RIVERTON, Utah — For 18-year-old Chloe Swain, life hasn’t always been easy.
“I was born with auditory neuropathy, and it made it so that I started losing my hearing,” she said. “I got bilateral cochlear implants when I was four years old.”
This hasn’t stopped her from pursuing her passion of running. However, when it’s time to race, it can bring its own set of challenges.
“It’s just noisy, just lots of sounds, like music and cheering, and I can't really single anything out,” she said. “I just want to be able to run without any fear that I'm breaking a rule, or that I'm doing something wrong.”
Justin Swain, Chloe’s father, was determined to try to make it easier for Chloe to hear and proposed the idea of an FM system to the Utah High School Activities Association.
“It's a small microphone that someone can wear around their neck or hook to their collar that sends an FM signal directly to her implants. It's got a very limited range, but it makes it so she can hear someone outside of all of the background noise,” Justin said.
UHSAA initially said no due to safety reasons, but after a lot of back and forth, Justin got a letter back stating that Chloe would be allowed to use the microphone during all UHSAA sanctioned events.
“She's such an unselfish person. The biggest thing that she has said is, 'I don't just want this for me.' You know, she wants it for others,” Justin said through tears.
Chloe made it to state. However, when it came time for the race, something felt off.
“I noticed they were playing music on the speakers at the BYU track, and they weren't pausing it when they were giving instruction and starting the races,” Justin said.
“I thought that I heard 'break at the 100-meter line,' and I guess that's not what they actually said,” Chloe added.
“She comes around the corner, and she starts to cut in a little bit earlier than what she's supposed to, and I see the officials immediately raise the yellow flag,” Justin said.
Chloe ended up finishing third.
“For her to finish third was just pretty crazy,” Justin said while getting choked up.
It was soon announced, however, that she had been disqualified. Justin said that while the UHSAA cleared the microphone, they weren’t given specifics on how they could use it.
“Finishing somewhere that you never thought you'd be and then having it taken away, that's crushing. Like she was crushed,” Justin said.
Chloe said that even with the microphone, she can only hear clearly under certain circumstances.
“The only sound I can hear when that microphone is going on is whoever is wearing it. So if there's another official that's saying something,” she said, “I can't hear them. I can only hear who has it.”
Justin said at the end of the day, all he wants is for there to be better communication and options for those who struggle with hearing loss.
“Find out what this is like to be a deaf athlete, to have cochlear implants, to face these challenges. What can we do to make it easier? What things can we put in place, instead of feeling like it's a fight?” he said.
While she may not be able to keep her title, Chloe hopes things change for other students like her.
“Deaf people and anyone with challenges should be able to compete and that's what sports is all about, is just being able to learn determination and discipline and to be able to compete with everyone,” she said.
FOX 13 News reached out to UHSAA for comment and was given the following response:
“The UHSAA has followed its procedure and made the proper accommodations per NFHS Rules and notified the member school, student-athlete and parents.”
The family said other parents who have experienced similar things with their children reached out to them as well.
“My son who was also an athlete at the championship is deaf in one ear and is unable to wear his hearing aid," Lindsay Spencer, who has a son with hearing loss, said in a statement. "He misses so many things people say. I can see how in a very loud environment with sounds coming from all over, instructions can be missed.”
Kerra Davis, who is friends with the family and also has a child with hearing loss, added in another statement: “We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re asking for fairness — we are asking for USHAA to sit down and talk to parents of children who aren’t looking to cheat or get some sort of competitive advantage over their competition. When our children put themselves out there on those tracks and fields it takes alot of courage . They are not being seen , heard or protected by the adults put in charge.”
