Kimberley’s swimming while others sleep

Her restless nature propelled her mother to enroll her in swimming classes. She took to the water literally “like a fish.” She was then at the tender age of three. Now 12 and in secondary school, Janine Kimberley Thornhill is a star Trinidad and Tobago swimmer.

Kimberley recently made her second appearance at the CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Jamaica in April 2003. There, her outstanding performance rewarded her with two gold medals in the 50 and 100-metre freestyle events. The rigid schedule of training six days per week, sometimes commuting from her home in San Fernando to Port-of-Spain to start at 5 am, has not affected this shy young lady. With a sweet smile, she shrugs and says, “Well, Daddy takes me to town for training from 5 to 7 am, then takes me back home to get dressed for school, then drops me to school at Holy Faith Convent in Couva.” Her involvement in competitive swimming began at age eight, when at an Invitational meet of the Amateur Swimming Association of Trinidad and Tobago (ASATT), she won three bronze medals and two fourth places. Kimberley went on to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the 2000 and 2001 Goodwill Swimming Championships in Suriname and Trinidad respectively. At the latter, she won four gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal and was named the most outstanding swimmer in her age group girls 9-10. In this event too, she broke the 50 metres backstroke record.

Kimberley looks forward to competitions because it motivates her to input her best while training. At her first CARIFTA Swim Meet in Barbados in 2002, she won gold in her pet event — the 50 metres freestyle, then went on to the Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships (CISC) where she again placed first in the 50 metres freestyle and second in the 100 metres. In this same year, this energetic young lady represented Trinidad and Tobago at the Caribbean Island Swimming Championships 2002 in Curacao where she once more won gold and silver in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle respectively. Winding her fingers through her braids and constantly smiling, Kimberley explains, “my school work is not really affected because most of these swim meets are held at times like Easter vacation or towards the end of the school term, so if I do miss some school, it is not a lot. Now that I am in high school, I still have enough time after training on evenings to do my home work and go to sleep in time to get a good night’s rest. Sometimes I feel sad that when everyone else is sleeping, I have to wake up at 4 o’clock and get prepared to go for training at 5 am, but I like to swim so it is not a problem and in any case I sleep in the car for the half-hour ride from home to school.”

Recently, at our National Short Course Age Group Championships 2003, she once again excelled in her age group category, winning eight gold meals and one bronze medal. Selected to go to the Central American Swimming Championship in Mexico from June 28 to July 6, 2003 Kimberley is now under very intense and vigorous training. However, she bemoans the lack of facilities for the many swimmers like herself who love the sport and competitions. “This is why I have to go all the way up to town because the competition is in a 50-metre pool. Trinidad and Tobago only has one, which is the Marlin’s pool in Westmoorings. I wish the Sports Ministry would look into this and give swimmers a better chance to practise, especially when we have to prepare for international competitions.”

This young lady has undoubtedly set high goals for herself. Ingrained in her is the discipline of training for long hard hours. “I would like to go to the World games, I would like to go to the Olympics and have a gold medal in the freestyle and backstroke since those are my best areas and... I just want to do my best,” she smiles. Kimberley’s father too voices his concerns, “We need more 50-metre pools in Trinidad and Tobago, that’s why we cannot hold any competitions here. There is only one 50 m pool in Trinidad, which is a problem, more so because of its location. The swimming association has always been lobbying for this. It is especially difficult for South children having to go to Port-of-Spain for everyday training. When your children are competitive swimmers, parents practically live by a pool.” Her eight-year-old sister is rapidly following Kimberley’s footsteps; she now swims competitively in the girls 8-9 category. A young lady with definite futuristic plans, 12-year-old Kimberley answers my question spontaneously, “I want to be a lawyer. I like to hear Mummy on the phone with her clients, so I want to be an attorney-at-law just like her.