Andrew Chetcuti will be the flag bearer for the nation of Malta in the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics, a tremendous honor for the Georgia Tech grad. Chetcuti, who will swim the 100-meter freestyle, can trace this privilege back to a most practical origin.
“I started swimming lessons because I was scared of the water,” Chetcuti said. “I would cry; I wouldn’t want to get in the pool.”
Chetcuti’s parents’ concerns were particularly magnified given that Malta has a lot of water to fear – it is an island nation of 122 square miles. Malta is about 50 miles south of Italy, slightly smaller than the city of Atlanta.
“There’s water everywhere, so my parents forced me to get over it,” he said.
Fear eventually gave way to proficiency, which eventually led to a spot on Tech’s swimming team. Rio will be the second Olympics for Chetcuti, one of six Tech graduates who will compete in the Games, which open Friday.
Chetcuti will lead the seven-athlete delegation from Malta, walking into Maracana Stadium between the teams from Mali and Morocco. Chetcuti learned of the honor at a news conference in Malta to present the team to the local media.
“I was pretty pumped,” he said.
Chetcuti was selected by his nation’s Olympic organizing committee, he said he was told, based on his accomplishments of the past year. Consider this: the probability of making the Olympics is miniscule, although considerably larger for a citizen of a nation of 450,000. Roughly, one out of every 542,500 people in the world competed in either the 2012 or 2014 Olympics.
But leading your nation’s delegation at the Olympics? That’s one out of every 25.3 million. Still, competing in Rio is the bigger deal to Chetcuti, who graduated in the spring with a biology degree.
“Being flag bearer is awesome and all,” he said. “Being in the Olympics is what makes it the big honor for me.”
Since overcoming his fear of the water – he was around 4 at the time of his first lessons – he has been pursuing the dream for a long time. As a fifth grader, Chetcuti participated in a school assembly where students dressed up to portray their ambitions for the future. Chetcuti walked out in his swimsuit, goggles and a cap – he wanted to go to the Olympics.
He began swimming competitively around 10 in Dubai, where he grew up due to his father’s work. A club coach planted the seed of swimming collegiateley in the U.S.
“I haven’t regretted it at all,” he said. “I loved my time at Tech. It was awesome.”
He harbors no hopes of medaling, but has a goal of reaching the 16-swimmer semifinals. Chetcuti said he set a personal record at the recent Malta national championships, finishing in 50.9 seconds and doing so without being rested or shaved for the team. He gave credit for his improvement to Tech assistant coach Andy Robins for the one-on-one work he gave to Chetcuti last season, Robins’ first at Tech. He is continuing to follow Robins’ workout plan in Malta, from where he’ll leave for Rio on Wednesday.
In London, the last swimmer into the semifinals finished in 48.99 seconds. A spot in the semifinals would be a considerable accomplishment, also, for a nation that only has one 50-meter pool. If he were to make the semis, he said, “I’d be over the moon.”
His flag-bearer duties have won him a small amount of celebrity.
“People are noticing me at the pool,” he said. “’You’re the guy that’s carrying the flag.’ Some people are taking pictures of me at the pool. It’s fun. Once the Games are done, it’ll continue for about a month and that’ll be it.”
After the Olympics, Chetcuti will begin grad school at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, where he will pursue a Ph.D. in physical therapy. His goal is to do PT work for a professional sports team. He wants to continue swimming at least until the world short-course championships in Windsor, Ontario, in December.
The other five Tech athletes competing in Rio: golfer Matt Kuchar (USA), high jumper Chaunte Howard Lowe (USA), basketball player Alade Aminu (Nigeria) and swimmers Gal Nevo, (Israel), Keren Siebner (Israel) and Chetcuti.
Chetcuti swims the 100 free prelims on Aug. 9, next Tuesday. But first, the Opening Ceremony.
“Hopefully I don’t fall,” he said. “That would be pretty bad.”
About the Author
