Swimmer fulfils childhood dream

When Wakefield swimmer Mya Ketel was 12, she dreamt of swimming and studying in the United States.

Six years on, the breaststroker has signed up to go to Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan.

“I just want to be there now,” declares Mya, who has to wait until the fall, August, to take up the four-year scholarship and join the Cardinals swim team.

She will also do a degree in kinesiology, the study of movement.

Last year, Platform Sports Management approached half a dozen US schools on Mya’s behalf and they settled on Saginaw, which is about 160 kilometres from Detroit.

Her agent is former champion New Zealand breaststroker Natasha Lloyd, who went to Auburn University in Alabama and now lives in Colorado where she acts as a college swimming recruiter.

“I got to speak to several students there and was given a virtual reality tour of the complex. It was the best option,” enthuses Mya, after finishing her shift at the Front Runner sport and clothing store in Richmond where she is a permanent part-time worker.

What also helped convince her to follow her American dream was catching up with another Nelson swimmer, Sam Wilson, who has spent the past year with the UIC Flames in Chicago.

“Sam is loving it there and couldn’t recommend the college system more,” says the former Garin College student, who has been swimming competitively since she was eight.

She thought about giving the sport away last year but a switch to the Nelson South Swim School, under the tutelage of top local coach Glen Findlay, saw her form go to a new level.

“I travel in from Wakefield for seven or eight swim sessions a week, and also do yoga and gym work.”

Mya was a three-time finalist in the national secondary school championships last year and has also opened the new season unbeaten.

She took out the 50, 100 and 200 metres breaststroke events at the Swim Nelson Marlborough Country and Town meeting at Hampden Street pool earlier this month.

Glen rates her in the top five female breaststrokers in the country.
This weekend she will be in action again at the SNM long course champs at Nayland Pool.