Kayla keen to fly Samoan flag in the pool
Swimmer Kaiya Brown cannot wait to represent Samoa and her family at the Olympic Games in Paris on 3 August.
The 20-year-old will be competing in the 50m freestyle.
"I decided to represent Samoa as I wanted to make my family proud and to strengthen my connection to my culture," she said in an interview.
"I’ve been competitively swimming for the past 10 years and stuck to it from a young age, I can’t imagine myself doing any other sport. I started my competitive swimming career in 2014 when I was 10 years old at the Roskill Swimming Club in Auckland New Zealand, then later joined Samoa's national team in 2019. The most challenging part of swimming is the mental challenges."
Brown represented Samoa at last year's Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Island in seven separate races. She traveled to Japan, Qatar and the United States to compete in different aquatic competitions. The sport may be her passion but it also comes with its challenges.
"There are a lot of mental hurdles in the pool and because it’s an individual sport you can feel like the pressure is all on you. But in reality, you have a whole team backing you always," she said.
"I don’t have a strict diet as I don’t want to feel like I’m limiting myself when it comes to fuelling my body. It’s important that I have balanced meals throughout the day and listen to my body about what I need to eat and when."
She has already arrived in Paris and she is adapting well to the people and the weather in Paris.
"Paris so far is amazing, other than the weather going from sunshine to rain pretty quickly. The people are so lovely always wanting to help, the village is incredible. It is nothing like we’ve ever experienced before, and the facilities are top notch."
Her role models in swimming change constantly but her brother will always be the one that remains on her list of role models. He is hardworking and Brown admires that about him. She also encourages upcoming athletes to never give up and that their dreams are worth chasing.
"You can do anything you put your mind to."