No wonder they call him Superman. Ten-year-old Clark Kent Apuada beat a Michael Phelps swimming record on Sunday that had stood for 23 years since Phelps also was 10 years old.
Apuada won the 100-meter butterfly with a time of 1:09:38 at the Far West International Championship in California, more than a second better than the record held by Phelps for that race since 1995, CNN reported.
Phelps has won 28 Olympic swimming medals since setting that record. Apuada has only competed in swimming for four years, which makes the feat all the more impressive.
“This kid is unlike any other young man that I’ve ever coached,” coach Dia Riana told CNN. “He’s always stood out, he’s just, he’s kind of a savant of sorts.”
Apuada won all seven races in which he competed at the weekend meet and received the high-point award for his age group, Swim Swam reported. Six of the seven races he won were lifetime bests for him.
A well-rounded student, Apuada also takes piano lessons, does martial arts, and participates in computer coding and STEM activities at school, his father Chris Apuada told CNN.
“I deal with it really well, I just have to balance,” the younger Apuada said to CNN. “I love swimming because I have a lot of people supporting me and my coaches are always there for me and my parents are always there.”
Apuada’s fans and others who know him call him “Superman” because of his swimming prowess and superhero name.
He had some words of advice for others trying to discover their superpower. “Dream big,” he said, CNN reported, “and always focus on your dreams and have fun.”
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