Clark Kent Apuada, 10, breaks a long-standing swim meet record held by Michael Phelps
According to 10-year-old Clark Kent Apuada, most people used to just refer to him by his first name. But that changed last month after he broke a record set by swimming great Michael Phelps more than 20 years ago.
“Most people just call me Clark,” Apuada told “CBS Evening News,” “but now when I beat Michael Phelps’ record they started calling me Superman.”
Apuada, who swims for the Montery County Aquatic team, won the 100-meter butterfly at the Long Course Far Western Championships in Moraga, Calif. His time of 1 minute, 9.38 seconds is a meet record for his age group, more than one second faster than the previous mark set by Phelps (1:10.48) back in 1995.
The 28-time Olympic medalist tweeted a shout-out to the kid who broke his longstanding record. “Big congrats to #clarkkent for smashing that meet record!!!” Phelps tweeted. “Keep it up dude !!”
Apuada won all seven events he took part in at the meet. He has only been swimming competitively for four years, according to “CBS Evening News,” and also plays piano and is active in martial arts.
“This kid is unlike any other young man that I’ve ever coached,” his coach, Dia Rianda, told CNN. “He’s always stood out. … He’s kind of a savant of sorts.”
Twitter: @chewkiii
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