GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- They usually start in the slow lanes, 1 or 8. They represent countries like Bolivia and Honduras, where competitive swimming is about as popular as bullfighting in China. And many are training away from home, often in the United States.
These are the swimming minnows of the Pan American Games.
If it sounds as if they're disadvantaged, think again. They have chances to compete in gigantic meets, wear national colors and carry the flag. And some are naturally the envy of their friends and, in many cases, that means their high school classmates.
"It was pretty amazing out there," said 14-year-old Julimar Avila, pulling her white Honduran swim cap halfway off her head. "I didn't think the crowd would be that big. I got on the blocks and thought: 'Oh, my gosh, I'm about to swim."'
Not bad for a first-year student at Weston High School in suburban Boston whose parents encouraged their daughter to swim for their native Honduras. Avila was born in New England and her accent is pure Boston; in Spanish, she could be from Tegucigalpa.
Her time on Saturday was 1 minute, 6.86 seconds, several seconds off her best time and a whopping 10 seconds behind the world record in the 100-meter butterfly.
"I know my nerves got the best of me, but it was a pretty amazing opportunity in my first big meet," Avila said.
Karen Torrez of Bolivia confronts a universal problem for swimmers from small nations -- no pool in which to train.
"We have only a 25-meter pool, nothing of 50 meters," said the 19-year-old from Cochabamba, a city in a valley of the Andes.
Bolivia is one of only two landlocked countries in South America, and Cochabamba is closer to desert and mountains than to any lush coastline. Torrez said she has trained recently in Florida, enough to know the limits of the facilities back home.
"I compete because I love the sport," Torrez said. "Of course, swimming in Bolivia is not as important as football, but it's something I can do to better my country."
Believe this or not: the Caribbean island nation of Aruba also has a pool problem.
"There is only one 50-meter pool and everyone has to share it," said 15-year-old Daniella Van De Berg, who swam 5:24.75 in a heat of the 400-meter individual medley on Saturday, far off her career best.
But no complaints for Van Den Berg, who has begun training in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
"I think it pretty good that at 15 I get to perform in these big competitions," she said.
At 15, English-born Zara Bailey also recognizes her good fortune swimming for Jamaica, the country of her father's birth.
"I can't make the English team right now," she said after finishing her 400 medley heat. "So it's an amazing opportunity, which is why I chose Jamaica. ... I also think Jamaica is a cooler country."
Like many of the swimmers on Saturday's opening day, Bailey was left gasping for air after her heat, a victim of Guadalajara's altitude of 5,000 feet.
"I felt absolutely exhausted," Bailey said. "It was the most painful swim I have ever done. It was awful. I couldn't breathe. I get a tight chest when I am nervous and it doesn't help the air is thinner."
Jamaican teammate Alia Atkinson is aware of the advantage swimming for a small country. And she knows the down side, too, which has to do with little funding.
"For Americans or Canadians, they get funding, sponsorships, you get suits and all that -- and nutrition stuff," the 22-year-old Atkinson said. "In Jamaica, you have to find everything on your own. It's price you have to pay."
Atkinson attended Texas A&M and has stayed in the United States, also training around the Fort Lauderdale area.
"The American girls swim until they are older," Atkinson said. "In the smaller countries they finish at a younger age because they have to go to work and can't fund swimming on their own. I mean, I can go to more meets because there is less competition in Jamaica. But money is always a worry."
That, and finding a pool.
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