Like perhaps every athlete competing at the Tokyo Olympics, Andrew Chetcuti encountered a series of obstacles as the former Georgia Tech swimmer prepared to represent his native Malta.
After he had returned to Malta from Atlanta in April 2020, he didn’t have access to a pool, so the Mediterranean Sea became his training ground.
“Which wasn’t ideal for a sprinter, but there was nothing else I could really do,” he told the AJC on Tuesday.
And even after returning to Atlanta, he trained in a 25-yard pool at a fitness club in Dunwoody, grinding by himself through a workout written out by his coach in Malta. Long since graduated from Tech (2016) and working as a physical therapist, Chetcuti’s training time was limited, and he competed in three meets from March 2020 until he stepped on the blocks of the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 27 for his heat of the 100-meter freestyle.
“There were days (I asked), ‘Why the heck am I doing this?’” Chetcuti said. “But it was worth it.”
Chetcuti was one of seven former or current Tech athletes competing in Tokyo, all in swimming and men’s basketball. All have completed competition. None had a starring role, but undoubtedly took home memories (and souvenirs), as did Chetcuti, who was competing in his third Olympics for Malta.
Despite the restrictions imposed by COVID-19, “it was still the Olympic Games, so it’s still the same vibe,” he said.
Chetcuti’s lone event was the 100 freestyle. His hope was to lower his national record, 50.92 seconds, which he set in 2017. He wasn’t ideally prepared for a number of reasons. Working a full-time job, he was limited to six practices in the pool and three gym workouts weekly, where at Tech he was in the pool eight times and putting in at least 50% more yardage per practice.
“We had to make sure everything was as specific as possible,” Chetcuti said.
Now 28, Chetcuti decided to keep swimming after the 2016 Olympics, wanting to make amends for a disappointing performance there in the 100 free. In his heat in Tokyo, Chetcuti went out fast, but couldn’t hold it. He finished in 51.47, a little more than a half-second off his national-record time. He finished 49th of 71 entrants.
Considering his training limitations, Chetcuti was accepting of his performance.
“I was out fast enough to break it, but just not having proper training for two years, just aerobic fitness, it’s tough to bring it home,” he said. “The fitness just wasn’t there.”
For Chetcuti, some of the feel of the Tokyo Olympics was the same as the previous two, like the interaction of cultures shared by elite athletes from all over the world in the Olympic Village. He got a kick out of seeing the Brazilian skateboarders practicing in the village, for instance.
But there was plenty that was different. The only times he was able to leave the village were for training and competition, and then when he was escorted to the U.S. Embassy to get his visa to fly back to the U.S., meaning no chance to explore the host city.
The dining hall was socially distanced, and athletes were encouraged to eat and leave quickly. Athletes also had to leave the village two days after their events were completed, Chetcuti said. There were daily saliva COVID tests every morning.
The natatorium was empty, which helped with nerves but also dampened adrenaline. But, with the Olympic rings plastered throughout, “you still get that ‘I’ve made it’ kind of sensation,” he said.
Chetcuti came home with plenty of swag. Athletes received the new Samsung 21 5G phone (with the Olympic rings inscribed on the back), earbuds, Asics sneakers, a reusable Powerade water bottle (also decorated with the rings) and a $500 voucher from Airbnb. He also took home the commemorative blanket from his room, giving him a set of three for each of his Olympics.
“I love that bottle,” he said. “It’s cool.”
Chetcuti also brought home the experience of being the Maltese flag bearer for the Opening Ceremonies for the second time, following Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
“That was unexpected, but I was pretty pumped to get told I was carrying it again,” he said.
He shared the honor for the six-athlete delegation with shooter Eleanor Bezzina. Chetcuti confirmed what those watching the ceremonies might have deduced from watching each flag be carried by a man and woman from each country.
“It was very awkward,” he said. “Before we walked out, in the holding area, she and I were figuring out how do we do this.”
Chetcuti recalled holding the lower end of the pole and Bezzina the higher end.
“Once we got past the cameras, we took turns holding it,” he said.
The most recognizable athlete with Tech ties was Josh Okogie, the former All-ACC guard now with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Playing for Nigeria, Okogie helped D’Tigers, as they are known, stun the U.S. team in a pre-Olympics exhibition. It fueled hopes that Nigeria could become the first African basketball team to medal at the Olympics.
However, Nigeria lost its three pool-play games, two in which it led in the fourth quarter, and failed to advance to the medal round. Okogie averaged 4.3 points, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals in the three games, two of which he started.
Avi Schafer, a teammate of Okogie’s on the 2017-18 team, played for Japan, which likewise lost its three pool-play games. Schafer, who was a walk-on for two seasons at Tech before leaving to play professionally in Japan, played a total of 29 minutes, scoring five points with five rebounds.
Tech coach Courtney Shealy Hart had five current or former swimmers in Tokyo, four of whom made their Olympic debuts. Three swam for Turkey – incoming freshmen Berke Saka and Defne Tacyildiz and Batur Unlu. Five-time All-American Caio Pumputis swam for Brazil. Chetcuti was the fifth.
Tacyildiz was the lone swimmer of the five to advance out of heats into a semifinal, doing so in her one event, the 200-meter butterfly. In her semifinal, she placed seventh in 2:11.27, a little more than two seconds out of contention for the final.
Pumputis, who will return to Tech for his second senior year allowed by the NCAA because of COVID-19, was sixth in his heat in the 200 individual medley, finishing in a personal-best 1:58.36. It was good for 19th, .21 of a second shy of qualifying for the semifinals.
He swam sixth in his heat in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.76), 34th of 49 swimmers.
Saka, like Chetcuti also awarded the honor of carrying his nation’s flag, was seventh in his heat in the 200 backstroke, in 1:58.66. He placed 23rd of 29 competitors.
Unlu, a freshman last season, was eighth in his heat in the 200 freestyle in 1:49.75, 34th of 39 swimmers.
As for Chetcuti, who returns to work Friday, he’s not ready to give up swimming. He’ll take a few weeks off, then plans to prepare for a European championship in Russia, then wants to swim in a Olympic-style competition for the small nations of Europe, to be held in his native Malta in 2023.
“And then that would have been it, but the thing is, the Olympics is the summer after,” Chetcuti said.
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