Super Swimmer    

When Caelan Burt returned to the state swimming championships on November 3 in Ocala, she had her sights set on returning to the podium but standing a little higher than she did last season, when she reached the podium for the first time. She was successful, finishing second in the 50 freestyle (23.66) and third in the 100 freestyle (51.47) at the state championships.

"Last year I placed fourth in the 100 freestyle,” said Burt, "and fifth in the 50 freestyle. Both races went really well. My 50 free was a personal best. So I was really happy with that. And my 100 free, I went faster in the finals than I did in the prelims. So I was happy with that as well.” 

Burt has even more to be happy about. She recently accepted an athletic and academic scholarship to swim at Texas Christian University (TCU).

"I'm committed to swim at Texas Christian University next year,” Burt said. "I'm really excited. I reached out to the school and they invited me on an official visit. So I got to go to the campus and meet all the coaches and a lot of the team members. It just seemed like the best fit for me."

There’s even a chance she could swim against her sister Maddie, a senior at the University of Arizona.

“I might compete against my sister,” Burt said, "it just depends if we have a meet against each other. She's a senior this year, but she's going to do a fifth year."

Burt’s success is no surprise to Kamal Farhat, her longtime coach at the Marco YMCA. Farhat has coached Burt since she was six years old.

"I coached her sister before her,” Farhat said with a smile. "I'm coaching her brother Eamon now.”

Farhat has had a profound positive influence on Burt.

"Coach Kamal has been my coach my whole life,” Burt said wistfully, "so it's like kind of my last year of swimming with him. It's been 12 years with him and he's the best coach I could ever ask for. He pushes me to my greatest potential and he knows I can do it. He's always there for me.”

Farhat saw something special in Burt early on.

"Since she was nine years old,” Farhat said. “She doesn't want to lose. She wants to do it 100 percent. She has that drive, you can't teach that. You have it or you don’t - you know that you want to win and you do. Everything is possible if you work hard. She worked herself a lot to get what she got. She had a goal to accomplish 51 this year, 51 seconds in 100 free. That's what her goal was from the very end of last year. She accomplished her goal. She works on the details. I explain to her what she needs to work on to get what she wants. And she does it. She's dedicated to it. That's very, very hard to do with kids now, to get them to be dedicated to something and to have a goal. But she had the goal. She accomplished her goal. And I'm proud of her."