Gaurika Singh, the Youngest Swimmer at Rio, Scores a Victory in the Heats

At 13, Nepal’s Gaurika Singh is the youngest among the 10,000 competitors from all over the world at the Rio Olympics 2016. On August 8, disaster appeared to loom when the young woman ripped her swimsuit just minutes before she had to dive into the pool for the preliminary heats, but after a quick change, she shot ahead like a shark in the water, defeating her two rivals.

“Before my race I ripped my suit so I had to ask him whether or not I should change it. I was trying to pull it up and my nail went through the suit,” Singh told the World Press. Gormley had not been able to accompany her to Rio, so the two have been communicating by text message. “He’s been texting me and sending me instructions,” Singh explained to reporters.

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Nepal-born Singh has been living in London with her family since she was two years old. A deeply talented swimmer, she has been representing Nepal at the international level since 2015.

Having won the heats, Singh will now compete in the women’s 100 meters backstroke.

Last year, she swam the 100 back and 100 free at the FINA World Championships in Kazan, placing 81st and 58th respectively.

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Her personal best time is 1:07.31, which makes her a world record holder in Nepal. In the Rio heats, she did 1:08.45 which is pretty impressive. Overall, Singh finished 31st in the event. The top time in this morning’s prelims came from Team USA’s Kathleen Baker with 58.84.

We cannot wait to see Singh hit the pool again.

Feature Image Credit: mydreamsmag.com