International Waters: An Australian, Puerto Rican and A Russian Dive into the NCAA

By Danielle Repper, Swimming World College Intern

Many divers across the the United States hail from other countries. It is a large commitment for divers coming from afar, leaving their homes, and having to adapt to a new world. But it’s also an incredible opportunity for student-athletes to travel and navigate through their young adult life in a new culture.

Josiah Purss, redshirt junior diver for the University of Utah, was born and raised in the very small town of Wachope in New South Wales, Australia before landing here in the United States.

“I chose to come across to the US because there was an abundance of opportunities to train over here at a high level, whereas the top level training in Australia is very selective,” expressed Purss. “I had quit diving two years before I came to the US, so I didn’t really have the option to get into a program in Australia. Also, the concept of being a student-athlete in Australia doesn’t really exist. Athletic scholarships are minimal and university sports are more like inter-varsity teams than university funded programs. I also have the travel bug, so I wanted to keep traveling and seeing the world!”

Regardless of where you come from, diving takes tremendous dedication. It is common for divers to travel extensively in order to train at respectable facilities.

Photo Courtesy: www.uteathletics.com

“My hometown, being so small, did not really provide high level training. So I had to move to Sydney (4 hours away) so that I could keep diving,” Purss shared.

Even though Australian’s speak the same language as us, the slang is quite different! “The transition was fairly simple, I had to learn to use a few different words so that people would understand me. Telling my roommate I was looking for my thongs (flip flops) would always result in some funny looks,” Purss said.

Collegiate athletic departments work tirelessly to help students ease into the transition of college, especially international students.

“The university was great in supporting me with my move over here, helping me sort out all the kinks along the way. When I got here I felt like I fit in right away with the team, was almost like moving straight into a family away from home,” Purss expressed.

One of the most incredible and rewarding aspects of diving is the memories it brings. “In Australia my most memorable moment was traveling to Germany to represent the Australian Junior Team at the 2008 Aachen World Junior Championships. My most memorable moment in the US was winning the consolation final at the 2014 NCAA championship. It was really nice to feel like all my training had fallen into place.”

Rafael Quintero, senior diver for the University of Arizona, is from Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

“I’ve always liked the idea of coming to the US to go to school and knew that doing a sport would be my ticket. Also, they don’t have diving at a college level in PR and I definitely wanted to keep diving after high school. The campus, the coaching staff and the pool were my favorite things about my recruiting trip to Arizona.”

Rafael Quintero, 2014 Pac 12 Championships. Photo Courtesy: Chuckarelei Studios

According to Rafael, his transition from Puerto Rico to the United states for him wasn’t too challenging. “A lot of things changed from how they used to be back home, but overall it wasn’t bad. I would say the language was my biggest obstacle. Even though I don’t consider myself as a bad English speaker, it was difficult to get use to speaking English all the time and listening to all my college professors lecturing in English,” said Quintero

He has had a great deal of success throughout his diving career, and certainly has more opportunities coming up to showcase his talent.

“A lot of my good diving experiences have been in the US and not Puerto Rico,” Quintero shared, “but I really enjoyed competing in the first Puerto Rico Grand Prix and always enjoy competing at Senior nationals and NCAA’s,” he added.

Maria Polyakova (middle) wins the gold medal at the 2015 European Games. Photo Courtesy: www.uclabruins.com

Maria Polyakova, sophomore diver for the UCLA Bruins, hails from Penza, Russia and is currently studying linguistics. Polyakova has been on the Russian National Team since 2011, and has competed in multiple high level international competitions with outstanding results.

Polyakova, sought out a great opportunity at UCLA. “In the United States, I could get a very good education and continue my diving career. I chose UCLA because it is one of the top schools in the world, plus it’s in a very nice location and I developed a good relationship with the coach, Tom Stebbins, during my recruitment.”

Being that she came from Russia, learning English was a great challenge with the limited exposure to it in Russia. Polyakova worked very hard each day to learn English prior to her departure for the United States.

“The transition was tough since I didn’t have any experience speaking English, and I had never been to America before; the cultures and lifestyle are very different,” Polyakova shared. “The language barrier made it more difficult, but my teammates and coach helped me a lot with that!” she added.

In all her years of experience and travel, her work has led to a series of triumphs.

“My most memorable diving event in the United States was last year at NCAAs when I set a new school record for UCLA twice in prelims and then in finals on 3 meter. In Russia, my most memorable moment was in Kazan last Summer where I made finals on 1 meter.”

International divers have and will continue to make big splashes in United States pools. These divers truly embrace the opportunities they have been. They leave their mark here and continue to proudly represent their home country!

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use