Franklin Student Wins Swiss National Swimming Championship
12/05/2011
Kudos to Artyom Machekin ’12. On November 27, 2011, the Franklin College senior became the Swiss National Swimming Champion for the 100-meter freestyle, a time-consuming and demanding sport that requires intense and constant dedication. Artyom, who is from Minsk in Belarus, will be returning to that country in May to compete for a place on its Olympic team for the Games which will take place in London in the summer of 2012.
One day when Artyom was a young boy he said to his mother, out of the blue, “I want to go to the pool!” and thus began a passionate connection with the water. Before applying to Franklin, Artyom made sure that he could practice with Lugano Nuoto and the Ticinese Swimming Federation, as he did until this year, when he was able to begin training, twice a day, in Tenero (near Locarno) with “the greatest coach in the world, Gennadi Touretski,” a Russian who was the coach of legendary Russian swimmer Alex Popov. In addition to swimming for the Ticinese Federation, Artyom also races for Belarus in most international meets. He says, “One hundred meters is my main race, but I do 50 and 200 free as well. Sometimes I do fly, but just for fun.” (Although he does seem to fly through the water, “fly” is short for butterfly: ed. note).
In spite of the sacrifices of time and energy required for his chosen sport, Artyom has also maintained a full course load throughout his years at Franklin and has managed to perform well academically, in spite of the fact that English is not his mother tongue. Professor Tracie MacKenzie, who has been both his teacher and academic advisor, remembers that when Artyom first arrived at Franklin he told her “his years of swimming—working out, competing, etc.—had taught him how to see things in the long term, how to work toward a goal, be it for swimming, for studies or for anything else.” Professor Ornella Gebhardt, who teaches Italian, appreciated his talent for communication and infectious smile when he was in her class.
After graduation, Artyom is planning to work on his Master’s degree at Franklin and at USI. But before that happens, 2012 is shaping up to be his most challenging year yet.
