Ms. Jia called: A three-year-old child, without anyone teaching her how to swim, can swim on her own and jump from the diving platform of a swimming pool, swimming over 100 meters forward! Is this kind of thing considered miraculous? This is my granddaughter Shen Chenxi. In 7 days (April 25th), it will be her third birthday. If you are interested, come over to our house and take a look!
At 4 PM, I arrived at the Zhengyang Hotel on Nanshan Road where Ms. Jia and her granddaughter live. They came to Hangzhou for tourism from Guangzhou.
Little Chenxi has a buzz cut, and she bounces around like a boy. Grandma Jia said that Little Chenxi swims twice a day, so keeping long hair is too troublesome.
These past few days in Hangzhou, she hasn't swum, which has really frustrated her.
She liked soaking in water since she was born.
In the sea, she could even fall asleep!
Chenxi's parents are busy with their business, so she is usually taken care of by her grandmother. Grandma Jia used to be a gymnast and often went swimming.
"Chenxi played in the hospital's pool for half an hour every day when she was just born." Seeing her love for playing in water, after being discharged from the hospital, Grandma Jia bought her a large wooden bucket. "She had to soak in water many times a day, sometimes I held her, and she would often fall asleep while soaking."
When Little Chenxi was four months old, Grandma Jia took her to Beidaihe for her first experience in seawater. Grandma Jia demonstrated the posture of holding Little Chenxi and said, "At that time, she wasn't afraid at all. She lay in my arms, the seawater almost reached her ears, yet she could still fall asleep."
Grandma Jia always brought her along when she went swimming. After playing for a long time, Little Chenxi gradually gained some swimming skills. Little Chenxi liked jumping off the diving platform, and Grandma Jia caught her below. "Once, I deliberately didn't catch her, and she actually swam towards me."
Grandma Jia said that when Chenxi was one year old, she learned how to swim; but she learned to walk when she was 14 months old.
After that, Grandma Jia got her a swimming card, and they went swimming all year round.
"It's not about making her an athlete, but just hoping that she stays healthy." Grandma Jia proudly said that after swimming every day, Little Chenxi rarely catches a cold or gets sick.
Little Chenxi is also the youngest member of the Guangzhou Winter Swimming Association. In May, she will go to Hong Kong with the association to swim in the sea.
She has not received any formal training
Not only can she swim, but she can also do "tricks"
On the way to the swimming pool, she was mostly carried by her grandmother. I joked with her, saying that it rained, so we wouldn't go today. Her answer was very decisive, "No way."
As soon as they entered the swimming pool, Little Chenxi eagerly got out of her grandmother's arms, put on a black swimsuit, wore a red tiger-shaped swimming cap, and jogged slowly around the pool to warm up. She tested the water temperature with her hand, nodded seriously, and said, "The water temperature is just right."
In a 1.5-meter-deep swimming pool, Chenxi, who is less than 1 meter tall, was definitely the focus.
Little Chenxi's posture was very "grassroots," instinctively paddling with both hands and kicking her feet. Grandma Jia said that she did not receive any formal swimming training, just often followed her to play in the water.
Grandma Jia threw a plastic toy far away, about 6 meters.
In my opinion, for someone of Little Chenxi's age, floating would already be good enough. Asking her to swim that far seemed a bit too difficult.
But facts often exceed expectations. She took about 25 seconds to get the toy.
Sometimes "freestyle," sometimes backstroke, she could even rotate in circles in the water, quite resembling a synchronized swimmer.
Many swimming adults were attracted by Little Chenxi. The lifeguard was curious, "Is this child really less than 3 years old? Does her swimsuit have buoyancy?"
Grandma Jia said that Chenxi once swam uninterruptedly for over 60 meters in Guangzhou. After about 30 minutes, grandma told her it was time to go home. She was reluctant to leave and ran to the water play area to continue playing.
Extended Reading
Being able to swim at the age of 1 is rare not only in Hangzhou, but even worldwide.
The world Guinness record confirmed "youngest swimmer" is British "swimming prodigy" Rhiannon Robbins. At four months old, she started swimming underwater; at 13 months old, Rhiannon successfully passed the 50-meter swimming test of the British "Amateur Swimming Association"; at the age of 3, she passed the 400-meter test organized by the British "Amateur Swimming Association", becoming the youngest person in British history to swim 400 meters.