Around The Railroad

Glenister Heads to Beijing for Olympic Games

August 8, 2008 | 01:28 p.m. CDT

Stewart Glenister, son of Limonmon and Roland Glenister, manager-yard operations, Fort Worth Service Unit, Waco, Texas, has earned a spot on the U.S. Territory of American Samoa Olympic Swim Team. He is scheduled to compete in the 50-meter Freestyle on Aug. 14 in Beijing.

A small group of islands in the South Pacific, American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States with a population of 67,000 people.

Considering the area's exposure to the South Pacific's warm waters, it is no surprise that water sports are a common endeavor for the islands' youth. It's where a young Stewart took to the water, developing his passion for swimming.

Although born in Fort Knox, Ky., and raised in Temple, Texas, Stewart has strong family ties to American Somoa. Not only was his father born there, his maternal grandfather, the late Peter T. Coleman, was appointed the first native-born governor of American Samoa by President Dwight Eisenhower and later became the first popularly elected governor in 1978.

Before "swimming for the gold," Stewart was an All-American and All-State swimmer at Temple High School; an 8-year member of the Temple Area Swim Club; a member of the Texas Gold Swim Club, a year-round program for competitive swimmers, and is a member of the Army swimming and diving team at the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.

Although this is Stewart's first trip to the Olympics, he was offered the opportunity to represent American Samoa at the World Championships last summer in Australia, but was unable to attend when he fractured his femur while playing football with friends.

"We thank God for blessing our son with many special talents of which we're so very proud," Roland said. "We thank Union Pacific and especially the Fort Worth Service Unit, for its support and words of encouragement for Stewart. Go USA!!"

Upon his return from the Games, Stewart will return to West Point as a sophomore pursuing a mechanical engineering degree.