|
It nearly warrants a double-take—the recognition that the diminutive 14-year-old leaning against the deck chair is one of the best swimmers in the nation. Noelle Tarazona's just so polite, somewhat reserved, and—on this particular afternoon—talking about swimming and school with equal facility, like it's no big deal that she's trying out for the Olympics, or that she just returned from training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
And then you see her swim—so fast it looks so effortless, powering across the pool. And you understand why this Claremont High School freshman is such a superstar performer.
The swimming, so it goes, is a family affair in the Tarazona household, with Noelle joining her cousins for swimming and the picnics that followed. These opportunities, and the extraordinary ones that followed, have been facilitated by her mother Jennifer Tarazona, a financial planning analyst at CMC and a competitive swimmer through college. "It was a huge part of my life," says the elder Tarazona, who also began swimming when she was 5 years-old. "It was always in the back of my mind as an opportunity for Noelle. It turned out that Noelle has a natural affinity for the water, and she wanted to be in it all the time, so it was a good activity for her."
Noelle has competed for The Claremont Club Swim Team—a team of more than 200—since she was in kindergarten. Abilities within the team range from beginning competitors to the senior group. Although Noelle played other sports—gymnastics, soccer, and softball among them—she committed to swimming in recent years.
"I've made so many good friends here," she says of her club team. "I like the company, and I like the feel of the water."
As a team member, Noelle has the opportunity to swim a variety of races of different lengths and strokes. But her best events are the 200-meter butterfly and the 400-meter IM, or individual medley. Her times (2:16.06 and 4:55.65, respectively) in these events at the Swim Meet of Champions in Mission Viejo, have qualified her to participate at the Olympic Trials held this summer in Omaha, Neb.
"Qualifying for the trials is very unusual for someone Noelle's age," says Jennifer Tarazona. Claremont Club swimming coach John Ries last month told the Claremont Courier that that only a quarter of one percent of swimmers from the club qualify for Olympic trials. "You don't get swimmers like her very often," he said. "The talent is definitely there and her work ethic is as good as it gets."
But Noelle seems used to unusual experiences, especially when it comes to swimming. Training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, she met and worked with 66 people on the National Junior Team. In January, she is invited to represent the United States at the Victoria State Championships, held in Australia over 13 days. And in an international competition last year, she represented Southern California in an all-star meet in Canada.
Last August, Noelle went to Junior Nationals and finished fifth in the 400-meter IM and 15th in the 200-meter butterfly. The competition, she says, was tough, "but it was fun seeing people around the pool that I look up to," she says. "You get to see people from all over, and you make friends from other teams that you look forward to seeing."
As for competing, "I love to race," says Noelle, who commits about 20 hours a week to the pool. "It's fun to push yourself, knowing that someone is there, racing against you. In a curious way, they are helping you by racing you. It motivates me to go faster."
"She has done all this on her own," Jennifer Tarazona says of her daughter. "She has dedication and drive, and she loves the swimming and social atmosphere at competitions.
"I think she is a great role model for younger swimmers as well," she adds. "They all look up to her, and she has real leadership skills. I'm so proud of her."
Back to Inside CMC
|
Tarazona powers through the pool, training 16-20 hours a week.
"I try to be very supportive and positive with Noelle because she is so motivated and driven," says mother Jennifer Tarazona, a financial planning analyst at CMC. "I try to be her biggest fan. Knowing the sport, we have a good rapport: we can talk about her races-what worked, what didn't."
|
