Zim swimmer breaks records in US

Sports Correspondent
ZIMBABWEAN United States-based teenage swimming sensation Andresious Cyprianos is basking in glory after clinching two silver medals at the high profile NorthEast 10 Conference Championships first round held last weekend at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the US.

Cyprianos clinched a silver medal in the 100m butterfly finals when he came second with a time of 49,61 seconds, which saw him setting a new Pace University record in the race, surpassing the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II qualifying time.

The former Christian Brothers College pupil, who is on a scholarship at Pace University, went on to bag silver in the 400m relay medley with a time of 3 minutes 22,73 seconds. Other members of the Pace relay team included Alexander Dimcevski, Nianzhona Liu and Travis Monahan.

The first leg of the championships ran from 4 February to 7 February with the second segment scheduled for 19 February to 21 February. In the 200-metre butterfly event, Cyprianos took 5th place in the finals but his time of 1:54.02 was good enough to set a new Pace University record in the race.

Despite the good showing in the two races, Pace University men’s team took fourth out of seven teams with an overall score of 551.5 points. Cyprianos, who was urged on by his travelling parents, said he was looking forward to the second session and hoped to scoop more medals at the event.

The Northeast-10 Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II conference that was established in 1979 and consists of 15-member institutions located throughout the Northeast in the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.

Cyprianos’ mother Nokuthula said they were thrilled by the win and would stay in the US for the second leg of the competition before returning home.

“It was great cheering him on and seeing him take silver. We hope he will do better in other races in the next session where again we will provide our support. We will be returning to Zimbabwe after the championships,” said Nokuthula.

Cyprianos, who is touted as an future Olympic prospect, won the scholarship to Pace University last year after excellent performances that saw him holding the Zimbabwe national record in the 100m butterfly.