Schools
Local sophomore dives into Olympic dream
Lakewood Ranch High School sophomore swimmer Sebastian Aguirre hopes Colombia holds the key to Olympic glory.
Gretchen Ebert – LRHS News
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – LRHS sophomore Sebastian Aguirre not only swims for the boys swim team here at the Ranch, but has taken his sport to the next level by swimming for the Colombian national team in Cali, Columbia.
LRHS sophomore Sebastian Aguirre hopes to swim for Colombia in the olympicsTo be able to compete with this prestigious team, Aguirre had to train very hard to become the swimmer he is today. After joining the Colombian team, Aguirre started swimming against other countries.
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“The administration of the national team chooses the top five swimmers for the certain age group. To train for this I also swim for Lakewood and practice with my Sarasota club team,” stated Aguirre. ” Last year I had a meet in Chile and this year I will travel to Bolivia, along with Colombian meets.”
For the Mustangs, Aguirre has been swimming since his freshman year. This past season Aguirre was the only male to qualify for states where he came in fifth for the 100-fly competition, which is a speed-based race.
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“The hardest part of swimming is waking up at four in the morning for practices. But once I get in the water I see how much better I’m getting and the early mornings don’t matter anymore, ” said Aguirre.
Aguirre also swims after school, and goes to the gym regularly to make sure his entire body is in shape.
“You can’t just have strong legs or strong arms to swim. You have to have endurance and stamina, along with strength all over your body. I also stay away from all fried foods, never go to fast food restaurants and never drink soda.
“Balancing school and all the traveling I do does gets hard. I’ve had teachers get on me about absences, but I always make sure I make up all my work.”
Aguirre has the goal of being an Olympic swimmer, and has been working on his speed daily.
“There aren’t Olympic trails. You just have to score a fast time to make the Olympic team, then work your way up from there. My time is seconds away from the required time for the Olympic team,” said Aguirre.
