My First Swim Meet
Ken loves swimming but has never won a race. His very first competition is in the next prefecture. A friend gives him one piece of advice — compare yourself with your own past time, not with others — and Ken sets off.
~たことが ある/ない expresses experience: “have / have never done X.” 一度も adds “not even once.”
~ないで means “without doing X” or a gentle “don't do X (instead…).”
~にとって means “for / from the standpoint of (someone).”
~ような + N — “an N as if (something).” A similative descriptor.
An い-adjective in the ~くて form chains to the next adjective or clause.
だけ means “only / just,” limiting to that one thing.