His name is Clark Kent Apuada and his friends call him Superman, just like the famous of man steel man.
“We’re always just telling people his name is Clark. But when they realize his full name, people just call him Superman,” his mother says.
He is only 10 years old and this week he accomplished one of the greatest moments in swimming history in the United States when he beat a swimming record that Michael Phelps held for 23 years. The swimming record was more than 2,000 years old when Michael Phelps overcame it in the Rio Olympics.
Clark Kent Apuada is of Filipino-American origin and he swam the 100 meter butterfly in 1:09:38 to win the gold medal in the traditional Far Western Championship, which took place in California, beating the time that Phelps established in 1995 by more than one second.
Competing in the under 10 category, the Monterey County swimmer also won six other medals in which he competed: 50 meters butterfly, 50 meters and 100 meters back, 50 and 100 meters freestyle and 200 meters combined.
His categorical performance and the fact that he surpassed Phelp’s record made it inevitable to shoot comparisons with the legendary swimmer, who after making his debut at the Olympics at the age of 15, became the most successful Olympic athlete in history with 28 medals.
As explained by his mother, Cynthia Apuada, Clark is living up to his name by showing that he is the “Water Superman”.
“He was the one who said, ‘Look mom, Michael Phelps has a record in the Far Western, I can beat him’, when he was only 7 years old,” Aguada recalled in an interview with the Huffington Post.
Michael Phelps congratulated him on his Twitter account:
Big congrats to #clarkkent for smashing that meet record!!! Keep it up dude !!#dreambig
— Michael Phelps (@MichaelPhelps) August 1, 2018
The small champion told CNN he felt no pressure when it came to keeping his word.
“I took it pretty well,” he acknowledged.
“I like to swim because I have a lot of people supporting me, my coaches are always there for me and my parents too.”
https://www.facebook.com/SalinasValleyAquatics/posts/1906885572711086
Even after receiving a standing ovation from the crowd when his record was announced, Clark already had new objectives.
“Paris 2024 or Los Angeles 2028”, he said.
“This record has motivated me to keep swimming, to keep striving and do everything I can to get to that elite level,” he told the media.
Image Source: CYNTHIA APUADA
To be honest we believe that Johnathan Kent should have thought Clark to hold back when he swims. It isn’t fair to the rest of the human competitors. The only time he should be allowed to use his Kryptonian ability in the water is when he is racing Aquaman.
