By Myra Chen
When the robotic voice of the official vibrates throughout the crowd, the cheers pause for a brief moment as the audience leans forward with anticipation, anxious eyes darting from lane to lane. But the competition is over before it even starts. Freshman sensation, Peter Vu, has stepped up to the block. And he’s more than ready to claim his first place title.
No matter the stroke, no matter the distance, Vu dominates in every category. It comes as no surprise that his favorite event is the individual medley, or more specifically, the 100 IM, an event that combines all four strokes. Though this event is no longer available for swimmers his age, Vu reminisces back to such a time.
Since he was five years old, Vu has exercised his talent underneath surface level, honing his skills in Orange County Riptide Aquatics and later in Irvine Novaquatics. His collection of shiny gold medals have been piling up over the course of nine years, to which it seems almost ceaseless as he garners a first place win streak in his first year on the Fountain Valley High School (FVHS) Division 1 varsity swim team.
“We can always count on Peter to pull through. He has some really impressive swims and always managed to create a gap against our opponents,” FVHS head coach Christine Locke said.
The Novaquatics to FVHS pipeline has equipped Vu with a lifelong family, a family of peers that are more than ready to support his feats and his climb to the top. Whether he is excelling in his race or singing the national anthem to start off the meet, his friends are there to cheer him on.
“I love the people I practice with, it’s always fun to talk and work hard together; they are like family,” Vu said. “It’s difficult to work hard if you’re not having fun. That’s where your teammates come into play.”
Showing exceptional talent from a young age, Vu has made his name known, breaking Southern California records for his age group. In his first year at FVHS, Vu has already made his mark, placing 7th in the 100 yard breast and 12th in the 200 yard Individual Medley at the California Interscholastic Federation (Southern Section).
A combination of dedication, determination and resilience means that Vu is consumed by swimming 24/7. So much so that he finds that he lacks time for anything else.
“You are always sore, tired and sleep deprived. You also don’t get to spend a lot of time with friends outside of swimming and school, like going to the movies,” Vu said. “But at least I can eat anything that I want because I’ll be able to burn it off.”
Vu has hopes of swimming Division 1 in college. In another life, however, Vu wishes to pursue basketball, a hobby of his when he was young.
