She's only 8 years old, but Dani Heim is already breaking records in the pool. The swimmer, who is the daughter of Dan and Sarah Heim of Elizabethtown, became the first girl in the 8-and-under age group to complete a 1,650-meter swim, also known as a "mile swim."

She logged 66 laps for the feat, but, in true youth fashion, she pushed for one more lap, so she'd finish with 67. (If you have youngsters at home, you no doubt understand why.)

"My mind went berserk when I was swimming," Dani recalled. "I was like, 'Am I going to finish this?'"

Her parents credit her ability to pace herself with her strong finish. Rather than diving in and expending all her energy like she might do in a short race, Dani kept it slow and steady.

"I'm very, very impressed with her," Sarah said, noting that she stood poolside counting the laps as Dani swam. "She just kept going and going. She would look up at me every now and then, and I would cheer her on, and she'd keep going."

That last lap, Dani said, was just for fun; she called it a "cool-down" lap.

Dani has been swimming for most of her life.

"I started swimming with my dad when I was 2, and I got on my first swim team at 4," she said.

She joined the Elizabethtown Aquatic Club (EAC), which is part of the Central PA Aquatic League (CPAL).

She tried out for USA Swimming just three weeks after turning 8, and she quickly swept her age group events and earned her first of several USA Middle Atlantic Championships qualifying times at her first USA Swimming meet.

With CPAL, she's helped her team and earned several individual top finishes across the league this season.

Along with becoming the first girl in her age group to complete the 1,650-meter swim in the EAC's 35-year history, she broke records for the club in the 200 free and the 500 free. 

"I love to be in the water," Dani said. "I like it because when it touches my skin, it makes me feel ready to go, ready to push off. My favorite part of swimming is when I dive in. I like the way the water feels going straight up my body."

Her parents note that they never have to nag Dani about attending swim practice, which takes place almost every day of the week during the main season from September through March.

"She would live in the pool if we let her," Sarah said. "When we're running late to practice, she'll be in the car honking the horn."

Dani comes by her talent naturally. Her father was a competitive swimmer in his youth, and she said she gets her drive from him.

Her mother, however, is a different story.

"I'm teaching my mom how to swim, because she's just learning how," Dani said.

When she's not in the water, Dani, who is a third-grader at Bear Creek School, enjoys playing with her friends; going to Sixers games; playing basketball, soccer and chess; hiking; and spending time with her dog, Gunnar.

Even though her season with EAC has wrapped up for this year, Dani only has a short break before she's back in the water for the spring and summer, including open-water lake swimming.

She swims year-round and, even though she's only in elementary school, she has lofty goals.

"I want to make it to the Olympics," she said.

While she loves almost everything about swimming, she's not a huge fan of having to get up early for meets and battling her tech swimsuit, which she says is very hard to put on.

But that's not enough to keep her on dry land.

"I think being positive and being a good sport is what you need most to be a good swimmer and for other sports," she said. "If somebody came up to me and said, 'What makes you confident to get in the water, and how can I push myself?' I would say, 'Just do your best. Try hard and be a good sport.'"