Coming from a small secluded island in the middle of a vast blue ocean, many of us islanders often feel as though our dreams and talents are somewhat out of reach. It was Felicity Passon’s childhood dream to swim and break boundaries in the water. Her mother often reminds her of the start of her love for water which was at the grand old age of one month, and which, with each passing year, grew and turned into her own version of her reality. For 17 years, the young woman’s love for the sport has never wavered.

“I was only three when I started proper swimming lessons in Dubai when my family had to move back to La Digue a year later. Despite the limited swimming facilities, my parents kept my enthusiasm in swimming going for as much as they could until they managed to convince a few of the La Digue teachers to take over. Chris, from Australia and Naomi Adeline, a former swimmer came in to help fill up the gap years until I moved to Mahé where it progressed into serious swimming,” Felicity tells us.

It was under the guidance of Paul Fanchette and a few others at the Seychelles Swimming Federationthat Felicity’s foundation and preparation for what was to come was set. For that, she remains very thankful. “In the past three years since my debut on the African Continent and after having won an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship to train in Pretoria, South Africa many more doors than I could have imagined have opened. Overnight I grew from a shy 15-year old to being left responsible to my own devices in a world totally unknown to me. In 2014, I made solo trips to seven new countries; South Africa, Uganda, Botswana, Singapore, Thailand, Scotland and Qatar. I won 3 scholarships and in 2015 moved to the UK to undertake my current scholarship,” she adds. Today at just 17 Felicity is in a place in her swimming career she never thought would be possible and her goal is now to represent the Seychelles proudly at prestigious competitions.