Team Indiana swimmers ready to make waves at USA Games

At the final Team Indiana training camp, swimming coach Mark Madden saw smiles and teamwork in the pool.

Hunter Chaffee from Hancock County, Mary Renee Egly from Madison County, Kendra Franklin from Ripley-Ohio-Dearborn Counties and Josh McRoberts from Johnson County each are preparing to compete in two individual events at the Special Olympics USA Games in June in Minnesota.

They also will come together to swim the 200-medley relay.  

“We talked about getting hyped up for racing and mentally focusing,” Madden of Johnson County said. “They all really responded well. They dropped 7 seconds in between attempts, and the smiles and high fives were all there.”

He hopes to see that on the national stage, too.

“I love helping athletes from all backgrounds find moments like that,” Madden said. “It was really great to see and be a part of those types of moments.”

Fellow coach Tori Gregory of Montgomery-Parke Counties said it has been fun to work with athletes from across the state.

“I know that these connections will last beyond USA Games, which makes the experience even more meaningful,” she said.

Meet the athletes

Each swimmer brings several years of experience to the pool.

Chaffee has been involved in Special Olympics since 2014, participating in bowling, basketball, golf and swimming. He swam in high school and helped the team win sectional for the first time in school history in 2023, then repeating in 2024.

At USA Games, he will compete in the 200 and 500 freestyles.

“I am good at swimming distance and have been doing this since I was a freshman in high school,” Chaffee said. “My home coach has been training with me four times a week this past year so I can do my best.”

Egly has been in Special Olympics for three years, participating in swimming every year and equestrian one year.

In Minnesota, she will swim the 25 and 50 freestyles.

“I get to meet new people, and it is fun,” Egly said.

Franklin has been in Special Olympics for 21 years, participating in swimming, basketball, bowling and equestrian.

Her events at USA Games will be the 100 breaststroke and 100 individual medley.

“I love doing breaststroke, so I believe that gives me an advantage,” she said. “The 100 IM has become my favorite swimming event.”

McRoberts is in his fourth year of Special Olympics, swimming all four years and competing in distance run for three years and flag football for one season.

His events at USA Games will be the 50 butterfly and 50 freestyle.

“It’s been great to meet and spend time with all the swimmers,” he said. “I feel like the competition helps me to swim faster.”

Each swimmer found out they made Team Indiana in different ways.

“I was tricked by my mom,” Chaffee said. “She likes to keep secrets, and so she told me I was going to sing the national anthem for a Special Olympics event. I didn’t know that I was selected for the team until I got there.”

Egly said a friend’s parents sent congratulatory text messages to her parents the day it was posted on the Special Olympics Indiana website.

“I was excited,” she said.

Franklin also found out through that website.

“I found out when I refreshed the Team Indiana selection page on the website,” she said. “I thought it was just a fluke, so I waited until the video went public to say anything.”

McRoberts attended an event at Duke Energy in Plainfield when Team Indiana was announced, but he didn’t know the reason he was there.

“I was in disbelief when I heard them call my name,” he said. “I felt like it was a new chapter in my life that was getting ready to start.”

This is Franklin’s second time on Team Indiana for swimming. The first was in 2022 in Orlando.

“It is a huge honor to represent my delegation and Indiana at the USA Games,” she said. “I realize that this is also a huge responsibility, as other athletes who have the same dreams as I did will be looking at me.”

For the others, it’s the first time.

“It is nice to know that my talents in Special Olympics are being recognized as well as used for the team benefit,” Chaffee said. “I really like this because I have found friends who swim like me and I am not alone. We work hard and like to joke, as well.”

McRoberts said he appreciates the encouragement from his teammates and their families.

“I’m looking forward to the next level of competition and also participating in opening ceremonies,” he said. “It’s going to be a wild experience.”

Meet the coaches

Madden has spent most of his adult life teaching and coaching various sports.

“Growing up, I played a lot of team sports, such as basketball, swimming and soccer,” he said. “Soccer was my main focus as I got older, and I lettered three times during my high school career. I loved being outside and at the pool during the summers.”

When he graduated from high school in 1996, he became a lifeguard and a swim instructor and never quit showing up at the pool during the summer to swim and coach.

