LIHU‘E — Yasmine Ware has a new goal to aspire toward. The 14-year-old student at Kaua‘i High School is just about a half second short of qualifying for the Olympics, said her dad, Travis Ware, Tuesday during a meeting with
LIHU‘E — Yasmine Ware has a new goal to aspire toward.
The 14-year-old student at Kaua‘i High School is just about a half second short of qualifying for the Olympics, said her dad, Travis Ware, Tuesday during a meeting with Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. where Yasmine was presented a Certificate of Recognition for her swimming accomplishments.
“Congratulations on your outstanding swimming achievements at the Hawai‘i State Swimming Championships and at the Junior National Swimming Championships,” the certificate states.
Yasmine finished with three gold medals, two silver medals and a bronze medal at the state event, finishing first overall in the Women 13-14 age group and helping lead her Swim Kaua‘i Aquatics team to its 12th overall finish at the state competition in July.
Swimming in the 50 Meter Freestyle event, Yasmine set a new state record with her 26.73 swim and earned her a qualifying time at the Junior Nationals with a seed of 34 out of 172 girls in the event.
She pocketed gold medals in the 100 Meter Freestyle and the 100 Meter Backstroke and earned silver medals in the 200 Meter Backstroke and the 200 Meter Individual Medley events. A bronze in the 100 Meter Butterfly earned her a new Zone time.
A fourth finish in the 400 Meter IM and a fifth place in the 200 Meter Breaststroke rounded out her state accomplishments.
“We recognize Yasmine for her remarkable swimming talens and for representing Hawai‘i,” the certificate presented to the daughter of Travis and Elvie Ware states. “She was one of the elite top four percent of the swimmers in the nation to qualify for the prestigious Jr. National Swimming Championships held recently at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California in which more than 1,700 swimmers from across the country competed.”
SKA Coach Billy Brown, who accompanied Yasmine to the Jr. Nationals, said she did well despite swimming just a little less than her seeded times.
“We highly commend Yasmine for getting close to her dream of competing in the Olympic trials,” states the certificate sponsored by Dan Britzmann and George Costa.
Brown said Yasmine is more like .4 second off an Olympic qualifying time.
“We’re going to make that soon,” Travis said. “We have 15 minutes and I can have her changed and at the pool. Right, coach?”
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@ thegardenisland.com.
