Well you have to make your own path in order to stand out they say. To say the least, the youngest competitor at the Rio Olympics ripped her swimsuit minutes before her race on Sunday but still managed to beat her two rivals.
At the age of 13 years and 255 days, Nepal’s Gaurika Singh is the youngest of more than 10,000 athletes taking part in the Games. With such a crowd, pre-race nerves are understandable.
This was just not it. Things became even more stressful for the for Gaurika because she was unable to bring her regular coach, Rhys Gormley, to Rio. In fact, she had to confer with him by mobile phone on how to deal with the mishap.
”He’s been texting me and sending me instructions,” Singh explained to reporters during a round of interviews with the world’s press. ”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.”
Despite switching her costume and all the hassle, she finished first of three swimmers in her heat. However, the 13 year old stands almost no chance of progressing further against an elite field in the women’s 100 metres backstroke.
Optimistic Gaurika said, ”It was amazing just looking up on that board and seeing my time.”