Forrest White of Danville may only be 7, but he already is making a name for himself in the world of swimming. Forrest has broken 23 pool records, and received the High Point Award at the 2004 Contra Costa County Championships in freestyle and backstroke.
Last December he qualified for the Junior Olympics, which were held at Pacifica, and was the first 7-year-old to ever swim at them. Forrest took his first swim lesson when he was 18 months old and started competitive swimming at age 4.
Forrest’s sister Madison began swimming at 15 months and also has been competing since she was 4. Now 10 years old, Madison has been the Contra Costa County backstroke champion for the past four years and won a bronze medal at the 2004 Junior Olympics.
The brother and sister do recreation swimming from June through August with the Blackhawk Swim Club, then compete in USS swimming from September through December with the Crow Canyon Sharks in the backstroke and freestyle events. Like champions in many sports, both are hard workers and practice intensely.
Forrest says he loves to “work hard and practice every day.” Madison echoes that, saying she never misses practice and loves to give it her all when she is in the water.
They definitely have athletic genes as their parents Kim and Todd played football and volleyball in college. Their parents inspired them to be swimmers at a young age.
Both Madison and Forrest have their swimming heroes. Forrest got to meet Olympic star Michael Phelps when his swim team went to the Olympic trials in Long Beach.
“We got to watch them swim up close and it was very exciting,” said Forrest.
Madison has met local swimming star Natalie Coughlin. “After winning first place in the County Championship, I took my swim cap off and had Natalie sign it,” she recalled.
Both of them are thinking big as they look into the future. Madison hopes to swim in college, and Forrest wants to compete in the Olympics. With Madison “pushing him and telling him to go hard,” they hope there are many more medals in their futures.
