Teen seeking Olympic berth

Annie Zhu has swum in hundreds of races as part of the LaGuardia Community College Aquatics Club where she has been a member since she was four-years-old.
Now, Zhu, 13, is getting ready to pack her bags for Omaha, NE, to swim in the biggest race of her young life with a chance to compete for a spot on the U.S.A. Olympic swim team on the line.
In Nebraska, Zhu will be one of the youngest competitors, but she still dreams of qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
“Some of the other girls are the fastest in the world,” said Zhu. “It’s really exciting especially because I’m basically the youngest girl there.”
The 5-foot-7 Zhu has already shattered some national and club records. By the age of 10, she had the national record for the 100-yard and 100-meter breaststroke in her age group and the following year she acquired three more records: the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard and 200-meter breaststroke.
“In other sports, you can measure yourself with strength and athleticism, but in swimming it is difficult,” said Dragos Cocoa, the Aquatics Club Director who has trained Zhu since she joined the club. “It’s not how tall, strong or big you are, it’s technique, and Annie has learned that from a very young age.”
Zhu trains for nearly 90 minutes a day, five days a week for the summer trials, but she still is motivated to do more.
“I wake up every morning, and I tell myself that I need to train harder and do better for this event,” she said.
In addition to Cocoa, Zhu has two other major swimming influences and inspirations in her life - her parents. Both born in China, they each swam for an assortment of clubs and teams and even held spots on the Chinese National Team.
“My parents are very inspirational, and always pushed me and gave me great advice,” Zhu said.
The preliminaries for the women’s 100-meter breaststroke begin at 11 a.m. on June 30, and will conclude at 7 p.m. - if she advances to the finals. The 200-meter breaststroke preliminaries and finals take place on July 3.