Rising swim champ

There is a young swimmer making waves with her swimming career. Meet Iskra Elez (pictured) – the Rummel Creek Elementary third grader competes regularly with Dad’s Club Aquatics, where she swept multiple categories at the Gulf Champ Swim Meet. As Iskra has progressed with her swim styles, the coaches have moved her up teams. She is now 8 and in the Blue 2 group, which practices three times a week. Her next goal is the Dad’s bronze training group, which meets up to five times a week. Iskra’s favorite strokes are breaststroke and 50-yard freestyle, and she loves relay swimming. This season, Iskra has already had five swim meets, which are anywhere from two to three days long. Iskra’s mother, Milica, came to the United States from Serbia with a volleyball scholarship and played at Houston Baptist University. Even though there has been a lot of volleyball influence in their family, Iskra leaned towards the sport of swimming because of the frequent summer trips to the Adriatic Sea where she learned to love the water as a baby.

Editor’s note: Send your best high-resolution photos and behind-the-scenes stories about young local athletes, in both team and individual sports, to SportzBuzz, Jr. at [email protected]. Include all contact info, names, ages, grades and schools. Featured athletes must live in Buzz-circulation neighborhoods. Items will be published on a space-available basis.