DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Sarah Furgatch’s mother just wanted her to learn how to swim, for her safety.

Eden Furgatch saw her daughter do more than swim.

“When I was 3 or 4, I would just go have lessons blowing bubbles in the water,” Sarah said with a laugh.

Since then, Furgatch has blown more than bubbles, more like the competition away.

Furgatch continues to thrive, now with the Corona del Mar High girls’ swimming team. Last week against Back Bay rival Newport Harbor, she placed first in three events, helping the Sea Kings win, 87-83.

In individual events, no one has come close to challenging Furgatch yet in her senior season.

Through all the success, Furgatch has experienced her ups and downs in the sport she plans to be challenged at Princeton University after she graduates from CdM.

At 12, Furgatch said she beat the top girls in the country in her age group in the 200 breaststroke.

One of Furgatch’s highlights around that time, other than holding the nation’s No. 2 mark in the 200 breaststroke event, involved her outside the pool. While in Long Beach as a fan at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Trials, Furgatch got Michael Phelps’ signature.

“We just had him sign a joker card from a deck of cards,” Furgatch said because the joker is all she had at the time.

What happened next proved to be as unpredictable as getting the joker card. Furgatch’s ranking dropped, her times worsened in her best event.

The older Furgatch got and the more she grew, the harder it was to improve.

“A lot of the younger girls, they’re skinny, like no hips, they move easily through the water,” Furgatch said. “Once you grow, you kind of have to adjust to your stroke accordingly. I had a really tough time with that. From 13 to 16, I actually didn’t drop in the 200 breaststroke.

“I sort of considered [quitting]. I was frustrated. My coach was saying, ‘Maybe you should switch strokes, switch to freestyle or something.’ At one point he just said, ‘Maybe this isn’t the sport for you.’ ”

Rising at odd hours, 4:30, for a practice at 5:15, became a grind on the body and mind.

The school hadn’t even started and Furgatch was already out of it.

In her freshman season at CdM, Furgatch said she felt like a zombie. The course load was light, nothing like her current four advance placement courses, the swimming not so much.

That freshman season, Furgatch said she kind of took it for granted, the Sea Kings claiming the CIF Southern Section Division II championship. She was new to the team, while everyone else experienced losing the title the year before by four points.

Looking back, was it all worth it? What kept her returning to the pool each day?

“I couldn’t really bear the thought of not swimming anymore,” Furgatch said.

“[Swimming has] made me a more disciplined person, a more driven person. It kind of taught me that if I work hard and keep going, eventually it’ll pay off.”

You can bet mom is glad her daughter learned more than blowing bubbles in the water.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].