Nasution leads Chaffey men's swimming team
By Michelle Gardner
Staff Writer
Akbar Nasution admits being a little in awe. There he was on the pool
deck at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, an up-and-coming
swimmer from the little known county of Indonesia.
He posed for pictures and talked with Australian legends Ian Thorpe
and Grant Hackett, as well as Americans Tom Dolan, Lenny Krayzelburg
and Gary Hall Jr. - all gold medalists.
He went to the festive opening ceremonies but admits he skipped the
closing ceremonies to do some sightseeing. It was a memorable
experience for a 16-year-old whose competitive career was just taking
off.
Nasution has traveled the world in the eight years since then and now
represents Chaffey College which will compete in the California
Junior College State Meet that starts today and runs through Saturday
at Saddleback College in Mission Viego.
Nasution, now 24, will swim the 500-yard freestyle, the 400-yard
individual medley, the 200-yard breastroke and compete on four of the
Panthers five relays.
He won all those events at last week's South Coast Conference meet
and hopes to improve on his finish at last year's state meet in which
he earned All-American and state swimmer of the year honors with wins
in the 500 and 1,650 free and a second in the 200 breast.
"I feel like I am ready to go," he said. "Swimming is one of those
sports you can go out and do your best and if you have a great time
and someone beats you, then they deserve it."
His family's involvement in the sport and a pipeline from his native
country to the local college have enabled him to train in Southern
California.
Chaffey Coach Mike Dickson, the Panthers coach the last three
decades, says the connection started in 1985 when the Indonesian
national team had four swimmers it wanted to place in college in the
United States. The quartet started out at another school but that
partnership didn't last.
Dickson was asked to take them in. Officials in that country were so
pleased with their progress over the next two years, more followed.
The veteran coach estimates he has had between 12 and 15 Indonesian
athletes on the college team, including sophomore Benny Respati who
will also compete in the meet this week and shares an off-campus
apartment with Nasution.
Dickson also has worked with another 60-70 younger swimmers who have
trained with Hillside Aquatics, a club team he runs at Chaffey during
the summer months.
He added that it has gotten increasingly difficult to bring athletes
over from that country since the terrorists attack on Sept. 11, 2001
since Indonesia is a Muslem Country.
"The paper work now is unbelievable. It takes many months," he said.
"Sometimes as long a a year."
Among those who relocated for their college years were three of
Akbar's four older sisters - Elfina, Maya and Elsa, all of whom were
All-Americans. Dickson said Elsa still holds a national record and
two state records while Elfina was a state champion.
Their father Radja is a prominent coach in Indonesia.
"We hit it off from the first time we talked," Dickson said of the
siblings father. "We have a lot of the same ideas and philosophies
and we have developed a good trust over the years."
Nasution said one of things he has enjoyed most about the sport is
the opportunity he has had to travel. He competed in the Southeast
Asian Games in December in Thailand, winning a silver and a bronze
medal. He also has been to Russia, Germany, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong
and practically every Asian Country.
He lived and trained in Australia for two years with famed coach
Denis Cotterell before arriving at Chaffey. He admits his experience
in that country at the Olympics made him want to go back.
"When I was competing I didn't really get out so it was good to go
back," he said. "They have good facilities, the weather is good and
it's near the beach."
The Indonesian Federation already has asked him to represent the
country in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing in August. But he said it
would be tough to do that so soon after the collegiate season has
ended.
"We have been training hard for this meet," he said. "You really need
six months where you're doing nothing but working toward the Olympics
if that is what you're focused on."
As much as he loves the sport, Nasution admits he is looking forward
to developing his other interests. He isn't that interested in
transferring to a four-year school either.
Instead he is looking into going to a culinary arts school, either in
Pasadena or Orange County and will probably satisfy his craving for
athletic competition by participating in triathlons.
"I really like to focus on one thing at a time," he said. "I like
swimming but I want to do something else. I can always come back to
it."
