Olympic Hopeful Heading to Jail or Athens?

April 23 -- The idea behind synchronized swimming is to make the arduous look effortless. At the Olympic level elite swimmers turn raw athleticism into refined beauty, hiding all traces of physical effort and pain behind a shimmering smile.

But for Tammy Crow, theres no pose or pretty face that can hide her pain — or the pain she's caused others.

"Just living is a punishment," she said. "I feel horrible every day."

The 27-year-old Crow has spent two decades in pools, working for a chance to represent the United States at the Olympic Games. After failing to make the team in 2000, she put everything she had into training for a chance to compete in the Athens games in 2004.

Her extraordinary efforts paid off. She made the 2004 Olympic team, but she may never make it to Athens this summer because of her role in a car crash that killed two people — one the man she loved, the other a young boy.

A Love for the Sport and Each Other

The women on the team put in long hours of grueling practices six days a week, and form extraordinary bonds.

Crow's teammate Lauren McFaro described how deep their feelings for the sport and each other are. "Its a great life. You're strong, you're in shape, you're making your body do things that people didn't think were possible. And with this group, I think we all do it because we love it and we love each other."

They have become, literally, like family. "These friendships are, are deeper than any friendships you're ever gonna have again in your life. Because we live and die together," Lauren said. And, like family, they watched Crow make friends, and then fall in love, with a ruggedly handsome coach and gym teacher named Cody Tatro.

Crow said, "I loved his passion for life. He loved to teach, he loved kids. He saw me coach, he saw me swim and I never wanted to get married, until I met Cody."

Tatro was popular with his students, and became a mentor to many of them, including 12-year-old Brett Slinger, a standout baseball player who was a star on a number of clubs and All-Star teams.