Your answer would be that <em>to compete </em>is a nominal infinitive.
Explanation:
The infinitive phrase <em>to compete </em>is nominal infinitive. This means that it acts as a noun in the sentence. Nominal infinitive phrases can be the subject of a sentence, the direct object, the object of a preposition, or a predicate nominative. In the sentence above, this nominal infinitive phrase functions as predicate nominative as it completes the linking verb (is) and renames the subject (my ultimate goal as a swimmer).
This is quite difficult to answer since the puritans were persons who had very strict moral values and i can't find an answer to correspond with the definition.
