At first glance, he looks like another teenager. But the yellow and blue bow on the red Sant Andreu backpack hints that this fifteen-year-old’s life is very different. It’s no different just because he has moves in the pool that surprise even Olympic swimmers. But because Eight months ago, not knowing when he would return to his country, he got into a car to leave his old life behind. nor would he ever see his brother again.
Valeria Zinchenko broke up Ukraine fifteen days after the onset of the epidemic war. He lived in Chernivtsi, in the southwestern part of the country, until the first week of March, when he left with his family, while his 21-year-old elder brother was left behind. This journey, marked by uncertainty, is in the fog in the attic of his memory. “We drove to Romania and then by plane. It was very strange, I have a foggy memory of that trip.”
He arrived in Lloret de Mar, where the pool was one of the few unknown to him. Already training four hours a day in Ukraine with the dream of becoming an Olympian, he jumped into the water to find some normalcy in a completely changed world.. “In the beginning it was difficult because I did not understand the language, everything was new and difficult to understand. With the war in my country, it was difficult to train: I missed all my friends and my coach. I was nervous for them.. safe”.
Fortunately, he can still talk to them every day because his city was “more or less safe” during the conflict, and most of the 250,000 people remained. He had barely been in Catalonia for three months when he entered the Ciutat de Barcelona international tournament in the hands of CN Lloret. World and European breaststroke medalist Jessica Vall spotted it right away. “I saw him warming up outside of the water and he did typical Eastern European exercises. He reminded me of some of the rivals I’ve had at a professional level and his face just kind of stuck with me.”
Seeing him in the water, he confirmed that he was different and spoke to Jordi Jou. The coach of CN Sant Andreu met with Valeria’s family in the inner courtyard of the club. Surrounded by photos of all the club’s Olympic athletes, he persuaded them to go there alone to try to one day have Valeria’s face on that hall of fame. “I want to be an Olympic champion. This is my dream. I’m doing my best to make this dream come true: train hard, don’t skip training and go step-by-step,” says the young woman, now living in Barcelona, sharing a flat with other swimmers.
“He has a very clear goal and he wants to get there,” says his coach Carlos Peña. “I tell him he has to be a minus fourth and he has to be minus 20 to warm up. He is first in everything. We take turns and he has to be first because in his mindset he has to be the best.” He trains 20 hours a week Monday through Saturday and has developed very quickly since his arrival in Sant Andreu.. “He has a very good kick and a lot of flexibility. He’s very loose and that helps him hold up. It’s his upper body that has improved a lot on a technical level since he came in. It used to sink.” As a trainer, she knows it’s harder to improve technique as you get older, but in this case she believes it’s a matter of attitude, not age. “It’s more complicated to fix them later. But he changed it because his attitude is: I have to change yes or yes to go faster”.
He had a sign when he arrived 2.44 in 200 breaststrokes. Now it’s down to five seconds, to 2.39. The minimum for the next European youth is 2.33. If he does not enter the youth category with two years, that is 15 years, he can try the next year. Fascinated by Valeria’s kick, Vall encourages her not to give up. “I try to help him feel comfortable so he can continue training and achieve his goals. The girl is super grateful and super happy. I try to comfort him rather than giving advice, I do my best to integrate him. Sport is a tool for improvement in other fields”, explains the former continental champion in the short term.
Valeria regained her smile in Catalonia, although she was still very aware of what was happening in her native country. “I love Barcelona and Catalonia. I have new friends here. I love this club, all the people are very friendly. i love living here. I love Ukraine very much, but Spain is the second country on my list.” This young man with very clear ideas has decided that this is his place in the world now. “If the war is over, I will continue here because I need it. Education and after the war in Ukraine will not be the same. I want to finish my training, become a good swimmer and help young children become better swimmers.”
At first glance, he looks like another teenager. But the yellow and blue bow on the red Sant Andreu backpack hints that this fifteen-year-old’s life is very different. It’s no different just because he has moves in the pool that surprise even Olympic swimmers. But because Eight months ago, not knowing when he would return to his country, he got into a car to leave his old life behind. nor would he ever see his brother again.
Valeria Zinchenko broke up Ukraine fifteen days after the onset of the epidemic war. He lived in Chernivtsi, in the southwestern part of the country, until the first week of March, when he left with his family, while his 21-year-old elder brother was left behind. This journey, marked by uncertainty, is in the fog in the attic of his memory. “We drove to Romania and then by plane. It was very strange, I have a foggy memory of that trip.”
He arrived in Lloret de Mar, where the pool was one of the few unknown to him. Already training four hours a day in Ukraine with the dream of becoming an Olympian, he jumped into the water to find some normalcy in a completely changed world.. “In the beginning it was difficult because I did not understand the language, everything was new and difficult to understand. With the war in my country, it was difficult to train: I missed all my friends and my coach. I was nervous for them.. safe”.
Fortunately, he can still talk to them every day because his city was “more or less safe” during the conflict, and most of the 250,000 people remained. He had barely been in Catalonia for three months when he entered the Ciutat de Barcelona international tournament in the hands of CN Lloret. World and European breaststroke medalist Jessica Vall spotted it right away. “I saw him warming up outside of the water and he did typical Eastern European exercises. He reminded me of some of the rivals I’ve had at a professional level and his face just kind of stuck with me.”
Seeing him in the water, he confirmed that he was different and spoke to Jordi Jou. The coach of CN Sant Andreu met with Valeria’s family in the inner courtyard of the club. Surrounded by photos of all the club’s Olympic athletes, he persuaded them to go there alone to try to one day have Valeria’s face on that hall of fame. “I want to be an Olympic champion. This is my dream. I’m doing my best to make this dream come true: train hard, don’t skip training and go step-by-step,” says the young woman, now living in Barcelona, who shares a flat with other swimmers.
“He has a very clear goal and he wants to get there,” says his coach Carlos Peña. “I tell him he has to be a minus fourth and he has to be minus 20 to warm up. He’s first in everything. We’re lining up and he has to be first because in his mindset he has to be the best.” He trains 20 hours a week Monday through Saturday and has developed very quickly since his arrival in Sant Andreu.. “He has a very good kick and a lot of flexibility. He’s very loose and that helps him hold up. It’s his upper body that has improved a lot on a technical level since he came in. It used to sink.” As a trainer, she knows it’s harder to improve technique as you get older, but in this case she believes it’s a matter of attitude, not age. “It’s more complicated to fix them later. But he changed it because his attitude is: I have to change yes or yes to go faster”.
He had a sign when he arrived 2.44 in 200 breaststrokes. Now it’s down to five seconds, to 2.39. The minimum for the next European youth is 2.33. If he does not enter the youth category with two years, that is 15 years, he can try the next year. Fascinated by Valeria’s kick, Vall encourages her not to give up. “I try to help him feel comfortable so he can continue training and achieve his goals. The girl is super grateful and super happy. I try to comfort him rather than giving advice, I do my best to integrate him. Sport is a tool for improvement in other fields”, explains the former continental champion in the short term.
Valeria regained her smile in Catalonia, although she was still very aware of what was happening in her native country. “I love Barcelona and Catalonia. I have new friends here. I love this club, all the people are very friendly. i love living here. I love Ukraine very much, but Spain is the second country on my list.” This young man with very clear ideas has decided that this is his place in the world now. “If the war is over, I will continue here because I need it. Education and after the war in Ukraine will not be the same. I want to finish my training, become a good swimmer and help young children become better swimmers.”
Source: Informacion
David William is a contributor to “Social Bites”. He specializes in writing about home and garden topics, providing unique and informative content for readers.