Petite 11-year-old swimmer Reynalyne Gacilan came home weighed down with seven medals from the 2009 Manitoba Junior Short Course Swimming Championships in Brandon last month. She bettered her time by an incredible 66.35 seconds to win the gold medal in the 800 metre freestyle event for her age group during the competitions held from March 6 to 8.

The young Pinay considers herself a distance swimmer but she was no slouch in the shorter races, adding three silver medals and three bronze medals to her gold medal during that same weekend.

Reynalyne began swimming at the age of three when her mother, Maria Gacilan, signed her up for lessons at the Pan Am Pool. According to her mother, she wanted her daughter to learn a skill that would allow her to socialize with other children and she took to it right away. Currently a Grade 6 student at St. Edward’s School, she manages to squeeze in at least two hours of training every day, six days a week with the Manta Swim Club. She counts Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps as one of her idols.

But swimming is not Reynalyne’s only passion. As many Winnipeg Filipinos know, she is already gaining a reputation as a great young singer. Aside from her intensive swim training, Reynalyne takes weekly lessons with voice coach Joy Lazo and piano lessons at the University of Manitoba. One of her hobbies is learning songs on the piano by listening to her iPod.

Reynalyne says that if she could re-live any moment in her life so far, it would be the night last November when she won the Junior Champion title in CKJS Radio’s Tuklas Talino singing competition.

And her plans for the future? Reynalyne says she wants to be lawyer when she grows up.