EINDHOVEN, Netherlands — The European Forces Swim League opened its two-day 2010 individual championships Saturday the same way last year’s ended — with more broken records.
Hallie Kinsey, 9, from the Sigonella Swordfish came into this year’s championships with some pretty big flippers to fill: her own. And Saturday she got off to a good start by racking up three gold medals and a league record in the 50-meter breaststroke.
Also seeing three golds in the days’ early races was Gregor Heim, 8, of the SHAPE Seals. His victory included a league record in the boys 8-and-under 50-meter breaststroke.
On the older side, 18-year-old Will Viana from the Stuttgart Piranhas proved hard work pays off by taking home top honors in the 100-meter freestyle and butterfly events.
There are 487 swimmers from 20 teams, ages 6 to 19, competing in the annual championship meet, held this year in Eindhoven’s Nationaal Zwemcentrum de Tongelreep. They attend DODDs and international schools throughout Europe.
Last year, Kinsey dominated her age group by earning six gold medals at the championships. This year, she moved up an age bracket, but remained nonplussed.
"I felt OK with it. It feels really good, feels fast," she said after her first victory of the morning. She cruised to victory in the 100-meter individual medley with her closest competitor three body lengths behind.
Viana’s powerful strokes and mechanical precision have gotten him attention in and out of the pool, where he spends three to four hours a day.
"Air Force Academy and West Point coaches both want me to swim for them," said Viana, who visited West Point on a recruiting trip last month and has one scheduled for Colorado Springs in March. "Right now, I’m leaning toward West Point. My dad and grandfather are both West Point grads."
The EFSL was founded in 1975 with the purpose of providing competitive swimming programs for the children of military and civilians stationed in Europe and has grown steadily. This year, two teams, the V-G (Vilseck-Grafenwöhr) Vipers and the Lisbon Bullsharks, made their championship-meet debuts.
"The league is DODDS-recognized, but not sponsored," said league vice president Charlie Midthun, meaning that although swimming is not a school sport, swimmers who attend DODDS schools can earn a high-school letter for swimming.
In the past, swimmers were limited to six individual events, but that has changed. "Swimmers can compete in eight events this year to keep more in line with USA Swimming," said Midthun. USA Swimming is the national governing body for the sport.
From the opening parade of swimmers to the perhaps overly enthusiastic announcer, there was definitely a lot of energy in the swim center. As Steve Davis, coach of the Wiesbaden Wahoos, watched 10-year-old Ashley Busby knock 50 seconds off her best time in the 200-meter freestyle, he commented on the meet’s start.
"I couldn’t ask anything more out of them," Davis said of his swimmers.
The competition resumes at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.