BUDAPEST – The water drips off Tilali Scanlan’s wavy locks as she shakes her head in disbelief, for it is not every day that an athlete gets to compete among the world’s best on the sport’s biggest stage.

Still buzzing with adrenaline after stepping out of the Duna Arena pool in Budapest, Tilali’s debut at the Fina World Championships was all the more special because until March last year, the 17-year-old from American Samoa was still training in the South Pacific Ocean near her home in Vaitogi.

Tilali’s unusual training arrangement was borne out of necessity because her island home – an unincorporated territory of the United States with a population of just 55,600 – does not have an Olympic-sized 50m swimming pool.

In fact, American Samoa – which is a cluster of five islands and two coral atolls totaling 199 square metres – has only one swimming pool: an 18-m long pool at the Tradewinds Hotel.

At the age of eight, Tilali started swimming at a children’s pool, but took to training in the ocean when she turned 11.

The bubbly teenager laughed as she told TODAY: “We don’t have a training facility back home, so it’s just been ocean and running, anything to stay active.

“They (the hotel) gave me a slot between 5.30 and 7am in the mornings, and sometimes I’ll go there to get some turns and dives done. It’s small.”

While Tilali loves swimming in the ocean, training in the sea is far from ideal for the budding young athlete. She explained: “It’s challenging, you’ve got ocean waves, you’re got currents, obviously I can’t really swim backstroke because I’ll get lost.

“You always have to be aware in the water and aware of your surroundings. For the most part, sharks aren’t a problem, they usually stay out of the reef, but jellyfish have been a problem.”

Being the sole national swimmer on the island, Tilali is also regarded as an oddity among a population obsessed with rugby and American football – a number of ethnic Samoans currently play in the National Football League and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

She added, with a giggle: “A lot of people are just amazed that I even swim, considering that we don’t have a pool.

“That’s the first thing that comes up, ‘how do you swim’, ‘where do you swim’?

They don’t take me seriously…They don’t understand what it’s like. But I wanted to swim, and make it a serious sport so people can realise that we can swim.”

The lack of a coach, competition and training facilities saw Tilali moving to Wellington, New Zealand, in March last year to pursue a degree in Marine Biology at Victoria University. She now trains with coach Gary Hollywood at the city’s Capital Swim Club.

Last year, Tilali, who owns eight national records in swimming, competed in her first Fina short-course world championships in Ontario, Canada, before receiving an invitation from the world governing body for the Budapest championships. The sole representative from American Samoa at the Fina World Championships, she finished sixth in both her 100m and 200m breaststroke heats in 1:23.03 and 3:04.65 respectively, placing 51st and 36th overall.

The teenage swimmer is relishing her time here in Budapest, particularly the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the world’s best swimmers. She added: “I come from an island, we don’t even have a swimming facility. I’m still shocked at just being here, such an amazing feeling.

“The biggest thing is just seeing all these world-class swimmers and just being around them, seeing these world records broken. I loved seeing (Britain’s) Adam Peaty, he’s an amazing breaststroker.”

The 17-year-old wants to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games in three years’ time, but her long-term goal will lead her back to her island in the South Pacific Ocean.

“My goal is to do the best I can, see how far I can go, but mainly I want to bring swimming back to my island,” said Tilali, who also plans to work as a swimming coach in Wellington while studying for her degree.

“I want it to be a thing like these other countries have, I want us to have that. Maybe you’ll see me in 10 years with my own swimmers as a coach.”

And perhaps, this young woman from Vaitogi will be the one to bring American Samoa its first 50m swimming pool, as she added: “I’ve got to try, hopefully (build this pool), it’s been a long time coming but I think once we get that pool, it’s just about securing it and raising more swimmers for the next generation.”