Andheri lass Swapnali Yadav, the ‘Little Mermaid’ in  the world of swimming, is all set to conquer the waters again.

Eleven-year-old Swapnali, of Bombay Cambridge High School, Amboli, Andheri (West) has been invited by United States Master Swimmers (USMS) to participate in the prestigious Kingdom Aquafest that will be held on the shores of Lake  Memphremagog, in the heart of Northeast Kingdom, Newport,  Vermont, USA on July 24.

The swim has been approved by USA Swimming and world ruling body FINA.

Swapnali caught the eye of the organizers who were very  impressed by her track record that included outstanding  performances as the youngest-ever in the world in the 2007.  Open World Swimming Marathon and the 30km Messinikos Gulf  Swim in 2008-09, both in Greece, and the 2009 Bermuda Round
the Sound Open Swimathon.

Swapnali has been training rigorously at the Prabhodhankar  Thackeray pool, Vile Parle. She practiced for hours daily  under renowned coaches Rajendra ‘Raju’ Palkar, the only  long distance national coach recognized by the Swimming  Federation of India, and Arun Sathe and Satish Solanki of  Prabhodhankar Thackeray. In addition, Swapnali was helped to  recover from a shoulder injury by gym trainer Rupali Gurav.

The Kingdom Aquafest is blessed with greatness, with a  world class challenge to many that includes [English]  Channel and double Channel crossers, former US Olympic team  members and speedsters of all stripes participating.

Swapnali will feature in the 10 mile category and leads an  astonishing group of youngsters taking on the full gamut of  distances this year, in a competition with an age spread of  six to 65 years.

The start of the 10 mile swim will be at 8 a.m. local time  at Prouty Beach, and will end at the same point.

Swapnali leaves for the US on July 20 and will be  accompanied by her parents Gopal and Saili.

The organizers have reserved July 25 and 26 as alternate  dates for the swim in the event of extremely adverse weathe or water conditions.