Life has gone swimmingly for this UH Olympian

When Jasmine Alkhaldi started swimming competitively she asked a coach about the highest point of this sport she’d taken up — as a 6 year old might.

"They said the Olympics and that’s when I wanted to do it. I’m not even kidding," Alkhaldi said, laughing at the recollection poolside at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

"I didn’t know what it was and I was like, ‘OK, I want to go there.’ … I didn’t know it was going to be that hard."

Her goal setting has been a bit more incremental since then, but after years spent developing into the top female swimmer in the Philippines she indeed added "Olympian" to her list of accolades in 2012 as part of the nation’s contingent in London.

She’d just finished her freshman year at the University of Hawaii when she competed in the 100-meter freestyle in London and has continued to build her international resume while contributing to the Rainbow Wahine medal count in the last two conference championship meets.

Alkhaldi, who began swimming in international meets at 11, will add another stamp to her well-worn passport this week with a trip to Incheon, South Korea for the 17th Asian Games.

UH associate coach Jennifer Buffin will accompany her as coach of the Philippines team and Alkhaldi is entered in five events — 50- and 100-meter butterfly and 50-, 100- and 200-freestyle — in the swimming competition that starts Sunday at Munhak Aquatics Center. The meet also represents her first shot at qualifying for next year’s FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia.

Beyond that the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio is "there in the back of my mind," but her focus is fixed on next week’s meet and her senior season with the Wahine shortly to follow.

After Alkhaldi and Buffin return from Korea, the college season will take precedence, starting with a meet at San Diego State on Oct. 24, with a goal of qualifying for the NCAA championships.

Alkhaldi was named the Rainbow Wahine MVP last season after winning four golds at the MPSF championships in February. She won the 50 freestyle and defended her 2013 titles in the 100 and 200 freestyle. She set a meet record in the 100 freestyle at 49.27 seconds and also picked up medals with three relay teams with UH retaining the MPSF title in the 400 freestyle relay.

While Alkhaldi takes pride in representing the Philippines on an international stage, there’s comfort in competing in a collective setting when she returns to Manoa.

"It’s a lot more fun to swim collegiately just because you have a whole team and a lot of people you swim with," said Alkhaldi, a team captain this season. "I think there’s a lot more pressure swimming internationally."

While Alkhaldi completes her college eligibility in the spring, she’ll continue to train in Hawaii while completing her marketing degree with a scholarship from the International Olympic Committee.

Swimming with the world’s best, Alkhaldi finished 34th in the 100 free in London and was 35th out of 77 at last year’s world championships in Barcelona. Her international schedule has left few breaks in training since her arrival in Hawaii after being recruited out of Trace College in Los Banos.

After years of training, the 6 a.m. workouts (with afternoon sessions three times a week) are just part of her daily routine. She finally gave herself a chance to catch her breath with a couple weeks off this summer, though she still got into the pool a few times to stay in shape before focusing on the Asian Games.

"Most of our athletes who don’t compete internationally get longer summer breaks," Buffin said. "For her, because she competes for the college and for her nation there’s always another meet."

Buffin said Alkhaldi’s brief summer break, which included visiting family in Texas, allowed her "to enjoy being in college and being a young adult and she still trained hard."

"I think everybody needs that as an athlete. You need a mental break from the sport and I’m glad she took it, so when we got back we got right back into it. It is going to be interesting because it’s been a shorter training cycle, but she has enough base and background that I’m not worried."