AKBAR NASUTION

Akbar Nasution is a hard working student whose strong ambitions have helped elevate him to the top in swimming.

"I have coached a lot of swimmers, and Nasution is probably the hardest working," Head Coach of the men's swimming team Mike Dickson said.

Nasution began swimming about nine years ago following in the footsteps of his sisters who are all accomplished Chaffey swimmers. They got him into swimming and they hold numerous records and All American titles.

The eldest sister, Elfira, is a member of the Chaffey Hall Of Fame. The second eldest sister, Maya, is a two time All American title and school record holder. His youngest sister, Elsa, owns nearly all of the women's swim records at Chaffey.

Those are big shoes to fill, but Nasution said that it is not any pressure to live up to what his sisters did. He does it purely for the fun of it.

Coach Dickson strongly believes that Nasution has the ability and natural talents to equal, if not surpass, the notable accomplishments of his sisters.

Nasution believes that he has a great deal left to accomplish in the sport of swimming.

He has already reached the pinnacle of many athletics. In 2000 he qualified to compete in the Olympics.

Nasution is from Indonesia where his father coached the national team in swimming. At 16, Nasution represented the country of Indonesia in the 2000 Olympics in the Men's 200 meter breaststroke.

"I was lucky to be able to experience such a big event," Nasution said.

Fear was not a factor for Nasution because he said he was more excited to have the opportunity to represent his country in swimming. His time in the event was 02:23.81.

It was not enough for him to move on but at his age it was still an accomplishment worthy enough to be mentioned and to be proud of because not a lot of 16-year olds can say that they participated in the Olympics.

Nasution is also grateful that he has the opportunity to attend Chaffey and reap the academic benefits. Nasution admits that due to the language barrier, the academic subjects at times can be difficult. However, he does not let it stop him from succeeding just as he does not let difficulties stop him in swimming.

Swimming is not the only thing that Nasution is ambitious about — he is also a cooking enthusiast.

"Cooking is like swimming," Nasution said. "It is just so pure and the more time you put into it the more you get out of it," he said when he compared cooking to swimming.

His love of cooking came about in a way similar to swimming. He was influenced by his father. Nasution hopes to take cooking as far as he can and not for the reason of major success like that of an Emeril Legasse. His main reason for cooking is to make others happy.

Nasution has accomplished many things in his short career in swimming, including breaking two school records at the first meet of the season. Yet he is still motivated to keep on improving his talents.

"Nasution has a strong work ethic and that is what will propel him to the top in state," Coach Mike Dickson said.

"I'm not a cocky person and I always take things seriously whether or not it's a big meet because there is always someone better," Nasution said. "There is no point to showing off because someone will always be there to challenge you."

That is the attitude of a quality athlete — and that is just what will make Akbar Nasution a respectable champion.

note: the article copied from here