Franklin student swims to victory
Swimming hasn’t always come easily for Pukekohe High School student Kiana Swain.
But now, at only 16-years-old, she has gone on to represent New Zealand at the Australian Age Group Championships where she received bronze.
It was feats like this that helped her achieve the U19 Sportswoman of the Year at the Counties Manukau Sport Franklin Junior Sports Awards and Volunteer Recognition Ceremony recently.
Kiana started learning to swim when she was five, and although she spends a lot of time in the pool now, she hadn’t always liked it.
‘‘Oh geez - I hated it,’’ she said, reflecting on her first swimming lesson.
‘‘I cried like the whole time. I didn’t want to put my head under the water.’’
That has been a bit of pattern for Kiana, as she used to hate butterfly, but it is now one of her favourite strokes, with her personal best being 2.17s over 200 metres.
She has trained hard to get where she is today, hitting the pool seven days a week that includes five days of waking up at 5am to train.
Between school and the pool, Kiana does not have much time for a social life.
‘‘It is hard to fit in the social part of it, but I make time and Sundays are like the day off,’’ she said.
‘‘I was talking to this guy in my class today and he was like, ‘oh I have to get up at 6:30 tomorrow. I was like I get up at 5am every morning, and he was like ‘oh that’s you.’’’
Kiana is now preparing for the 2018 New Zealand Open Championships coming up in July, and while she is competitive with other swimmers, she knows her biggest competition is herself.
‘‘When I was in Australia I had a coach from Wellington and he said he would rather me get a personal best, than get a medal, because I’m improving myself. So PBs are really important.’’