Berkeley's different class

Standing on the starting blocks at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Richmond, Virginia in April last year, Zachary Ian Tan could hardly contain his excitement at competing alongside two-time Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel.

He immediately texted his mother, Jillian, after his 200m individual medley (IM) race.

"It was a super fun experience to try and race someone like Caeleb Dressel," said the 17-year-old national swimmer, who specialises in the IM and breaststroke.

"It motivates you to really just get better and get to that level, to be the best in the world."

Getting opportunities to race against swimmers of 13-time world champion Dressel's calibre was one of the reasons why Zachary and his family of six uprooted their lives in Singapore to move to the United States two years ago.

The teenager, a student at Arizona State University Prep Digital, saw his career ambitions handed a boost yesterday as he announced on social media that he is enrolling at the University of California, Berkeley.

Despite fielding offers from several colleges, he decided that UC Berkeley, where fellow Singapore swimmer and Olympian Quah Zheng Wen is an undergraduate, would be the best fit for him. He felt that the school has a strong IM programme and he also connected well with head coach David Durden, who will also lead the United States men's team at next year's Tokyo Olympics.

He will enrol there in 2022 - if he is able to get deferment from national service - or 2024.

"They push each other every single day and among them are Olympians, world record holders who are striving to be the very best," said Zachary, who placed ninth in the 100m freestyle at the Fina World Junior Swimming Championships last year to finish the top Asian swimmer.

"Just being in such a competitive environment is really going to help me take it up to the next level."

Zachary, who holds four national boys' Under-14 and two Under-17 records, will join a group of US-based local swimmers comprising Quah Jing Wen (Texas A&M) and Darren Lim (Georgia Tech), while Christie Chue will be heading to Florida International University next August.

At Berkeley, he can look to some of its alumni for inspiration as he chases his dream of competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The university's swimming programme has produced the likes of three-time Olympic champion Ryan Murphy and sprint king Anthony Ervin, who has three golds from Olympic appearances in 2000 and 2016.

The past two years spent in the US may not be all rosy, particularly after a shoulder injury sustained in March left him out of action for six months. But Zachary said his love for swimming has grown since the move, which allowed him to race frequently before the pandemic.

Jillian, who is a homemaker, has also noticed a change in her eldest child, adding: "For many of the meets, he had to travel alone or with his team. We weren't with him and could not be as involved in his swimming as we had been in Singapore. It was a new experience, he has grown to be more independent, grown to know what he wants."

While he is unsure of when his next race will be, Zachary is happy to be back in training again as he works towards his Olympic goal, saying: "I'm just really thankful that my shoulder is recovering and I'm starting to feel fast again. Overall, my experience this year has made me cherish swimming even more and I'm raring to go way more than ever."