Sebi and Donald’s Great Adventure
Sebi and Donald’s Great Adventure
Blog by Chelsea Day
Photo credit: Donald Miralle
As a freshman with dwarfism swimming at La Costa Canyon High School, 15-year-old Sebastian Desposato (“Sebi”) became the 2024 CIF State Champion in the 50 Free Para! He’s also the CIF State Runner-Up in 100 Free Para.
Photo credit: Donald Miralle
Sebastian’s parents helped him learn to swim at just 6 months old, with his first swim competition taking place when he was 4 years old at the World Dwarf Games.
He’s been part of the CAF family for years and is also an accomplished adaptive surfer.
Long-time CAF photographer Donald Miralle happens to be the swim coach at Sebi’s high school and has taken Sebi under his wing, guiding him over the course of three months to drop over 16 seconds in the 100 free (which is an astronomical amount of time in a swimming sprint!). Donald shared that Sebi put the same work in as able-bodied kids, swimming against kids TWICE his size the entire dual meet and never giving up. At states, Sebi swam the fastest 50 free ever recorded for Class II Para swimmers with a 33.37, then led the entire 100 free and was out-touched going into the wall by the 2-time 100 free champ.
Sebastian Desposato and Donald Miralle. Photo credit: Donald Miralle
Photo credit: Donald Miralle
Coach Donald Miralle awarded Sebastian with the Coaches Award and the Most Inspirational Swimmer, calling him the “highlight of the season” Donald further advocated for Sebastian’s inclusion into League Champs as an exhibition swimmer (since it was historically a Varsity only meet), helping showcase this talented athlete’s hard work and determination.
Surfing’s inclusion in the Olympic Games opens the door for it to potentially join the Paralympic Games in the near future.
With the Paralympic Games coming to Los Angeles in 2028, there’s growing optimism that Sebi might have the opportunity to compete in both surfing and swimming— the latter already being part of the Paralympic program.
CAF is thrilled to have supported Sebastian’s journey and eagerly anticipates his future accomplishments!
Photo credit: Donald Miralle
Sebastian and CAF Co-Founder Bob Babbitt sat down to chat with KUSI about the experience: