Exclusive: UES Swimmer Reflects on Achievement in Paris Olympics

“It’s a dream come true.”

That’s how Adell Sabovic, 22, The Upper East Side native-turned-Olympic swimmer described his rise from local swimmer at Asphalt Green to a competitor at the Paris Olympics in an exclusive interview with Straus News on Aug. 2.

The Princeton student swam the 100-meter freestyle on July 30, representing his father’s home country of Kosovo, making the feat all the more meaningful. Sabovic attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School and grew up swimming for Asphalt Green’s AGUA team, which he joined at around 11 years old.

“I’m walking around the [Olympic] village right now,” Sabovic said as he picked up the phone. “It’s a dream come true.”

The swimmer is still in Paris following the July 30 competition, where he swam the 100-meter freestyle in 51.77 seconds, placing second in his heat and 58th overall. It was quite an accomplishment for Kosovo, the small Balkan country that wasn’t recognized by World Aquatics until 2015, and didn’t receive an invitation to the Olympics until 2016. But despite their recent athletic recognition, Kosovo has managed to take home two gold medals (in judo!), one silver, and one bronze in the few Olympics they have participated in. Sabovic was beyond thrilled to represent the nation, which brings around eight to twelve athletes to each Olympic Games.

“My father is from Peja, Kosovo, and we have a lot of family members that remain in Kosovo as well as a good amount that have come over to the States,” said Sabovic.

“So I have been surrounded by people whose entire life and entire makeup is the region, and who carry a lot of pride for being from the region. I maintain this sense of pride in having this connection to the area. There’s also a totally different side to it, outside of just bringing pride to my father and family. It’s super exciting to be a part of the group, especially since it’s relatively new and very successful so far.”

“It’s a very compact group of athletes, but it’s amazing to be around them and be associated with the organization. They are of such high caliber that it’s honestly just inspiring, exciting, and motivating to be around them. And of course, it goes deeper with representing my own blood. It was just really important to me and to my family, to represent my genetic makeup and do right by what I’m composed of and the people that have come before me,” he continued.

When asked how his family reacted to his decision to represent Kosovo, Sabovic explained how elated they were: “When the entries got confirmed on July 3rd, it was just a spectacular moment. And obviously, since I’ve been thinking about the Olympics for so long, July 3rd was a huge date for us. We were definitely exhilarated, and didn’t digest the fact that I’d be competing until it actually happened,” he said.

“This whole time I knew how much it would mean for my father and my family members if I were able to swim under the country’s flag, but oh my God, when I got the call from the Olympic Committee saying that I’d made it and I was confirmed for the selection, the emotions definitely started flooding in.”

Sabovic’s family and friends joined him in Paris to commemorate the achievement and watch him swim, which he and his coach said was a long time coming.

“I think that at some points, I knew that it was a possibility to come and represent Kosovo here in the games, but I don’t think it was fully digested and believable until I actually got in and did the race,” said Sabovic.

“It’s been a long journey, there was a lot of coordination required to make sure that I was eligible for the games. I would say that nothing was for sure up until I actually dove in,” he laughed.

The irony is that Sabvoic began swimming at Asphalt Green a decade ago because his parents were following the success of former AGUA swimmer Lia Neal, who has since become a two-time Olympic medalist. Sabovic never anticipated reaching that point, and still can’t fully believe he’s made it here.

“I went into the competition with the understanding that this might be my only opportunity to compete at the Olympic games for my entire life,” he said.

“Once the moment came, I was focused on taking the crowd in and enjoying being present. I’m happy I did that. I think it made me swim faster.”

Sabvoic’s 51.77 second Olympic time was around his personal best, though naturally he feels he could’ve done better.

“I certainly could have swam faster, but it’s hard to complain when given an opportunity like this. I’m definitely happy that I took some time to soak it all in. I fought hard during the race and it’s been a fight for many years to get to this place. I’m happy with myself, maybe I wasn’t as technical as I could have been, but there’s room for improvement at least,” he said.

Sabovic will wrap up his collegiate career at Princeton at the end of this academic year. He confessed he chose the university because of its history of representing swimmers around the globe, and by the time he was applying, he already had hopes of representing Kosovo at the highest athletic level possible. It’s safe to say that his dream was certainly achieved.

Sabovic has spent the days since his race exploring Paris with his family and friends, visiting the Louvre, and feeling immensely grateful for his family and this experience. Stay tuned to see where the water takes him next.