Megan Romano: 200m to Gold

Yahoo has posted an interesting article on an up and coming swimmer named Megan Romano...

From Yahoo! Sports: Rivals High by Keith Niebuhr

Long before Megan Romano became a teenage phenom, a high school state champion, an athlete coveted by every elite college program and an Olympic hopeful, her mother noticed something unique.

At a young age, she had an uncanny competitive spirit.

"I knew something was up early on," Rhonda Romano said. "Her drive was crazy. She had to be the first one in the car. Had to be the first to put the seat belt on. And when we got home, she'd race everyone to the front door.

"It didn't matter what she was doing, she had to be first at everything."

Usually, in the pool, she was. "By the time I was 7 or 8, I was better than everyone else," Megan Romano said.

Almost a decade later, little has changed. Now 16 and a junior at St. Petersburg (Fla.) Northeast High, Romano is considered one of the country's top prep swimmers. Last fall, she broke a 10-year state record in the 100-yard backstroke, winning in 54.41 seconds. In the 200 freestyle, she clocked in at 1:46.70, less than a second off the national record.

More impressive is this: Romano has qualified in six events – the 50-meter free, 100 free, 200 free, 400 free, 100 back and 200 back – for the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, which take place June 29-July 6 in Omaha.

"Megan," said Romano's coach, Fred Lewis, "has a lot of natural ability."

You can read the rest of the story HERE.