Gaurika Singh is an 18-year old swimmer who represented Nepal in the 2016 Rio Olympics and returned as the nation’s flagbearer this past summer in Tokyo. She was the youngest competitor on Team Nepal, which didn’t include any coaches or managers. At just 18 years old, she is also the youngest athlete to ever represent Nepal in the Olympics, but she appreciated her time there.
At just 13, Singh was the youngest Olympian competing at Rio. She medaled four gold medals times at the 2019 South Asian Games including two silver and three bronze.
With four gold, two silver, and three bronze medals from the 2019 South Asian Games, Nepal’s Singh has a trophy case that would make any Olympian jealous. But her most impressive accomplishment to date was being named Nepal’s flag bearer for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony.
Singh is a proud Olympian, but he said that the most challenging part of the whole experience was sitting for the TV interviews and waving Nepal’s flag in front of a global audience. “swimming [at the Olympics] wasn’t the hard part.” she said.
Singh’s victory in the 100m freestyle heat at the Tokyo Olympics set a new national record of 1:00.11.
We all know that Singh is an Olympic gold medalist. But what you might not know is that despite being born in the water, Singh wasn’t a natural swimmer.
When she began swimming as a toddler, she was very reluctant to go into the water.
Because Singh wasn’t too keen on getting in the water, her parents would bribe her with treats to get her to swim. It was only when Singh began swimming competitively that she truly discovered the joy of being in the water.
For this bribe, her mother would also give Singh a scoop of ice cream every time she went to her swim lessons. It was only then that Singh became more confident in the water.
Gaurika Singh is a Nepalese-American who competes in the freestyle and backstroke events. Singh will continue to represent Nepal in 2020 Tokyo Olympics as well.
With her record of 4 gold medals plus two silver and three bronze at such a young age it is highly unlikely someone will catch up to her record.
Although Singh’s expertise lies in swimming that doesn’t stop her from being inspired by other athletes from different groups. Osaka being one of them. Singh said in an interview that she was particularly inspired by Osaka not only as an athlete but as a mental health advocate. Singh said, “In sports we don’t really talk too much about mental health, so it’s just amazing that she’s done that,”
Osaka’s on-court dominance is now legendary, but she is just as masters at advocacy. The Japanese athlete has been vocal about her battle with depression and her desire to help others who struggle with their mental health.
