Athelete of the Week: Annika Mitosinka

Age 12 | School Imperial Valley Home School Academy | Grade 7

Idleness is not Annika Mitosinka’s bag. She likes to stay active and out of doors.

Imperial Valley summers, then, are not her seasonal ideal, because, as she says, “it gets super-hot.”

Luckily for her, she’s found herself an outlet for her kinetic energy that blunts the worst of the warmth: Swimming.

Mitosinka first started out in the sport about three years ago after being given a nudge in that direction by a friend she met through softball.

“My friend Savannah was like, ‘Hey, why don’t you try it? It’s really fun,’” said Mitosinka.

Savannah proved to be a true prophet. Mitosinka took to the water naturally, “and I’ve been doing it ever since,” she said.

Swim has surpassed softball in her sporting hierarchy — though her enthusiasm for equestrian pursuits might top both.

Over the past three seasons, she’s grown into a regular contender at Imperial Valley Swim League meets.

Last week at the El Centro Sunsations Invitational held at Central Union High, Mitosinka, racing for the Imperial Sea Lions, had one of her finest performances to date, taking part in five races — the 50 meter freestyle, butterfly, backstroke,

breaststroke and individual medley — and winning them all in her 11-to-12year-old age bracket.

Not only did she best her own cohort, she also posted faster times than any of the day’s 13-to-14year-old female competitors, generally beating them by whole seconds, rather than fractions.

Despite her excellent outing, Mitosinka isn’t generally one to get too bogged down by the rigors of competition.

“I don’t think of it too seriously,” she says, “I think of it as really fun.”

Her next chance to make a splash will come Saturday, when she competes at the IVSL championships in

Yuma.