By Emilie Chau
Since she was five years old, senior Varsity swimmer Janet Tran has been a passionate swimmer.
“I started when I was five because my mom got this flyer from her co-worker,” explains Janet. “I didn’t really think much about it at the time—I thought it was just some extracurricular activity I could do in my free time—but I grew to really like it.”
Janet competes in the 200 free, 500 free and 100 fly. Her fastest times so far are 1:52.70 for the 200 free, 5:03.04 for the 500 free and 56.5 for the 100 fly. Janet is also currently ranked 82nd in California among women her age.
She continues to swim because of the people surrounding her and the joy she gets from helping others improve their strokes.
“Well, I didn’t really try any other sports,” laughs Janet on why she stuck with swimming. “I also really like being able to race other people and swimming is a kind of close community so we can all relate to each other a lot. Also, most of my friends are swimmers.”
Another aspect Janet loves about the team is the tight-knit community among the athletes at Piedmont Hills.
“I love how the (swim) team is so supportive of one another,” expresses Janet. “We are always cheering for each other and that’s kind of rarely seen from other school so I really appreciate that.”
Her favorite event to swim is where there is no pressure to meet a certain goal or expectation.
“Actually, I like swimming in my off events because there are no expectations for me to go really fast or to get records,” confesses Janet.
For those who are considering to take up swimming as a sport, Janet encourages taking a chance with swimming.
“Just go for it,” motivates Janet. “It’s a really good experience and it looks good on college apps.”
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