San Francisco, CA (1888PressRelease)
July 10, 2007 - Making it to the top is already part of "Amazing Karime's" way of life. Success at the beginning is a step towards bigger and better things in the near future.
In 1988 Lourdes and Susana Candini of Mexico City earned a spot at the Games of the XXIVth Olympiad in Seoul, Korea. Today, Lourdes' daughter at only eleven years of age is at the beginning of what seems to be a promising journey. As a member of the Walnut Creek Aquanuts from southern California, Karime Andere, managed to earn two first place medals and two second place medals at the U.S. Championship for synchronized swimming for ages 11-13. The championship took place from June 23 to June 25 at the University of Miami in Oxford, Ohio. So what does it take to begin earning medals at age eleven and eventually make it to the Olympics?
Karime's father, Fernando explains, " The roots of any athlete's success begins at home. It's tough letting your eleven year-old grow so fast, but it would be tougher not to let her realize her aspirations and development as an athlete". The controversy is strong as family members realize that synchronized swimming practices and competitions will definitely take a lot of time, money and effort. The end result, however, could be very sweet. An opportunity to participate in Olympic games during Karime's lifetime would make everything worthwhile. So at what age should your child start training for Olympics? According to Lourdes, a former Olympiad, at a very early age. " I started at age ten and Karime started at age eight. The practices are three to four times weekly, week after week", she explains.
For the Andere family, there have been a lot of considerations that have played an important role to Karime's development. Although, Karime's merit is deserved on her own, her family's support and dedication to her goals have created a recipe for success. "I remember considering the move near Walnut Creek because they have an excellent reputation in the world of synchronized swimming" states Lourdes. Walnut Creek has been known to produce stellar athletes, eight of which have been Olympic gold medalists. The team's dedication and commitment to excellence is exactly what the Andere family is looking for. Karime's surroundings, her team members, coaches and opportunities as well as her strong desire to succeed at the sport proves the perfect atmosphere for a possible Olympic athlete.
Olympic stars must be at least sixteen years of age although the oldest Olympiad was seventy-two years old. Athletes must have demonstrated a strong success record in the sport at the national level to be more easily considered for the Olympics. Each sport has their own requirement and parents who feel that their children have potential to become athletes should consider gaining as much information at their child's young age. A great resource is a visit to the next Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing 2008 or at a more affordable visit to their website at http://en.beijing2008.cn/
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