JAMAICAN, Zaneta Alvaranga of St Hugh’s Preparatory rides the high tide in budding swimming career

Tuesday, January 05, 2016    

ZANETA Alvaranga of 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.

Zaneta Alvaranga

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. more