Clark Kent Apuada, called “Superman” by friends, has broken a swimming record previously held by Olympian Michael Phelps, reports HuffPost.
On Sunday at the Far Western Long Course Championship in California, the 10-year-old Filipino American swam the 100-meter butterfly in 1:09.38, beating Phelps’ meet record of 1:10.48 by over one second. Phelps’ record was set for boys 10 and under at the Far Western swimming championship 23 years ago in 1995.
“That was one of my dreams — to beat Michael Phelps’ record — since I was 7,” Apuada says in the video.
Apuada holds the record for the Far Western Long Course Championship, but Andrew Rogers still holds the overall record with a time of 1:05:98 in 2015, according to The Washington Post.
Cindy Rowland, PacSwim’s administrative director, said Apuada also won the gold in all the swimming events he competed in at this year’s Far Western Championships: 200 individual medley, 50 butterfly, 50 backstroke, 100 backstroke, 50 freestyle, and 100 freestyle, in addition to his record-breaking 100 butterfly.
“Everyone in the crowd was thrilled when they realized what a special swim they had just witnessed when we announced the long standing record had been broken,” wrote Rowland.
Apuada’s mother Cynthia said that her child seems to be “living by his name at this point.” She told HuffPost that she’s always loved the name Clark and that her husband’s favorite superhero was Superman, giving rise to “Clark Kent” when their son was born.
“We’re always just telling people his name is Clark. But when they realize his full name, people just call him Superman,” said Cynthia Apuada, adding that her son “is regarded as a superman in the water.”
Clark Kent Apuada isn’t stopping here; he hopes to make it into the Paris 2024 or Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. “This record has motivated me to keep swimming, to keep striving and do everything I can to get to that elite level,” he said.
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RE: 10-year-old Filipino American Breaks Michael Phelp’s Old Record: Soon, Clark Kent Apuada will be in the BadAss Asians category. Go, Superman.