- Swimming
Competitive swimming is often described as a funnel: thousands of young athletes enter, but only a rare few rise to the highest levels. For most, the journey is not defined by Olympic podiums but by early mornings, endless lengths, and quiet victories that rarely make headlines.
At Hangzhou International School, one swimmer has emerged as a symbol of what dedication and community can achieve. At just 14 years old, Grade 8 student Jean M is already rewriting records and inspiring teammates with his modesty and drive. I sat down with him a few weeks ago to talk about his recent successes, his motivation, and the realities of balancing life as both a middle schooler and a competitive swimmer.
Jean’s HIS season began with a statement performance at the ACAMIS Senior Swim Championships – one of the biggest meets in our annual calendar.
After a difficult national meet earlier in the year, he delivered a rare “all-kill,” winning every individual event in his age group and breaking long standing records. “It felt normal, but I was also a bit proud of myself,” he said. “Breaking these records was all within expectations.” The calmness of that reflection captures his mindset – success is acknowledged, then quickly put back into perspective.
That composure was hard-earned. At the 2025 U-Series National Championships, Jean entered with a time that could have placed him among the top three nationally. He finished fifth – an exceptional result at that level, and one many swimmers would celebrate outright. Yet for Jean, the performance left him unhappy.
“My confidence was not firm enough,” he admits. “After the U-Series competition, I went through a slump. I communicated a lot with my coach and my training partner and trained even harder. Then during ACAMIS I got PBs [personal bests] in all my events – I let it all out at this moment.” His reaction speaks volumes.
He carried that momentum into SSL (Shanghai Swim League) Round 3, where he won all of his individual events, broke his own records, and captured the prestigious FINA High Point Trophy for boys.
This award, given to the swimmer whose performance ranks closest (in a relative sense) to a world record, recognized his 50m backstroke time of 26.73 seconds – worth 985 FINA points. It was further proof that his ACAMIS breakthrough was no one-off performance.
For Jean, motivation runs deeper than medals. “First of all, I love swimming – I have loved water since I was very young,” he says. “Secondly, because of my coach; he spends most of the time with us and really cares about me. Then it was because of my training teammates, especially Anderson, Flynn, and Evan – we all worked hard and improved together.”
His answer says as much about team culture as it does about him. Behind every record stands a network of coaches, teammates, and families who share the work.