In at the deep end!
Meet the plucky ten-year-old swimmer who took on the best in the world... and is now planning for the Olympics
AT only ten years old, she is the youngest ever competitor at the World Swimming Championships – and, not surprisingly, hopelessly out of her depth.
But yesterday Alzain Tareq – who is half-Scottish – emerged as the darling of the Games in Russia as she cheerfully bobbed her way to last place in the 50 metres butterfly.
And as her mother Katrina Mclernon watched on TV back in Scotland, she said she could not be more proud.
Alzain, who lives in Bahrain, may be a li ttle off the pace against the top swimmers in the world – she finished some 16 seconds behind the leaders in her
‘Everyone is surprised how young she is’
heat. But she did make the championships on merit.
‘I am the fastest swimmer in Bahrain, and so they chose me,’ she said.
The youngster is so small her feet could not reach the floor from the seats in the waiting room where swimmers gather before their races.
But she was allowed to compete against the best i n the world because of a rule allowing each nation to have some l i mited representation – and because FINA, the international swimming body, sets no minimum age limit.
Alzain, whose father Tareq Salem, a former swimmer, is with her at the championships i n Kazan, added: ‘I am so happy to be here. I want to be able to learn the techniques and how they swim.’ Alza- in’s mother, speaking at a relative’s house in Glasgow where she is spending the summer, said: ‘She’s so excited. She told me that she is hoping f or a better ti me on Saturday as she is swimming in the 50 metres freestyle.
‘I woke up at 6 o’clock so that I didn’t miss her. It was very exciting to watch her and see her swimming on TV.
‘We knew that she wasn’t going to make the finals, but she was just excited to get the experience and to compete in it. You can tell she’s happy. She’s loving it. She’s just smiling all the time.
‘She’s taking pictures with all the other swimmers. They can’t believe she is competing and keep asking her if she is actually meant to be competing.
‘Everyone is really surprised at how young she is.’
Miss Mclernon said that although it was clear her daughter had no chance at such a young age against the best in the world, the experi- ence would be a huge confidence booster, adding: ‘She is just enjoying the whole atmosphere. She’s not getting scared or nervous, she is just making the most of it.’
Alzain normally returns to her mother’s native land every summer with her parents and sister Amani – but this year the Scottish holiday was cut short to allow her to compete. When it is over, it will be back to school in Bahrain.
Alzain’s cousin, Aimee Mclernon, said: ‘We had no idea how big the competition was until we saw all the big names on TV. She is aiming for the Olympics in 2020 so this is a great start for her.’
The youngster’s participation in the sport’s top championship drew a bemused response from British freestyle sprinter Fran Halsall, who said she didn’t know what to make of it, adding: ‘She’s tiny, but good on her to have a go. Bless her.’