By the time she was six years old, Mayah Chouloute was already used to teammates and family chanting her name at swimming pools across South Florida.
But this summer, the 14-year-old from Boca Raton will be cheered from all over the world as she competes at the biggest meet of her life — the Paris Olympics.
Mayah will represent Haiti in the Olympic Games' fastest pool event, the 50-meter freestyle sprint. She told WLRN she is ready to make her family and heritage proud, and introduce her talents to the world stage.
“I think doing that '50 free' will be an opportunity to show how fast I can go in such a short [distance],” she said.
The confident teen, who was born in Palm Beach County to Haitian parents, credits her inspiration to celebrated U.S. athlete Simone Manuel, the first African-American to win a solo gold medal in swimming.
But even she will admit her first Olympic slot came sooner than she expected.
“Let me tell you, it was a big shocker for me. I didn’t think it was going to happen, especially since I’m only 14,” said Mayah, an 8th grader at Boca Raton Middle School.
Her mother, Marjorie Hilaire Chouloute, told WLRN Mayah's quick development in the sport also came as a surprise to the family.
Unbeknownst to Marjorie and her husband, when Mayah was six, she was already practicing her backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly swimming techniques during aftercare swimming classes.
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So they were shocked when she told them about an upcoming relay race where she would be taking the butterfly leg.
"I'm like, 'You don't know how to do that! What?' And me and daddy were freaking out," Marjorie said. "And then the relay started and there comes her turn. And I saw her little back coming, flying out," she said. "I had a moment. That's one of the best moments of my life."
Very quickly, a simple hobby turned into Olympic aspirations.
“She wanted to be part of a team. She advocated for that at six-years-old," Marjorie said. “It's really her journey. She started it. She loves swimming. She kind of calls the shot and we're following along.”
Mayah now trains under coach Quinn Cassidy, at Saint Andrews Aquatics in Boca Raton. She flew to Paris this week to prepare for the Olympic Games, which officially open on July 26.
Seven athletes in Haitian delegation
She is one of just seven athletes in the Haitian delegation, selected by the Haitian Amateur Athletic Federation after successfully completing the Olympic standard.
Donning uniforms designed by renowned Haitian-Italian designer Stella Jean and Haitian painter Philippe Dodard, the athletes will compete in five events: judo, boxing, track and field, swimming and artistic gymnastics.
Also joining Team Haiti is Miami-native Emelia Chatfield who attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Hollywood. The 22-year-old will be taking part in track and field.
Like Chatfield and Lynnzee Brown, who will be the the first-ever woman gymnast to represent Haiti, Mayah qualified through a Universality Place. These are spots given to Olympic-level athletes to represent countries that have had eight or fewer athletes in the last two Olympics.
Under International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules, after meeting certain criteria, an Olympic athlete is allowed to compete for a country other than the one they were born in.
The Summer Olympic Games in Paris runs July 26 - Aug. 11, hosting more than 10,000 athletes from nearly 200 countries. Mayah Chouloute is set to compete on Aug. 3.
