ZANETA Alvarangaof St Hugh’s Preparatory and ‘Y’ Speedos Swim Club is the perfect example of a young athlete approaching their respective sport with precision and determination.

The young prodigy has so far been sensational in her pursuit of prominence and has remained both positive and humble as she continues to chase even more success.

The 11-year-old, who is in her final year at St Hugh’s Prep, is wary of the task that awaits her at the next level, but is more excited about consistently improving in both swimming and academics than to be worried about the added pressures moving forward.

She has been competing from the tender age of five years old, and most of all loves being in the water. Despite her versatility in gymnastics, dancing and track and field, she will not trade the gruelling training that swimming requires for the other activities.

Having aspired to, and met the goal of breaking the eight and under 50-metre freestyle record, she is now looking at an even bigger achievement, which is to make the Jamaican team to the Carifta Swimming Championships in March.

It is very intriguing to sit and observe the upcoming sensations ascend to the levels that we are used to seeing only seasoned professionals achieve.

The current melee of records being frequently rewritten compared to years gone by, also makes for an interesting observation as one cannot help but have a sense of optimism for the future of the sport.

What is even more appealing than seeing them swim incredibly fast is hearing about their approach to swimming in general.

What sets them apart from their peers is not the fact that they are mechanical-like swimmers ready for action at all times, but the way they see the sport which truly allows them to perform at the same level as the professionals.

Zaneta has responded well to the revolutionary Ultra Short-Race Pace Training (USRPT) made popular by Dr Brent Rushall and used by Michael Andrews (The youngest swimmer in history to turn professional at the age of 14).

Rushall in recent telephone conversations with her father Rory Alvaranga, highlighted areas of her crawl and backstroke that needs improvement in order for her to taste greater success in what is expected to be a very promising career.

With the constant guidance of her father, Zaneta is expected to continue this evidence-based training method, while enhancing her stroke for the best biomechanics under the keen eyes of Rushall, who evaluates her races and provide feedback.

Last year, she produced a number of dazzling performances and broke numerous records both on the local and overseas circuit.

While in action at the Dean Martin Memorial Swim Meet at the National Aquatic Centre in Kingston and at the Amateur Swimming Association of Trinidad & Tobago (ASATT) Invitational Championships, Alvaranga was intimidated by some faster swimmers.

However, she kept an open mind and remained focused on her technique which resulted in her producing more national records.

Zaneta admits that training with her father and his protégé Torey Clare is really hard at times, but the three new National Age-Group records achieved in the twin-island republic late last year was due dividends of such hard work and commitment.

She became the first 9-10 girl to swim under the 30-second barrier for freestyle in Jamaica clocking 29.59 seconds and also the first to go under 1:08.00 minutes for the 100-metre equivalent with a time of 1:07 33 minutes.

But her biggest and most notable achievement was in the butterfly stroke which she favours.

With her outstanding form, she clocked 31.35 seconds to dip below the 33-second mark and also below the T&T National Age-Group record of 32.50 seconds. She also lowered the old 100-metre equivalent record of 1:24.00 minutes by well over three seconds in May when she clocked a crisp 1:20.34 minutes.

Surprisingly at her age, she is cognisant that she still has some way to go in the development process in both swimming and academics despite maintaining an 88–90 per cent average.

She has blossomed well over the years and one can only hope that her hard work and dedication will continue to bear fruit at the Carifta Championships. It will be difficult, but the outcome can also be positive once she remains focused.