Brendon off to US
Brendon Cyprianos

Brendon Cyprianos

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER captain of the national junior swimming team Brendon Cyprianos leaves Bulawayo today for his second year in the United States of America.

The 19-year-old ex-Christian Brothers College (CBC) pupil who excelled in swimming, soccer and cricket, is in his second year of a four-year scholarship at Mars Hill University in North Carolina where he is double majoring in business administration and political science.

He said he is geared up for the 2018/19 season, having spent three months in Zimbabwe recharging his batteries.

“The first year was an eye opener for me as I was being introduced to a whole new set up of swimming environment. I believe since I’m now familiar with US conditions, this year I’ll work on improving my times. What I realised when I got to the States is that the coaching and training is a lot different. We specialise on strokes, building on certain muscles to make one a better swimmer. I’ve been taught the importance of little things like how the hand gets into water, how you kick inside the water during my first year,” said Cyprianos.

A multi-medal winner at various junior championships while representing Zimbabwe, Cyprianos who comes from a family of three boys, Andresious (22) and Denilson (15) who are also brilliant swimmers and have represented Zimbabwe at various age groups, said his brothers challenge him to do better.

“My elder brother (Andresious) is in his final year of his scholarship in the US and he is the one who gave me some of the tips on what to expect in America.

His tips, the welcome I got from the coaches and my teammates made me adapt easily. When I returned home in May, I continued to train with my brothers and they were pushing me. Last weekend I was in Durban for the South Africa Short Course Championships and even though I didn’t win any medal, I’m happy that I made it to the final of the 100m backstroke,” Cyprianos said.

The former national champion dreams of representing the country at the Olympics or competing at International Swimming Federation (FINA) organised competitions.

“It’s always an honour to represent my country and even in States I know that I’m Zimbabwe’s ambassador. I want to improve on my times and hopefully I’ll be considered for FINA or Olympic teams. That’s my dream and I believe everything is possible if I maintain discipline,” said Cyprianos.

The 19-year-old swimmer who will be back in Zimbabwe in May next year, said his swimming programme starts next month and will end with the “big conference” meet in February.

— @ZililoR

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