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Sunday, March 30, 2008

The three-year-old girl who can swim 400 metres

Leah Robbins has certainly made quite a splash in the world of swimming.

The three-year-old not only passed her 50m badge when she was just 13 months old, but the pint sized toddler has now become one of the youngest swimmers ever in this country to be awarded a badge for swimming 400m.

The waterbaby wonder now has her sights set on a professional career and the Olympics when she grows up after achieving her latest amazing milestone.

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Natural: Three-year-old Leah Robbins has become the youngest person to receive the 400m badge

Little Leah is already looking to add the 800m badge to her growing collection of swimming achievements.

The supertot's proud mum, Kay Masters, 27, said: "Leah was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records, although they won't publish it because they don't want parents trying to beat it and chucking their kids in the pool when they are really young.

"We think it's excellent, because it's a natural achievement - we don't push her, she does it because she loves it."

She added: "Leah's quite an adamant little girl and if she didn't want to do it, she wouldn't.

"She actually swam 500m, even though it was for the 400m.

Leah, of Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, started swimming when she was just four months old at her local pool in Pontin's Holiday Park, Hemsby.

Leah, who swims front crawl and backstroke, goes swimming at least once a week.

And it seems a love of swimming runs in the family - her brother Luke, now seven, passed his two-mile badge when he was just six.

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Little Leah already has ambitions to become the next big thing in swimming

Miss Masters said: "Leah used to go and watch Luke when he started swimming lessons and wanted to go in herself.

"She took her 10m, 25m and 50m and 100m badges when she was two.

"I think we encourage each other - they probably got into swimming because of me, but I have got more into swimming because the children are."

The mum-of-three added: "My other son, Rhys, who is one, likes swimming, too, but unfortunately he can't go as much because he has asthma."

An Amateur Swimming Association spokesman said: "It's great that Leah has swum such a distance at only three years of age.

"What is important now is that she continues her development through the new National Plan for Teaching Swimming to make further progress.

"We hope that she is enjoying her time being active in the water and continues to do so."

Leah has also been chosen as the face of the new website of nappy firm Huggies, www.littleswimmers.com, which aims to encourage children to take the plunge at their local swimming pool.

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