A young Virginia Beach swimmer broke three local swimming committee records for Virginia this weekend during a Newport News meet.
Virginia Swimming is a local swimming committee within USA Swimming. Kayleigh Duffy, a fifth-grader at Alanton Elementary, broke the fastest times in her division for 50 and 100-meter backstroke (33.83 and 1:12.52) and 50-meter butterfly (30.93) at a Brittingham-Midtown Aquatic Center meet this weekend. The fastest previous backstroke times were recorded in 1991, and the fastest butterfly had been posted in 1998.
“I feel good because I tried,” Duffy said in an email. “I’ve been working hard to break these Virginia Swimming records.”
The 10-year-old athlete also holds the 50-yard freestyle records for her division, which she set in April. She began swimming for TIDE at 5. She also swims for her neighborhood summer league team, the Alanton Bolts. She will compete in Virginia Swimming’s Age Group Championships this July and is training for the Eastern Zone meet in New York this August as well as the National Elite Showcase Classic in Spring 2017.
“Kayleigh never misses an opportunity to get better! She thrives on racing and loves the challenge,” TIDE Swimming founder and associate head coach Sandra Jones said in a release. “In addition to swimming really fast, Kayleigh loves meeting new swimming friends from around the state.”
Duffy aims to set national age group records and participate in the Olympics, she said.
