JERSEY CITY, NJ – Saint Peter's rising sophomore
Troy Pina completed his first season as a Division I collegiate men's swimmer and his first year as a Saint Peter's University student-athlete this past year. In addition to his standings as a swimmer, Pina also competed as a member of the men's indoor and outdoor track and field teams. But unlike most 19 year old college students who typically spend their summers traveling and reconnecting with high school friends, Pina has been spending his summer days training for international competition with the Cabo (Cape) Verde National Swim Team.
Pina was selected to the national team through online performance tracking via Facebook. His posted times were the only competitive male times in African swimming, which led to the Federation reaching out to him since there are no pools in Cape Verde, only open water. In all, most of the athletes that compete for the country in any sport are from the USA.
Cabo Verde, or Cape Verde as it is pronounced in English, is made up of 10 islands off of the west coast of Africa. The country has a population of just 500,000 citizens and there are more Cape Verdeans living in the United States of America than Cape Verde the country. The Cabo Verde National Swimming Federation is part of FINA and CANA African Swimming. The Federation was started in November of 2017 and the President of the Federation is Avery Lopes. The roster size of the national team is just four, with Pina being the only male athlete on the lineup; two of the three females are Pina's sisters.
"I am proud to be a part of the Cabo Verde National Swimming Federation and first male representative for Cabo Verde swimming," Pina said. "I hope to be a great role model for the young kids in Cabo Verde and here in the USA. I will try to help expand the sport of swimming in the Islands and here throughout the African American Community."
Pina has been training all summer since he returned home from Saint Peter's. He has been competing in meets with his club team, the Seacoast Swimming Association-Seekonk (Seekonk, Mass.), where he trains with two other female Cape Verdean swimmers. The trio trains at a long course pool at Brown University and at Pina's former high school, Seekonk High School. These teams will continue to train Pina for international competition while he is not competing collegiately and up until the Olympics, since there are no pools in the country of Cabo Verde. The positive news for Pina and the national team is that the country has a new floor plan for the development of its first ever swimming pool, with plans for the pool to be finished before the next Olympic games.
"Thus far, the experience seems surreal to me," added Pina. "I am proud to represent the country of Cabo Verde and ecstatic to compete in my first international meet this upcoming September. It is a great feeling to also have two siblings competing along with me for Cabo Verde."
Pina will be the first male ever to compete on the international swimming stage for the country of Cabo Verde. He will be competing for the first time from September 10-17 at CANA African Championships (the first time Cabo Verde will send a swim team to a national meet). This will make Pina eligible for the World Championships in the summer of 2019 and then for the Olympics in 2020. Pina will also be competing in open water in Sal 2019 at the African Beach Games where Cabo Verde will compete on the Island Sal for the first time.
"Although Troy is just starting his second year for us at Saint Peters, he has emerged as an active leader for our team," said Saint Peter's Swimming & Diving head coach
Mark Kretzer. "When he told me about the opportunity to represent his mother's country of Cape Verde, I knew this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity for him."
Kretzer added: "We have a few other athletes on our roster that will also be in a similar position as Troy to represent their home countries, so Troy is in good company here at Saint Peter's to reach his international swimming goals."
