Being a freshman in high school can be intimidating. Lori Awad is not only a freshman, but she has the opportunity to possibly be a part of the 2024 Lebanon Swim Olympics.

“I’ve been competitively swimming since I was seven years old,” freshman Lori Awad said. “I started swimming because my older brothers swam, so I thought it’d be cool.”

The Olympics can be mind-boggling, but the experience will all be worth it.

“I was super excited because I’ve competed in junior world and cup, so that was already really cool,” Awad said. “But just knowing I could go to the Olympics is amazing.”

Practice is important because it helps improve skills, build strength and endurance, and become more confident in your abilities. Plus, practice helps develop good habits and techniques that can be used during competition.

“I practiced a lot. In the morning and at night, six days a week,” Awad said. “Since I swim Internationally, I have dual citizenship. So, I use my Lebanese citizenship which qualifies me because of the times that I get.”

Having dual citizenship can bring many opportunities. It allows the ability to practice in different places and may give some advantages when competing.

“I’ve had dual citizenship since I was 12 years old,” Awad said. “When I was younger, I started swimming in Lebanon because I was visiting. Both my parents were born and raised there. So, we had family and I did one swim meet and I realized all of the opportunities I could get since I have to have dual citizenship.”

Swimming in a different country can be very different. There are new people and a new environment.

“Compared to the US, swimming in a different country is different,” Awad said. “But it’s more fun just because of the experiences you get, meeting all those new people, and seeing how everyone else works and competes there. Compared to my club team here, I feel like there’s a lot more people there. Since it’s an open age group, they’re all mostly older, but they have a lot more of a team. They have so many people with them. So, it’s just so different. Usually, I’m just there with my coach, but they’ll have a whole team and go travel with each other.”