For the 300th episode of the ButteCast, we have one of the greatest sports success stories in Mining City history.
Erin Popovich was born with Achondroplasia, a genetic disorder that causes abnormal bone growth, resulting in short stature and disproportionately short limbs. Most of us know that as dwarfism.
While that might have kept Erin off the basketball team, it did not stop her from reaching athletic greatness. The 2003 Butte Central graduate became a worldclass swimmer and a member of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Hall of Fame.
Erin is a three-time Paralympian and 19-time Paralympic medalist. That includes 14 gold medals. She competed in the Paralympic Games in Sydney in 2000, Athens in 2004 and Beijing in 2008.
In between, she walked on the swimming team at Colorado State, where she trained for her Paralympic greatness.
Erin is a two-time winner of the ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete with a Disability. She was also named the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Sportswoman of the Year in 2005.
In 2024, Erin was inducted into the Butte Sports Hall of Fame.
After a long career working with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Erin began a new career in January. That is when she moved to Indiana to work for the Purdue For Life Foundation at Purdue University.
Listen in to this episode as Erin talks about growing up with dwarfism. Listen as she talks about how she got into swimming and what it was like when her career took off. Listen as she talks about traveling the world and not really getting many chances to take that in.
Listen to hear that Butte is very much still in Erin’s heart, even if she is living very far away from the mountains.
Today's podcast is brought to you by Leskovar Honda, home of the friendly non-commission sales staff that always has your back. Intro music by Tim Montana. For more from the Elk Park native, go to timmontana.com. For more from Bill Foley, go to ButteCast.com.