Whiz Kid: Baldwin Swimmer Valerie Yoshimura

This week's Whiz Kid: Valerie Yoshimura

- School: freshman; Valerie lives in Gladwyne

- Accomplishment: Valerie recently qualified for the U.S. swimming Olympic trials in the 100-meter butterfly; she is one of five 14-year-olds in the country to do so. She'll compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team this summer. The Olympic trials will be held in Omaha, NE, June 25 to July 2. About 100 swimmers will compete at trials in each event, with the top two selected for the U.S. Olympic team. Valerie also currently holds nine of 11 swimming records at the 124-year-old Baldwin School.

- Key to awesomeness: Valerie comes from a family of swimmers; her older sister Stephanie also qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials for swimming at age 14, and her older brother Brandon played water polo at Brown for four years. Valerie started swimming when she was 4.

"It's a very personal sport," she said. "It gives you a release and clears your head after a long day."

Valerie said she sat down with her coach at the beginning of the year and went over goals and discussed what kinds of things she needed to be doing at practices.

She qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials at the Indianapolis Grand Prix on March 30.

"[My sister] was happy for me, and my family was happy for me," Valerie said. "But it's not something we talk about because we don't want to jinx it."

She hopes to continue swimming in college and afterward. For now, she balances swimming with school—her favorite subject is math—and her involvement with the Service League.

"It's definitely hard. I think I put more pressure on myself," Valerie said of her coaches. "But it's easier for me to focus on a race if I'm not worrying about studying for a test... I manage to get everything done."