HUMBOLDT PARK — Neither Nancy Maldonado nor her husband, 26th Ward Ald. Roberto Maldonado, ever learned to swim, but Nancy decided to sign their son Rene up for a class when he was 7.
Rene Maldonado was afraid of the water.
Over the last nine years, it was Nancy Maldonado who drove her son to countless swimming practices and meets, who learned the ins and outs of the sport.
Now, the 15-year-old soon-to-be sophomore just learned he is going to have a shot to swim in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
Nancy Maldonado will never know of her son's success, but it's her memory that is driving Rene in pursuit of the pinnacle of swimming.
Nancy Maldonado died of cancer in late January.
"This is what my mom wanted me to do after all those years of pushing me and challenging me," Rene Maldonado said. "Now to see the outcomes of her pushing me is a good feeling. It motivated me to succeed."
Rene will have the next four years to train for the biggest meet of his life, having qualified for the 2020 Olympic Trials.
Rene, who was named a captain of the Jones College Prep swimming team as a freshman last year, got notice from USA Swimming about two months ago that two of his times had qualified him for a guaranteed spot in the 2020 trials.
"It came to me so unexpectedly," he said. "It just hit me right in the face. I was so overjoyed and in disbelief."
Ald. Maldonado, who said he's never missed one of his son's meets, has been working on learning more about the intangibles of the sport, which had always been his wife's expertise.
Nancy Maldonado (left) died early this year after a fight with cancer.
The news of the Olympic trials qualification came as a shock to the alderman as well.
He was in such shock that he made his son show him the actual letter.
"He has a guardian angel through his mom that I'm sure had some divine intervention in all this," Roberto Maldonado said. "I'm sure when he got that letter, she was jumping up and down in heaven."
Rene has qualified for two races, the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke, and he's hoping to qualify for others this year.
It's the same events in which his idol Michael Phelps swims.
The 2020 trials — yes, USA Swimming plans that far in advance — will be held in Omaha. The trials are described as the greatest swim meet on American soil, as the fastest swimmers from all across the country compete for a spot on the team.
The Maldonados traveled to Omaha in June shortly after receiving word from USA Olympics that Rene had qualified to take in the scene of the 2016 trials.
Although he didn't meet Phelps, Rene was about 15 feet away from him and the rest of this year's Olympic team.
"You can feel the tension. There's so many swimmers, and only a few make it," Rene said. "You can feel the pressure. It's also a motivation to say I'm going to be right there in four years."
On Monday, the whole Maldonado family is taking a trip to the U.S. Open swim meet in Minneapolis.
The next four years are going to be all about training, according to Rene, who also swims for the Chicago Wolfpack Aquatic Club.
"They gave us four years in advance so we make sure we get everything set because this is a very big meet," he said. "It's a life changing event."
Rene still has a long way to go to make the actual Olympic team and will have to swim a series of races during the trials.
"My dream is just to be a leader for those kids who go through hard times, those younger kids who look up to me," Rene said.
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