Swimmers, standing on the diving blocks,
Waiting for the call;
The silence and tension in the air was deafening,
Even the chatty ones fell silent.
The birds had stopped chirping
And the wind had stopped howling.
I myself was on the block,
Calming myself down.
All of a sudden,
The referee called out,
“Take your marks!…”
The tension grew more and more,
As our muscles tensed. “BEEP!”
I lunged forward with all my might,
Ignoring the pain and shock
As I entered the water.
I broke through the surface and gulped the air.
I raced through the water,
Feeling the adrenaline
Run through my blood.
Our powerful arms moving,
Gracefully and aggressively.
My chest burnt,
And my body shuddered with exhaustion,
I felt like I was suffocating.
Fortunately, I turned to breathe to the side
When out of the corner of my eye,
I noticed Gabriel and Diana encouraging me
And I didn’t want to let them down.
So I kicked my legs harder than ever,
And moved my arms so quick
I thought they were a blur.
I was close to the end,
So I sped up;
Faster and faster I went,
When I was near the flags
I used every bit of energy left inside me,
And sprinted to the end.
My hand whacked the wall hard
As I finished.
I gasped and splattered heavily,
Feeling the throbbing pain in my head.
As I unblocked my ears from water,
I started to hear
The London Aquatics Centre erupt with cheers and applause.
I could see the proud look in my coaches eyes;
I blushed with pride
As I noticed that I had come first!
I slapped the water, feeling overjoyed and triumphant,
Yet overwhelmed and fatigued.
I climbed out of the pool,
Feeling like a queen.
I was soaked to the bone
But I didn’t care,
I did it!
I had reached my goal!

A note to swimmers:
Never give up,
Never slow down.
With true and hard work,
Anything can be accomplished, won or done.
If you really have a dream,
Go for it,
And never fail to the ground
When times are tough.
Get out of your cage and soar up in the stars.