Sprinter Mia Lee honored to swim for Guam at World Aquatics Championships

Meet swim sprinter Mia Lee. The Torpedo from Tamuning. She's...REALLY...good at what she does. And like the other swimmers representing Guam, she's ready, eager and excited for the challenge of taking on, well, the world, at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Because she knows the little island she represents has a lot of pride and swimming traditions...and they're bringing their a-game.

"It's an honor just to be able to represent my island and to represent the community that raised me," she told KUAM Sports. "I'm representing my friends and my family and the many people who built me up to get to this point."

She wasted no time in describing what she feels when the Great Seal of Guam if flying above the pool, knowing she's been entrusted to represent and compete for us. Like other athletes in the sport, she's got respect for her opponents, supreme confidence in the training for herself and her teammates, and spreading the Hafa Adai Spirit.

"Pride," he said of her singular emotion. "Not a lot of people know much about our island, so when our flag's being flown and our anthem's being played, it's awesome. Because sometimes it feels like we're this tiny speck in the Pacific, but when our flag's flying, it's lik we're bigger than that."

Pre-race, Mia she does strategize, but when she hits the water, it's all reaction and instinct.

"I try my best to be as focused as possible, and with events like this, I've swam them before so most of it is just muscle memory. So the things that I think about are things that I've been working on recently with my coach.

Mia also shares how applying cross-discipline competition form other sports has added to hr swim game. "This year I played soccer for my school, and I've been able to take away the advantages of the team environment," she continued. "

Despite her age, Mia's a veteran racer, and mentors young swimmers, too. still, she does have her heroes on USA Swimming, but her range of lets her appreciate and emulate the world's best. She cites Katie Ledecky and numerous European and South African swimmers as role models.

Now, burning hundreds of calories a day in sprints, she's got a healthy appetite. So, what's Miss Mia's go-to fuel, and does this island girl enjoy pika foods? "I really love chips," she said. "The hot stuff – the ones that hurt."

So in Fukuoka, this sports ambassador has gold on her mind, but Guam's best interests in her heart.