Good Sports - James Savage
LOS BANOS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Nine-year-old Los Banos native James Savage is youngster of few words, he prefers to let his performance do the talking, "I don't know, I just love it."
James jumped in the pool at the age of 4 and has been swimming ever since, "The training just mostly practice 5 hours a day, I just kept on swimming and I never wanted to quit."
This past August just before his ninth birthday Savage competed in the 23rd annual Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim, he has no fear of sharks or of passing his competition, finishing the 1.5 mile race in 57 minutes, earning a the top spot in the 7-8 year old division.
"He came in and people came up afterwards, shaking his hands, taking pictures with him and going afterwards, I can't believe you just beat me by 10 minutes," said Jillian Savage, James' mother.
In September he was recognized by the Los Banos City Council for his accomplishments. At his young age his ceiling in the sport his sky-high and his goals are just as lofty, "He finally told me in April, 'mom I want to go year round, I want to go full time, I want junior Olympics' that was his first goal and in four months he was at the junior Olympics he brought home two silvers and two bronze medals," said Jillian Savage.
James added, "I just want to go to the Olympics, I'm working hard and all that, my best goal would be to beat Michael Phelps."
Just imagine what he can do in the years to come.
Click here for more information about the Sharkfest Swim series.
And for a link to James swim in San Francisco check out these videos:
