SAINT LUCIA’S current Junior Sportswoman of the Year, Katie Kyle, continues to rewrite the record books. Competing in Luxembourg at the European Championships, Kyle established a personal best in the 100-metres butterfly and a new national record with a time of 1 minute and 5.53 seconds.
It was also a new age group record in the 15-17 age group. The previous best was 1 minute and 5:70 seconds.
Competing also in the 50-metres event, she brushed the pad in a time of 29.17 seconds.
Indy Kyle, Katie’s mother, spoke to The VOICE about her daughter’s latest performance.
“I am quite pleased with it. It’s a big meet, similar to Fina Worlds with over 800 teams,” she said. “I think her performance was very good. She was very happy with it. Once she is happy with it, as mom, I am happy with it.
“She continues to push really hard because her main goal is getting ready for 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. She assures me that with all the extra time in the pool, she feels confident that she will be ready for it.
“I am quite pleased with the Luxembourg European meet. She has bettered the time and that really counts in swimming.”
Katie has been selected to attend an intense High Performance Standard Camp in Mallorca, Spain in mid-February, all in preparation for the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April.
Katie’s next major meet will be the British Championship in Edinburgh from Mach 1-4.
Meanwhile, Katie is currently attending Plymouth College in the United Kingdom and is under the watchful eyes of Director/Head Coach, Robin Armayan and Deputy Director, Roberto Pavoni.
In November last year, she received a scholarship from FINA. The aim of the scholarships under that programme is to identify, qualify and prepare a number of athletes aspiring towards qualifying for the Olympic Games.