His coach just hopes to walk.

Paul Thornton was a three-time Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Association honoree as a member of the track & field team at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He helped the Oles’ 1,600-meter relay team to an NCAA Championships appearance in 1993 and was voted the team’s most valuable runner that season. Thornton earned four varsity letters in both cross country and track & field at St. Olaf while being coached by his father, Bill.

After his collegiate career, Thornton began a 30-year coaching career that has taken him to Illinois State University, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Minnesota and finally the past seven seasons at Kansas.

He has coached numerous All-Americans, including Alex Jung, who won the 2025 decathlon and finished seventh at nationals with a then-Kansas record of 7,746 points.

John Swabik is pictured during the shot put during the Outdoor Big 12 Championships at the Roy P. Drachman Track & Field Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. Photo courtesy of Sydney Allan | Kansas Athletics

But earlier this spring, Thornton felt some leg weakness, a sore back and torso numbness. After a visit to the doctor, Thornton had surgery to have a tumor removed from a spine on April 3.

“He actually sat down with all of us and we all knew something was up,” Swabik, a 2021 Sherman Central School graduate, said late last week, recalling Thornton’s meeting with his Jayhawk athletes. “He had been complaining for a couple of months about some things he was feeling in his back. I didn’t think it was anything to that magnitude. When he sat us down, I didn’t really fully understand what that meant at first.

During the operation, Thornton began to bleed, resulting in temporary lower-body paralysis. A week later, he was transferred to a physical therapy facility in Chicago to learn how to move his legs again.

“I knew the surgery was serious, but I wasn’t so sure it would be this serious,” Swabik said. “I was blown away. I was dealing with a hamstring injury at the time. I thought it was the worst thing in the world. When he brought that up and he’s going through this, I thought ‘I’m lucky, I’m not going through anything compared to this guy.’ It helped me keep pushing.”

In a post on Instagram on April 10, an emotional Thornton set out on a journey, which would be documented on social media, to join his athletes on the track at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

Payton Kasper and Coach Paul Thornton are pictured during a meet at the Indoor Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Texas. Photo courtesy of Bailey Thompson | Kansas Athletics

“I think it’s still a little bit up in the air. He hasn’t confirmed anything with me. I did hear he’s still planning on coming out. I would not be surprised to see him there, but I know travel is pretty tough for him,” Swabik said. “I just want him to do what’s best for him. If he’s there that’d be awesome, if not I know he’s still watching.”

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While Thornton, the multi-events coach at Kansas University, has been improving weekly — even daily — over the past two months, so has Swabik.

The 2019 New York State Public High School Athletic Association Division 2 pentathlon champion transferred to Kansas after four years at the University of Colorado and has reached new heights — literally — this spring.

On May 15, Swabik won the Big 12 decathlon title in Tucson, Arizona, with a new Kansas record of 7,819 points, 361 more than his previous high. He became the fourth Jayhawk to ever win a decathlon conference title and third in the Big 12.

John Swabik competes in the long jump during the Outdoor Big 12 Championships at the Roy P. Drachman Track & Field Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. Photo courtesy of Sydney Allan | Kansas Athletics

“He still runs my program. I’ll get a text each week with what he’d like me to get done. I’m not necessarily in contact with him every day. I know he’s there and he’s watching from a distance,” Swabik said of Thornton. “He’s still kind of managing me from a distance. I just got to see him before regionals. He came and visited us before we got on the bus. We got to talk about the meet a little bit. He let me know what my goals should be for the national meet.”

Now, the fifth-year senior has his sights set on an NCAA championship.

While Swabik scored 7,819 points at the Big 12 Championships, he only reached personal-best scores in four events: javelin (54.6 meters, 657 points), pole vault (4.83 meters, 859 points), discus (42.27 meters, 711 points) and long jump (7.54 meters, 945 points).

“I definitely feel very prepared in those four events that I recently PB’d in,” Swabik said. “I’m looking forward to some of the other ones that were a bit lower at the Big 12 Championships.”

At the Big 12 Championships, Swabik threw the shot put 12.58 meters, good for 709 points but more than a meter short of his personal best of 13.69 meters.

“One event that jumps to my mind (to improve) is shot put. I’ve put some work in the last couple of weeks to bring that up and get more comfortable in the ring again,” Swabik said. “When we moved to outdoor, I shifted my focus from the shot put to discus and javelin. That took a back seat for a second, but I’ve reined in my focus again. It’s been going well and I’m looking forward to putting out something big in that event.”

Also in Tucson, he ran the 1,500 meters in 4:34.69, more than 6 seconds off his best; finished the 110-meter hurdles in 14.8, more than four-tenths slower than his top time; finished the 400 meters in 50.37 seconds, fairly close to his 49.24 personal best; reached 1.97 meters in the high jump where 2.03 is his best; and finished the 100 meters in 11.08 seconds — his best is 10.84 seconds.

“Ultimately, I find the most confidence in feeling good. The work is already done. This is not my first rodeo. I know what to do, I just need to feel good enough to go do it. My body feels great,” Swabik said. “I definitely benefit from being able to go chase somebody down. At the end of the day, it’s such a long ebb-and-flow type of an event. I know if I hit my numbers, I’m going to be just fine. Ultimately I’m chasing numbers out there, rather than the other guys.”

Personal bests in all 10 events would garner 8,142 points.

“I’m still green in everything in a way. At this point, I’m very comfortable at least going out there and doing it. I don’t have that feeling where I don’t know what’s going on like I used to,” Swabik said. “There’s always something to learn and something to do better. I definitely carry a confidence in each event that I’ve never had up to this point.”

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Swabik will be seeded eighth when the first five events of the pentathlon — 100m, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400m — get underway Wednesday. On Thursday, athletes will finish with 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and the 1,500m. At this point, he can only hope that Coach Thornton’s preparation has been enough to give him a chance to win.

“Kansas wasn’t on my radar until I got in the portal after Colorado. I had seen Coach Thornton but I didn’t really know him at all until he started recruiting me. After one or two phone calls, I knew we’d fit well together. He was a good dude and he was the right choice,” Swabik said. “The biggest thing he brings to the table is a mindset guy. His biggest thing is to prepare our minds and pick us up when we’re down. He will bring us back to reality if need be. He does a really good job of managing our meets and our practices. His biggest message is to go out there and compete. Coaching aside, he really helps us with our mindset.”

Illinois junior Jip de Greef is the top seed at 8,309 points, followed by Connecticut junior Joshua Mooney (8,033), Illinois freshman Luuk Pelkmans (8,004), BYU senior Ben Barton (7,998), North Dakota State senior Zach McGlynn (7,922), Louisville sophomore Kenneth Byrd (7,891), Texas State junior Easton Hammond (7,823), Swabik (7,819), Long Beach State senior Ryan Gregory (7,816) and Georgia sophomore Maximus Tucker (7,786).

Swabik hopes that he can also gain a spark from the setting in which he will be competing. Despite his regional and national experience, he has never performed at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field.

“I cannot wait. That’s arguably the best track in the world and the coolest stage. There’s definitely a correlation when I feel good and I’m excited about something, I perform very well,” he said. “Being there at a beautiful facility — Tracktown USA — that can definitely put a little pep in my step.”