The friendship that changed Erin Green's life forever
The touch is more than a display of reassurance. It is a moment of trust that symbolizes Green's relationship with Inglis, and a scenario they have practiced hundreds of times as Green prepares to compete for Great Britain in the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (March 14-21). With the sound of the starting whistle, Inglis removes her hand from Green's back, and only then she knows it is time to race.
Green's mother, Alison, can hardly watch. "I'm probably more nervous than Erin," she says. "I ask my husband to tell me when she is in the water because I don't want them to get disqualified. She has to rely on Emma in getting it right."
Green won't let anyone apart from Inglis help her with the responsibility of the "tap start" in an important race. The pair shares a special bond, inside and outside of swimming. Inglis is not only Green's coach, but she is her friend and role model, too. Bilateral cochlear implants allow 18-year-old Green to hear when she is out of the water, but when she is in the pool, Inglis is vital because of her ability to use sign language and communicate coaching instructions. They call it their secret language, although a lot of the time facial expressions are all they need. "I can tell when she wants me to work hard," Green says. "She has that serious face on."
The nerves disappear once Green is in the water. She is a fighter, fiercely determined and unbelievably competitive. Green's team used to have to put a sick bucket at poolside because she would try so hard during her training sessions and races that she would vomit when she got to the end of her lane. "Thankfully we're over that now," Inglis says with a laugh.
Inglis adds that the pool is Green's "safe space" because of how happy she is when she's in the water. Swimming has also given her the confidence to enroll at a local college and pursue a sports degree. When she is older, she wants to be a coach, just like Inglis. "It's always been me and her from the start," Green says. "I don't know what I would do without her."
Through her swimming, Green has also become strong and athletic, a remarkable transformation considering she weighed just 1 pound, 10 ounces at birth. She was born prematurely, at just 27 weeks, with an intellectual disability, and spent her first five months in hospital before she was able to be taken home. Four years later, she almost drowned in a swimming pool when she was on a family holiday. The incident prompted Alison Green to take her daughter to her first swimming lesson. "To see where she is now is great," Alison says. "Swimming gives her the chance to excel at something."