11-year-old Leila Maharaj is delivering a commanding performance at the National Schools Age Group Swimming Championships, currently underway at the National Aquatic Centre, winning gold medals across all her events and helping set a new relay record.
Representing Drasa Avenue School, Maharaj competed in the 50 metres butterfly, 50 metres breaststroke, 100 metres breaststroke, and the 200 metres medley relay, finishing first in each race.
Her relay team also produced a record-breaking swim with a time of 2 minutes 22.62 seconds, surpassing the previous mark of 2 minutes 25.16 seconds set by International School Nadi in 2019.
Maharajâ's pathway into swimming began through family influence, with her uncle serving as her coach and encouraging her to pursue competitive racing.
She says balancing training with school work has been manageable despite the demands of competition.
The young swimmer credited her success to strong family support, including her parents, grandmother, and sister, and dedicated her results to them.
Reflecting on her performance, she shared a simple message of perseverance, saying that consistent hard work in training produces results when it matters most on competition day.
When asked what she wants to become when she grows up, Maharaj says she wishes to follow in the footsteps of her father and become a pilot like him.
Maharaj’s success has been shared closely with her sister, Ariah Maharaj, who also competed at the championships across multiple events.
Their father, Dylan Maharaj expressed strong pride in both daughters’ performances, saying he is super proud of them for competing at the event and delivering strong results.
Maharaj, says Leila has swum four events and has won four gold medals for her school, while Ariah is in it more for exposure, and they are happy to have one silver and one bronze for her participation.
He explained that preparation for the championships has been intense but structured, with both girls training over the past two months at Northern Club pool, often starting sessions at 5:30am.Â
He says thay have sacrificed their school holidays to do well for their school.
Maharaj says discipline has been one of the most important outcomes of the girls’ training journey, with Leila waking him up every morning to take her swimming.Â
On what the girls enjoy most about swimming, he pointed to the social and emotional side of the sport.
He says they enjoy being with their friends and the time they spend together, adding that they have a good group around their age, and training hard and winning gives them a good feeling of camaraderie.
Maharaj says the key message he wants to reinforce to his daughters regardless of results is simple which is that hard work always pays off, and if you give it your best, you will always win.
The two swimmers' grandmother, Leah Elo also travelled from San Francisco to Suva specifically to support them.
Elo says she was impressed not only by results in the pool, but by the discipline behind the performances, including early morning training sessions beginning at 6am, demanding travel schedules, and the sacrifice of school holiday time for preparation.
She highlighted the sense of camaraderie among the swimmers, saying the group dynamic is helping build character alongside athletic ability.
She says even the youngest swimmers, some as young as nine, are handling the pressure of national competition with maturity.
She also acknowledged the broader support system surrounding the team, including coaches, teachers, managers, parents, and school leadership, who were present at the venue throughout the meet.
Elo says Drasa Avenue’s status as defending champions had brought added pressure, but also motivation, with swimmers continuing to deliver strong performances.
Despite the success, she emphasised that the focus remained on enjoyment and personal growth.
She says what she wants for them is simple - to do their best, and in doing so, they are already achieving so much.
She adds that swimming is also playing a wider role in the students’ development, encouraging fitness, discipline, and healthier lifestyles, while keeping them engaged in structured activities away from screens.
