Alzain Tareq, Aged 10, Becomes Youngest Swimmer in World Championships History

Bahrain's Alzain Tareq became the youngest competitor to ever race at the World Swimming Championships on Friday, when the 10-year-old girl took part in the heats of the 50-metre butterfly event in Kazan, Russia.

She posted a time of 41.13 seconds, a mark just shy of her personal best (but the slowest of all 64 swimmers). Afterward, she said she enjoyed the occasion.

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"I'm very happy," she said following her performance, per Toby Keel of Eurosport. "It was fun. Now I want to lower my mark in the 50 freestyle."

As ITV.com noted, the youngster also revealed she has a clear goal: "I want to swim at the Olympics [2020 in Tokyo]."

Here's a look at her performance:

Tareq has been swimming competitively since the age of four. Subsequently, she has become the fastest swimmer in a nation with a population of over 1.3 million. Tareq will race again in the 50-metre freestyle on Saturday.

Here are the top 10 qualifiers for the semi-finals and how they compare with Tareq, per omegatiming.com:

Position	Name	Country	Time
1.	SJOSTROM Sarah	SWE	25.43
2.	OTTESEN Jeanette	DEN	25.51
3.	DEKKER Inge	NED	25.66
4.	LU Ying	CHI	25.69
5.	HALSALL Fran	GBR	25.86
6.	VANDERPOOL-WALLACE A.	BAH	26.02
7.	GEMO Elena	ITA	26.07
7.	STEWART Kendyl	USA	26.07
9.	DOWGIERT Anna	POL	26.24
10.	BUYS Kimberly	BEL	26.28
64.	TAREQ Alzain	BRN	41.13

For reference, Miriam Sheehan broke the United States record earlier this year in the 10-year-old-and-under age group, posting a time of 29.84, per USASwimming.org.

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Tareq told BBC, "The other swimmers are often surprised, they ask me my name and how old I am and then they are like, 'Are you swimming here?' I feel so happy. I want to learn the techniques and how they swim."

Even with a time of 41.13 seconds, just imagine what her achievement will do to help raise the profile of swimming in Bahrain.