The USA has a long history of housing phenomenal swimmers, swimming their way to the top. The seniors were unable to display some path-breaking water moments in the World Aquatic Championships. Hence, the sole responsibility was on the juniors to bring the gold home. In Fukuoka Japan, the US swimming team put forth some remarkable individual performances. Even though Hunter Armstrong, Ryan Murphy and Katie Ledecky emerged victorious, the overall performance of the team failed to impress.

With the FINA World Aquatics Junior Championships underway, a phenomenal display by a 17-year-old stunned the internet. The young athlete, suffering from alopecia, didn’t let her frailty disrupt her path to glory.

Leah Hayes takes the 400m IM swimming win home 

At the Wingate Institute, the stadium of sports fanatics managed to see the action unfold. In this world-class facility around 600 incredible young artists participated, representing more than 100 National Federations. The institute features an ultra-modern 50m pool, and also passes off as Israel’s National Centre for Physical Education and Sports. The competition is scheduled for six days, with spectators already seeing their favourite juniors in action.

With the commencement of the tournament on September 4, the heats of women included 50m backstroke, 100m backstroke, 4x200m relay freestyle and 400m individual medley. Leah Hayes, currently bearing a gold to her name from the 200m medley in 2022 Budapest, clinched another victory. Her record-breaking performance in 400m Individual Medley clocked in 4:36:84, rewarded her a new championship record. In a post by World Aquatics in ‘X’, Leah’s victory was announced.

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The girls team line-up included the finest artists, Addison Sauickie, Erika Pelaez, Bailey Hartman, Piper Enge, Teagan O’Dell, Anna Moesch and Leah Hayes among others. The tribe of 19 aimed for the win, with a hope to outshine the boys.

Leah Hayes’ underlying condition didn’t pose a threat

At a tender age of six years, Leah received a blow from the medical team. She started to lose hair from head, not knowing how it’ll further affect her. She eventually lost all her body hair, unable to recover from the hard reality check. Having an indomitable passion for sports and coming from an athletic family, Leah didn’t bow down to her weakness. She took a deep dip and owned the pool instantly, not worrying about the world outside.

READ MORE: 2023 FINA World Aquatics Junior Championships – Schedule, Team USA, and More

Leah gave an unbelievable performance in the 400m IM, confirming the upcoming anxious bouts. The following days will have a combination of freestyle relay, backstroke, butterfly and medley, asserting some talented displays in Netanya.

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