Date: July 2013
Kelia serramoglia
Sitting in a sports auditorium filled with excitement, lights, cameras and people a shy young girl sits waiting patiently. She is not your average athlete boasting and strutting her excellence but quite the opposite very polite, quiet and pleasantly smiling. Who would think this young reserved and shy girl is a gold medalist champion swimmer and yes she represents St.Martin ! Ilovesxm had an exclusive interview and photo shoot with 17 year old Kelia Serramoglia born in France but raised right here and who we uncovered is anything but shy!
Ilovesxm: Where are you from ?
Kelia : I was born in south France, oh but i grew up here my whole life and love it...sooo I'm from St.Martin !
Ilovesxm: Well thats the spirit! So what inspired you to be a athlete swimmer?
Kelia: Actually when i was 5 my parents put me into swimming classes. They said I have to swim. I didn't like it at first because it was very hard but i continued! I don't like training is that bad? I know its bad!
Iovesxm: So swimming and training hard became a big part of your life even though it didn't start that way. How often do you train?
Kelia: This year is less because i'm in the final class so its usually 8 trainings a week but usually its every night and 2 sessions every morning.
Ilovesxm: wow so you must be pretty fit! What are your trainings like?
Kelia: Usually you're supposed to do 'musculation' which helps build your muscles for 20 minutes and exercises in the water. Its really hard and not like other sports because your head is under water and you cant breathe for almost a minute then the rest of the training session is about 2 hours. Musculation hurts and makes it hard to swim so I hate them, sometimes I don't do them because I dont like them even if I'm supposed to all the time. I just like the excitement from competitions; I just want to swim!
Ilovesxm: Training sounds tough but we know for sure that you have natural talent because you are a champion athlete! What are your titles and where have you competed?
Kelia: When i was 10 I won champion of France for my age group but then we used to train 12 times a week. I have the titles champion of Guadalupe, champion of Martinique, champion of French Guyana. Also champion of St.Martin and St.Barths but there aren't many competitors for those two so its easy. (after which she got really shy for boasting about her titles)!
So we got to know Kelia the athlete how about getting to know some of her fun facts likes and dislikes.
Fact: Swimming in pools are easier but Kelia finds it hard to swim in the ocean. Her favorite beach is Mullet Bay but also enjoys Orient Bay when it isn't crowded.
Fact: Likes fast cars. Her favorite movie is Fast and the Furious.
Fact: Hates vegetables though her mom forces her to eat! Loves chocolate candies, chocolate ice cream, chocolate cookies, everything chocolate, pasta and pizza. Her favorite restaurants are in Grande Case and Orient Bay.
Kelia: usually for competitions when we go abroad me and my team mates buy everything thats junk and eat all night before a competition! My mom will probably be mad when she reads this but I love junk food!
Fact: All of Kelia's hobbies are water types and she didn't notice until the interview. She does wake boarding and surfing!
Fact: Kelia is not a fan of zouk, rap or techno music but loves all other genres.
Kelia: It depends on my mood but I like anything that can make me move!
Favorite Memory: Winning competitions!
Worst Memory: Missing a swimming final...and long training sessions!
Ilovesxm: How do you keep motivated knowing that trainings are hard?
Kelia: I look forward to the competitions so it pushes me! I really love to swim its all i want to do. My mom and dad encourage me too, my little sister aswell but she is more into books than sports. My dad is my second coach and is always there. My mom comes to some of my competitions mostly the CARIFTA ones.
Ilovesxm: Okay final question dig deep !Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
Kelia: I want to be a vet! I'll be moving to florida this is my last year in St.Martin. So maybe i'll study that!
Though we thought it was the last question it puzzled us as to why she said maybe. Kelias response was one of the heart which showed her passion, love and free spirit. She left us with these words.
Ilovesxm: Why maybe ??
Kelia: Well, because theres so much that I want to do still. I want to try different things. I want to make sure I have time to swim and being a Vet takes time.
If i could tell people my age anything it would be, just do something when you like it. Never stop! If you stop doing the things you like you will regret. I don't want to regret and I wont stop I've been doing this for 10 years I am happy.