In the fourth quarter of 2021, Jim Wisdom (as President of Westlake Sunrise Rotary) was looking to schedule a program on zoom about the “Swim With Mike”(SWM) nonprofit. Jim was a competitive swimmer growing up, and he knew the Co-Founders of SWM growing up because they saw each other at AAU swim meets. SWM was founded to help Mike Nyeholt with his medical expenses after breaking his neck in a dirt biking accident in the Palm Springs area on 1/2/1981. Mike was paralyzed. His best friend, fellow USC swimmer Ron Orr, suggested that they do a “Swim A Thon” to raise funds for Mike’s growing medical expenses. Both Ron and Mike were on three USC Men’s Championship Swim Teams in the late 1970’s.
The first year of SWM in 1981 (initially called “Swim For Mike”), they raised $58,000, which was much more than Mike needed to cover his medical expenses. Two things happened that first year to change the trajectory of SWM:
- Mike showed up on the pool deck that first year (in a wheelchair and halo brace), and said he couldn’t swim this year. But, he said if you do this swim next year, I will swim with you ( using his arms only).
- After the first year, the USC Swim Team Alums got together and renamed the nonprofit “Swim With Mike” to provide scholarship funds to physically challenged athletes so they could pursue their dreams and goals after a life-altering physical injury.
Jim also knew the SWM scholarship recipient, Becki McCafferty, who was a nationally ranked swimmer at UCLA and entered UCLA as a freshman in 1977- the same year as Jim entered UCLA ( and Jim was on UCLA’s Men’s Swim Team as a freshman and sophomore). Becky sustained a serious injury in 1981 when she was training to be an LA County Lifeguard. She dove into the ocean and hit a sandbar, and broke her neck. She became a quadraplegic. When Mike Nyeholt found out about Becky’s injury, he went to her hospital to offer her a SWM scholarship. She immediately accepted this offer, becoming the second SWM scholarship recipient.
Jim Wisdom-Background Information
As an age group swimmer growing up, Jim had broken five national swim records and was on track to have an opportunity to achieve his goal of making an Olympic swim team. On April 12, 1974, Jim was on Easter break in Escondido (where he grew up) visiting his old neighbor, David Ross. Jim’s family moved from Escondido to Palos Verdes in 1971, and his family still owned some avocado trees on the property of his old house in Escondido. So, Jim and David went to pick some avocados from those trees. Unfortunately, Jim fell from an avocado tree and landed on the back of his neck. He fractured his left wrist, and he fractured three vertebrae in his neck ( C-2, C-3 and C-4). While this injury kept Jim out of swimming for about a year, he was extremely fortunate he avoided paralysis.
Jim’s Connection to SWM
When Jim invited Becky McCafferty and Mike Nyeholt to speak over zoom to the Westlake Sunrise Rotary Club, Jim knew he wanted to contribute to the SWM program. At the same time, Jim was meeting with Past District 5240 Governor, Nick Frankle, about ways to donate to The Rotary Foundation. From these meetings with Nick, Jim and Nick created a charity swim called “Laps For Life” (the name was created by Past President Matt Midura) to raise funds for both SWM and humanitarian projects supported by the Westlake Sunrise Rotary Club. Jim participated in his first Laps For Life event in April of 2022 at USC Swim Stadium (SWM 2022), so this year’s swim is Jim’s 5th Annual Laps For Life event. This year also represents the 45th year of Swim With Mike, which has raised over $30 Million, and funded 315 scholarships at 160 universities throughout the United States. Jim has swam more laps each year since 2022. His goal on Sat. 4/11/26 is to swim 400 laps (5.5 miles)- but swim faster than this same distance last year.
