He has spent time living at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado, training next to the likes of multi-time Paralympic medalists Jessica Long and Melissa Stockwell. Ray is practicing at 5 a.m. and 7 p.m. nearly every day, and he’s seeing quantifiable results.

Born with achondroplasia, the most common form of short-stature or dwarfism, Ray is proving to be a rising star in the S6, SB6, SM6 classes. In January, he set an American record in the 50-meter breaststroke SB6 at the Jimi Flowers Classic. He also ranks No. 1 in the world in the 50-meter breaststroke SB6 (39.67) and No. 2 in 50-meter backstroke S6 (50.03).

“I’m constantly having to fight my way through things, and I think that’s good, because it’s teaching me life lessons,” Ray said.

Ray says he has cut significant time off his swims since Tokyo, and he believes he’s on track to make the Paris Games. His biggest potential concern at this point is staying healthy, something he struggled with prior to the last Paralympics.

Ahead of the Paralympic swimming trials in 2021, Ray had an injury that sidelined him for six weeks. He believes that affected his ability to get faster times, so his focus now is to avoid any injuries.

“Just got to stay healthy,” he said. “That’s the name of the game.”

The real test of Ray’s abilities will come at the Paralympic trials, which for the second time in a row will be held in Minneapolis, from June 27-29.

“I’ve always had that dream at night of what it would feel like to have my name called on that list: Morgan Ray, U.S. Paralympian,” Ray said. “It honestly makes me pretty emotional.”

Ray’s journey up until this point has been 16 years in the making. He started swimming as a young kid, adopting the sport after his brother. He now holds six American records and a bevy of medals from the U.S. championships. Ray has also competed in two world championships, earning a silver medal in the 100-meter breaststroke in his 2022 debut.

“The journey I’ve been through with this, it’s been long and really hard,” Ray said. “I’ve had to be patient with everything.”

Now, the stars seem to be aligning for the national team swimmer to transition into a Paralympic swimmer. Ray is feeling it, but he’s not stepping off the gas at all.

He has had to fight through and other illnesses, yet his times keep getting faster.

“Got to keep my head down, stay health” said Ray, “and the rest of it’s in God’s hands.”

Ryan Wilson is a writer and independent documentary filmmaker from Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is a freelance contributor to USParaSwimming.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.