ACTION|| Swimming

This semester I started swimming again. I had stopped because I felt like I could not manage, tennis, track and swimming at the same time and give it my best. Although I do not regret that decision I realized that swimming really was a key part of my health. It gave me endurance for track and field, but also helped me used up my energy and have a balanced body

When I started the team again it was really hard. The training was not easy, as we had to get ready for the NASA meets. I worked as hard as I could and was not disappointed by the results I achieved in the meets a month after. I broke a few swimming records and even got an article in the newspaper Daily Nation. I met the new people of the team and especially the team captain, Caela. I think she played a very important role psychologically for me and I feel for the rest of the team as well. She takes swimming very seriously and is always ready to cheer up anyone in the pool. She brought sportsmanship to our team and made us come closer.

The most important meet of the season was the Kasarani meet. We competed against all the best swimmers in Kenya. It really was an amazing experience. I was not expecting such a high level of sport. In my first race I came 12^th, which was a big shock for me. I was not used being out of the top 6 in a meet. Coach Murithii came to me and said, Louise you came 12^th in the whole of Kenya. Although it was not exactly true this taught me how to balance my emotions. It means nothing to come 1^st in a meet where you have no competition and if you do not achieve a personal best time. However coming 12^th in a national meet is some kind of achievement. After having understood that I went back to swim my next race thinking of does my best and not necessary beat my opponents. I got a personal best and placed 5^th. The race where I was hoping to get a medal was the 100m butterflies. I was really nervous when I came on the blocks. All the girls I was against were a lot taller and bigger than me. I however focused and gave the race everything I had. This was a real success, I improved my time by 4 seconds and placed 3^rd overall!! Considering it was the last race of the meet, I can fairly say that the meet was a well-spent weekend!