SOUTH BEND — In a world where most people might feel a little out of their element, St. Joseph's High School senior Gavin Provost feels right at home.

"I've always just been a swimmer — even since I was a little kid in the bathtub, just swimming from one side of the tub to the other," Provost said.

In fact, you might say he feels more comfortable in the water than he does on land. Provost was born with Spina Bifida, a defect that causes a malformed spine. He lives life in a wheelchair — but if you're thinking about pulling out your sympathy card, think again.

"I'm not here to be like 'Oh look at me, I'm in a wheelchair, I'm a swimmer, I'm so inspirational,'" Gavin says. "If people think I'm inspirational, than I am happy that I did that for them, but I'm just here to do what I love."

What Gavin loves is winning. Though his times aren't nearly fast as the swimmers he races against in the pool, he is still competitive. He judges a win or a loss based upon an improvement in his own time.

"He's the team record holder for parallel bar dips and he comes in and lifts weights," says his coach, Tony Kowals. "He just shows that you have to work hard and overcome the hurdles and not worry about them. He doesn't worry about them, and he doesn't make any excuses."

Provost has no tolerance for excuses.

"I can't stand the people who get being mentally handicapped mixed up with being physically handicapped. People treat me like 'Oh, Hi. You're in a wheelchair.' I'm like 'I'm physically handicapped. I know what your talking about, and stop it right now!'"

Gavin's teammates are happy to oblige. He is treated like one of the guys, and he's happy to put up with the zings that come right along with it.

"It's funny, because if people don't know me they'll be like 'Why would you say that?' They'll be like 'Come on Gavin, give us a standing ovation.' But I don't care, I actually want to thank them for that."

Gavin is planning to attend Holy Cross College, and eventually study Sports Management. He plans on having a career involving wheelchair sports one day.