She's #1: Marco swimmer Maddy Burt making national waves

Maddy Burt has already established herself as one of the top swimmers in the area.

But how about the nation?

The St. John Neumann Catholic High School freshman and Marco Island resident recently competed at the YMCA Florida Swimming Spring Senior Championships in Orlando, dominating the competition in winning the 50-yard and 100-yard butterfly events. She also finished third in the 200 butterfly.

Her times in the 50 (24.52) and 100 (54.48) established state records in her age group (14-16), and she’s now No. 1 in the country in her age group in the 50 fly, as well.

“When I found that out, I was really happy because I really didn’t expect to be No. 1 in the country,” Burt said. “I was shocked, I didn’t think that would happen at all.”

Burt, who has been swimming at the Marco Island YMCA under the watchful tutelage of coach Kamal Farhat for eight years, has always been a quick study when it comes to swimming.

“From an early age, she’s always been able to imitate all the stuff I tell her to do, how each stroke should be,” Farhat said. “She listens to everything I tell her and she applies it well. That’s one of her greatest assets. Sometimes, when you get young kids, they have a hard time following directions, but that’s never been a problem for her. And that’s why her mechanics never break down, whatever the distance is. She stays consistent throughout the race, plus she has that drive. She really wants to win and hates losing.”

Burt admitted she surprised herself a bit with how well she did over the weekend in Orlando.

“Going into the meet, I was really determined to do good,” she said. “I’ve been practicing hard lately. I really didn’t expect to do as good as I did, though.”

Burt made an immediate impact as a freshman on the St. John Neumann swim team. She won regional titles in the 50 free and 100 fly, then followed that with a sixth-place finish in the 100 fly and ninth-place in the 50 free at the Class 1A state meet.

“I think I’ve improved since then,” she said. “Not so much in my time, but my strokes are better. I’m looking forward to next season.”

Burt also qualified for the winter junior nationals in Ohio, and will swim in another junior national event in New York this summer. She says one of her top goals is to earn a college scholarship for swimming, and she’s well on her way to achieving it.

“Maddy’s just starting out, really,” Farhat said. “She’s going to get a lot better in the near future. She really doesn’t think too much about setting records or anything like that. When you do that, it tends to affect your performance. She just goes out and swims her race and lets the results speak for themselves.”