While Addiysn Hoven is driven to win just like any other swimmer, success can be measured in much different terms when it comes to the Aberdeen teenager.

Born with hip dysplasia, Hoven’s path in sports has been anything but normal. It’s a reason why the 17-year-old member of the Aberdeen Swim Club takes nothing for granted.

“I’m always really grateful every day that I can at least I wake up, and be able to walk, and be able to go to swim practice every day,” Hoven said.

And once Hoven hits the pool, she tries to make the most of her opportunities.

When asked about her competitive nature, Hoven will take you back to her childhood.

“I think the competitiveness came from watching kids always outside running around, always doing things that I couldn’t right away,” Hoven said. “Being so competitive and being so eager to catch up to be able to do the things that they were doing, so I wasn’t left out and everything.”

Hoven followed her sister’s footsteps into swimming and found an activity that she could do without having to endure so much pain.

“Once I started I liked it and I couldn’t stop,” Hoven said.

To understand Hoven’s will and determination all you need to know is that her two favorite races are the 100-meter backstroke and the 400-meter individual medley, arguably one of the toughest races in swimming.

“It’s a challenging race,” Hoven said. “It is.”

But when you’re forced to overcome multiple hip surgeries while growing up, you tend to have a firm grip on the term challenging and know how to handle it.

“I found that I do good at it and did just win state for that event this winter short course season,” Hoven said of the 400 IM. “When I first started swimming it was obviously one of those races when it got to your age group you’re like, ‘ooh, that’s not going to be my favorite,’ but once I kept working on it and swam it more than once, it started to become one of the races that I enjoy and do at most of my meets.”

And just like learning to overcome her physical limitations, Hoven soon found out how to navigate one of the biggest tests in the pool, as well. She discovered she needed to pace herself and not go all out on the first few laps.

“That’s one of the things I learned when I did keep swimming the 4 IM and each race in general,” Hoven said. “The 4 IM the first time I went all out in the fly, because that’s one of the strokes that is not one of my favorites, but then by the time I got to the breaststroke and the freestyle, I was so out of breath and so tired that I was like OK, now … for the next time I need to swim it, I need to focus on keeping the pace throughout it, so that I’m not wore out by the first 100.”

Through the years, Hoven has gotten stronger and is grateful to be able to do more things.

“Having hip dysplasia and not being able to be like ‘a normal type kid,’ being able run around as a kid, it’s definitely a lot more enjoyable in my teenage years being able to do more,” Hoven said.

Hoven, who likes to archery hunt and rifle hunt, attempted another sport, but it was not as forgiving as swimming.

“I did run cross country for three years and I stopped because I was having more hip problems and hip pain and everything,” Hoven said. “Now, I’m looking in the next couple of months of having another hip surgery.”

In the meantime, Hoven will continue to work on improving in the pool.

Her next goal is to advance to sectionals.

“One of my longest goals from when I turned 13 after I went to zones, and all-stars was to make it to the next level up which was sectionals. … Sectionals for me is kind of like getting to the Olympic Trials. It’s like a dream almost.”

That dream could become a reality as Hoven is less than a second away from qualifying.

It would come on the heels of Hoven’s recent state championship this past winter in Watertown. It was something that she will never forget.

“Winning it was like oh my gosh, I can actually do something if I work really hard enough for it,” Hoven said.

Hoven said that swimming is a sport that requires both physical and mental toughness. Perhaps no races epitomize that more than the 400 IM, 200 butterfly and the mile.

“You have to be in great shape and you have to have good mental health to do those races,” Hoven said, “because if you don’t you’re going to get to that point where your physical is so wore out that you only have your mental left, and that’s what’s going to help you get through that.”

Hoven has benefitted from past ASC standout swimmers such as Gena Jorgenson and Hannah Kastigar, among others.

“There are several role models on the team, not just the swimmers, and they are role models, getting up and winning all those events, and making the Olympic Trials like Gena and Hannah did,” Hoven said.

However, she is quick to point out that the role models are not confined to well-known swimmers.

“It’s not just about the winning of the role models,” Hoven said, pointing out coaches, fans, parents, teammates, officials and pool workers. “They’re all role models and all have an effect on who I am as a swimmer, and who I am as a person, too.”

Hoven is gearing up for this weekend’s annual High Point Swim Meet Friday through Saturday at the Aberdeen Aquatic Center. While she said having so many familiar faces attend adds a bit more pressure, she is looking forward to the familiarity of competing in her home pool.

“You know your stroke better when you are swimming in the pool that you’re practicing in every day,” Hoven said.

There’s no doubt that swimming has had a profound impact on Hoven, who found success by just getting into the pool in the first place, and then taking it to a whole different level by capturing a state championship.

“It was really exciting. It felt really good. I was really emotional after and I still get emotional when I talk about it, too,” Hoven said, “just because it was like, ‘oh my gosh that was my first one,’ but it was really rewarding and exciting to see that 11 years of working and technique work and swimming, that it pays off, and it was really, really fun.”