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By CHRISTOPHER HUNT
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: July 1, 2004)

LARCHMONT — Paola Duguet used to make an annual trip to Bogota, Colombia, to see her grandparents. But as swimming practices and competition dominated her time, it became harder for her to visit. She made her last trip to South America at age 11.

But through swimming, Duguet, now 16, has found a way to compete internationally and visit her grandparents. She will represent Colombia in the Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, this summer in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle.

"We never thought I'd make it to the Olympics," said Duguet, who swam one season at Hackley and is a member of the Badger Swim Club in Larchmont.

What began as an easier way to step to the next level of competition and gain international exposure turned into a dream come true for the Briarcliff resident. As a perk, her grandparents now can watch her swim.

Last year Duguet began to explore the possibility of competing in Colombia, where her mother, Teresa, was born. She consulted with her grandparents and her mother and sent e-mails to anyone who could help. Colombian coach Steven Ruiz invited her to join his club team in Bogota.

Now her grandparents attend all her meets in Colombia. They also will watch her swim in Athens along with Paola's parents and sister.

Duguet competed at the Colombian national championships last November, where she qualified for the South American championships in Uruguay in March.

"I didn't know how it worked until I got there," she said about qualifying for the Olympics. "They told me what I had to do, and I knew I could hit the times."

She broke four Colombian national records at the South American Games: the 200 freestyle (2 minutes, 7.97 seconds); the 400 freestyle (4:22.87); the 800 freestyle (9:02.77); and the 1,500 freestyle (17:18.57).

Her times in the 400, in which she finished fourth, and the 800, in which she finished third, qualified her for Athens. The qualifying standards to compete in next week's U.S. Olympic Swimming trials — 4:19.39 for the 400 freestyle and 8:50.49 for the 800 — are much tougher than the times Duguet swam to make the Olympic team.

While competing and training in Colombia, Duguet said her safety isn't an issue despite the country's reputation for drug trafficking and kidnapping.

"You know the places where you don't go by yourself," she said.

She also wants to help erase the stigma attached to her second country.

"I've always been really proud of being Colombian," said Duguet, who holds dual citizenship. "When people think of Colombia, they think, 'Ugh, drugs.' It's nice to show people that we're not bad people. There's always bad apples and good apples."

Paola's mother said at first she was in awe of her daughter's success. Now she carries all of Paola's race results in her purse.

"She's going to become a wonderful little ambassador for Colombia," Teresa Duguet said, "because of how strongly she feels that Colombia is such a nice place."

Duguet trains with John Collins, coach of the Badger Swim Club and a former assistant coach for the U.S. national team.

"The ultimate experience for any athlete is to compete in the Olympics," Collins said. "For Paola it comes with great responsibility. You don't want to go out there and fall on your face.

"But she's responsible and she wants to swim fast."

Collins said swimming against the world's best will show Duguet that top athletes aren't invincible.

"You get to see they don't stand 7 feet high and breathe fire," he said.

Duguet's goals for the Games are to improve on her personal bests. But it's hard not to feel pressure.

"When you feel kind of down (at practice) you use it to motivate you," she said. "When I actually have to swim, because I'm a nervous person, I'll try to downplay it like it's just another race.

"It's going to be so much fun. I'm going to take so many pictures. I'm going to have a camera. I want to meet LeBron James."

Send e-mail to Christopher Hunt