Milla Drakopoulos (16) achieved fifth place in the 50m backstroke final at the recent FINA World Junior Swimming Championships held in Lima, Peru.
The gala, for girls U17 and boys U18, was attended by athletes from 82 countries around the world.
Her coach, Wayne Riddin, said it was an excellent swim for the teenager in what was yet another personal best.
She clocked 29:00 in the race, a mere 00.49 seconds off the gold medal and 00.07 seconds off bronze.
Before the championships, Milla had not broken the 30 second barrier, yet she clocked 29:69 seconds in the heats and 29:45 seconds in the semi-finals.
Milla, who is formerly from Shelly Beach, is in grade 10 at St John’s DSG in Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg.
In August this year, she qualified to swim in the South African National Short Course Swimming Championships held in Pietermaritzburg.
With the races being against the best swimmers in South Africa, the experience was invaluable and she more than held her own, winning the gold medal in the 100m backstroke.
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