Five-year-old Ethan Sequeira has created a flutter.
He braved a viral infection to win four gold medals in the Under-5 category of the Matuga Gymkhana Open Swimming championships that concluded recently. He won the yellow metal in 25-metre breaststroke, 25-metre freestyle, 25-metre backstroke and 25-metre butterfly.
Ethan Sequeira poses with the medals. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
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“We are really proud of him. Just a week prior to the tournament, Ethan had viral infection and couldn’t practise. Even the doctor had advised him not to participate in the event with that high fever. The bacterial infection had made him weaker and so we were a bit scared. But he surprised us at by winning four gold medals,” said Ethan’s father Prem.u00a0Ethan meanwhile, is keen on taking to the game for good. “I want to be a swimmer,” said the little champ, who may not be aware of American Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps’ achievements, but has watched his videos nevertheless. “Earlier I used to swim fast, but could never get my dive right. Then, I watched Phelps’ videos and improved on my dive accordingly,” said the Sr KG student of the VIBGYOR High, Goregaon.
The Malad resident has been participating in competitive events since October 2011. It was sibling rivalry that motivated Ethan to take up swimming. “My sister Megan always used to win medals in spelling competitions and that inspired me to do well too,” Ethan said.u00a0Mother Alina now wants her son to enjoy the sport he loves. “We got him enrolled for swimming lessons in his school last summer. His coaches Tanaji Patil and Tapan Barik felt he was a special talent and took keen interest in him. Now we hope he continues to enjoy his being in the water,” said Alina.u00a0
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