The sound of splashing water fills the natatorium as divers leap into the pool, racing to win first place. As they glide through the water, their goal becomes clear: to come out a winner. For Sophia El Chantiry though, that goal is continuously a reality.

For many athletes, competing in the Olympics is nothing more than a daydream, something next to impossible to attain. However, for some hard-working players, the summer games are nothing more than a lap away.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School junior Chantiry is an aspiring player on the girl’s varsity swim team with big dreams for her athletic career. Chantiry mainly competes in 50-meter and 100-meter butterfly swimming, which has earned her a spot as one of only three swim captains on the team.

“Sophia is one of our leaders in and out of the pool,” swimming coach Lauren Rubenstein said. “She just recently broke a team record set in 2005 for the 50-freestyle, and overall she is an amazing addition to the team.”

Outside of school, Chantiry participates in a variety of other swimming competitions and clubs, with the most local being club swimming in Tamarac with TS Aquatics. TS Aquatics holds daily meets at the Caporella Aquatic Center.

“With [TS Aquatics], I usually practice seven to eight times a week in the morning, afternoon or both,” Chantiry said. “I also go to the gym on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Then we have swimming competitions every one or two months.”

Chantiry has been a part of swim clubs and competitive swimming culture since a young age. She started to show interest in aquatics when her father, who immigrated from Lebanon to the United States at the age of 20, convinced her to try physical activities. After moving from sport to sport, swimming was the one activity that captivated Chantiry, leading her to pursue it for years to come.

“My dad is probably one of my biggest inspirations,” Chantiry said. “He really pushes me to keep training and working hard to reach my goals. He is the one that even convinced me to start swimming internationally in the first place.”

Chantiry’s athleticism stretches far beyond the local scale. Outside of the U.S., the swimmer competes in international swimming, representing her home country Lebanon in girl’s competitive swimming. With her strong Lebanese roots, Chantiry feels honored to play for her homeland.

Taking part in international swim meets, Chantiry has been to a wide array of cities around the world to compete, with her most recent trip being to Cairo, Egypt to swim in the third Arab Aquatics Championship, held by the Arab Aquatics Confederation. In the competition, Chantiry won second place in 50-meter butterfly swimming and third place in 100-meter freestyle swimming among the four solo events she competed in.

“I started going to international meets my freshman year to get exposure from the federation of my country,” Chantiry said. “Once I got recruited onto the team I trained in my country for a couple months to compete in my first national competition, where I ended up scoring first place in four different events. I hope to compete in even more championships in the future.”

While competing on an international level would leave many athletes feeling content, Chantiry’s goals aim even higher, with the swimmer ultimately hoping to compete in the 2028 Summer Olympics, being held in Los Angeles, California.

On the Lebanon national team, the two top-ranked swimmers are chosen to qualify for the olympics based on the FINA Points System, in which World Aquatics assigns point values to swimmers based on competition/championship performances. The two swimmers–one boy and one girl–with the highest number of points by the end of a set time period are drafted, making being chosen a competitive and difficult process.

“I really want [to be an olympian], that is what I am reaching for,” Chantiry said. “There are so many national records I want to set that feel attainable to me. I have honestly been swimming for so long that it has pretty much taken over who I am. It is part of my identity. It is who I am as a person”

With a rigorous training schedule and support from her family, friends, teammates and coaches, Chantiry is determined to make waves on the global stage. As the swimmer prepares for the olympic road ahead, Chantiry is an example of the fact that with hard work and consistency, one’s dreams can become reality.