Over the years, he has coached high school soccer and swimming and middle school and club swimming, track and field and cross country.

“As I have gotten older, I thought that I needed to be an example for my athletes and my own children that you never quit trying to push yourself and do hard things,” Madden said, noting he also has found a love for triathlons and ultra-cycling.

Three years ago, he was introduced to Special Olympics through his children.

“I became involved because my son, Lucas, wanted to swim like his big sister, Liz, and really liked swimming with fins on,” he said. “I wanted him to feel comfortable in the water and participate with the rest of the family. … I have seen my son come together with people, both athletes and coaches, outside of his family to love, accept and celebrate who he is.”

Madden said his son can be himself and be celebrated.

“To find a tribe for him to belong to has been so wonderful I can barely put it into words,” he said. “We have found a community that supports our family and likewise families that we can support and reciprocate to, and it has been amazing.”

He also has been able to coach alongside his eldest and middle children.

“That has been super special, as our whole family can get behind these athletes and do things for others together,” Madden said.

Plus, he gets to pass along his experience to his volunteer coaches, many of whom he taught how to swim or coached.

“We are lucky to partner with Center Grove Aquatic Club, and they help us host meets, graciously give us pool space 10 months out of the year and walk shoulder to shoulder with us in our mission,” Madden said. “I am so pleased that it is more than just a program. Our high schoolers and other volunteers really make a connection with their small group or individuals that they work with and show up for them all 10 months of the year. It is truly awesome to walk with a group of people who are so heavily vested in enriching other people’s lives.”

Gregory has been involved in Special Olympics for more than 20 years. She became involved when her brother joined as an athlete.

She has been a coach, a Unified partner and a management team member for swimming and a Unified partner for volleyball, helped coach softball and volunteered with track and field, bocce, bowling and basketball.

“I like the friends that I make who are more like family,” Gregory said. “It has benefited me by developing my leadership and interpersonal skills as well as given me lifelong friends.”

This will be her third straight USA Games, as she also coached swimming in 2018 in Seattle and 2022 in Orlando.

“I found out when it was posted by the state online,” Gregory said. “I was excited to be a part of another USA Games. I feel proud to show the whole country how awesome Special Olympics Indiana is.”

This will be Madden’s first USA Games. He is one of five people from Johnson County chosen for Team Indiana.

“We all went to the McRoberts house and watched anxiously to see if we made the team,” he said. “When we were all announced, we celebrated together. It was great to be able to congratulate each other and share that moment together. It is one I will never forget.”

Between working with the Team Indiana coaches and their own coaches, Madden said he’s impressed with how much the swimmers have improved.

“Hunter, he is outstanding at repeating his splits in the 500 and 200,” Madden said. “He continues to get stronger and has also really improved his 50 time this cycle.”

Madden said McRoberts has worked on his start and turn.

“He is changing direction much better,” Madden said. “This is a big deal in the 50. He has dropped time in his 50 fly and is near or at his best time in the 50 free. I look forward to seeing how he competes in the next month or two.”

Madden said Franklin is having an amazing season.

“She is also right at her best times in the 100 IM and 100 breaststroke,” he said. “She is swimming her best right now, and you can tell that she really wants to peak this summer.”

He said Egly has improved so much.

“Her backstroke start is so much better and right hand underwater recovery has improved a lot,” Madden said. “Likewise, her turnover rate in her freestyle has picked up and is improving from month to month.”

Gregory said the athletes have been very coachable.

“We have seen them work hard and respond to instruction that we have given them,” she said. “They are competitors, and I am looking forward to seeing them shine on the national level.”

Madden said the swimmers are poised to swim lifetime-best times.

“Each training camp and meet that they have competed in so far this cycle, they are at a best time or about their best time,” he said. “Coach Tori and I are really excited to see how they race both at Indiana Summer Games and USA Games in June.”

In Minnesota, Madden said he wants to re-create the moment they had as a team at the last training camp, where they went out and accomplished their goals together.

“The Games will be the culmination of the process and hard work that it took to get there,” he said. “I have loved all of it, even the 5:45 a.m. wakeup call on Saturday to get to the pool to train. It will be something I carry with me for the rest of my life.”