Staff Writer
Akbar Nasution admits being a little in awe. There he was on the pool
deck at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia, an up-and-coming
swimmer from the little known county of Indonesia.
He posed for pictures and talked with Australian legends Ian Thorpe
and Grant Hackett, as well as Americans Tom Dolan, Lenny Krayzelburg
and Gary Hall Jr. - all gold medalists.
He went to the festive opening ceremonies but admits he skipped the
closing ceremonies to do some sightseeing. It was a memorable
experience for a 16-year-old whose competitive career was just taking
off.
Nasution has traveled the world in the eight years since then and now
represents Chaffey College which will compete in the California
Junior College State Meet that starts today and runs through Saturday
at Saddleback College in Mission Viego.
Nasution, now 24, will swim the 500-yard freestyle, the 400-yard
individual medley, the 200-yard breastroke and compete on four of the
Panthers five relays.
He won all those events at last week's South Coast Conference meet
and hopes to improve on his finish at last year's state meet in which
he earned All-American and state swimmer of the year honors with wins
in the 500 and 1,650 free and a second in the 200 breast.
"I feel like I am ready to go," he said. "Swimming is one of those
sports you can go out and do your best and if you have a great time
and someone beats you, then they deserve it."
His family's involvement in the sport and a pipeline from his native
country to the local college have enabled him to train in Southern
California.
Chaffey Coach Mike Dickson, the Panthers coach the last three
decades, says the connection started in 1985 when the Indonesian
national team had four swimmers it wanted to place in college in the
United States. The quartet started out at another school but that
partnership didn't last.
Dickson was asked to take them in. Officials in that country were so
pleased with their progress over the next two years, more followed.
The veteran coach estimates he has had between 12 and 15 Indonesian
athletes on the college team, including sophomore Benny Respati who
will also compete in the meet this week and shares an off-campus
apartment with Nasution.
Dickson also has worked with another 60-70 younger swimmers who have
trained with Hillside Aquatics, a club team he runs at Chaffey during
the summer months.
He added that it has gotten increasingly difficult to bring athletes
over from that country since the terrorists attack on Sept. 11, 2001
since Indonesia is a Muslem Country.
"The paper work now is unbelievable. It takes many months," he said.
"Sometimes as long a a year."
Among those who relocated for their college years were three of
Akbar's four older sisters - Elfina, Maya and Elsa, all of whom were
All-Americans. Dickson said Elsa still holds a national record and
two state records while Elfina was a state champion.
Their father Radja is a prominent coach in Indonesia.
"We hit it off from the first time we talked," Dickson said of the
siblings father. "We have a lot of the same ideas and philosophies
and we have developed a good trust over the years."
Nasution said one of things he has enjoyed most about the sport is
the opportunity he has had to travel. He competed in the Southeast
Asian Games in December in Thailand, winning a silver and a bronze
medal. He also has been to Russia, Germany, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong
and practically every Asian Country.
He lived and trained in Australia for two years with famed coach
Denis Cotterell before arriving at Chaffey. He admits his experience
in that country at the Olympics made him want to go back.
"When I was competing I didn't really get out so it was good to go
back," he said. "They have good facilities, the weather is good and
it's near the beach."
The Indonesian Federation already has asked him to represent the
country in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing in August. But he said it
would be tough to do that so soon after the collegiate season has
ended.
"We have been training hard for this meet," he said. "You really need
six months where you're doing nothing but working toward the Olympics
if that is what you're focused on."
As much as he loves the sport, Nasution admits he is looking forward
to developing his other interests. He isn't that interested in
transferring to a four-year school either.
Instead he is looking into going to a culinary arts school, either in
Pasadena or Orange County and will probably satisfy his craving for
athletic competition by participating in triathlons.
"I really like to focus on one thing at a time," he said. "I like
swimming but I want to do something else. I can always come back to
it."
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