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Sept. 14, 2000
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia swimming program will be represented by four swimmers and one coach at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Two current Cavalier swimmers, second-year Guy Yimsomruay (Bangkok, Thailand/Germantown) and second-year Mirjana Bosevska (Skopje, Macedonia/Trinity Prep), will swim for Thailand and Macedonia, respectively. In addition, head assistant coach Bill Smyth will help coach the Macedonian Olympic swimming team. Former Virginia swimmers Ed Moses (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock) and Shamek Pietucha (Edmonton, Alberta/Louis St. Laurent), will represent the United States and Canada, respectively.
Moses, a third-year at UVa, has the best chance of the four swimmers to earn a medal. Moses, the 2000 NCAA Champion in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, holds the second fastest time ever swam in the 100-meter breaststroke at 1:00.44, just eight hundredths of a second off Russia’s Roman Sloudnov’s world record. The 100-breaststroke competition begins Friday evening, September 15. In addition to swimming the 100 breast, Moses will also swim the breaststroke leg on the United State’s 4 x 100-meter medley relay team.
Pietucha, a 1999 Virginia graduate, will swim the 100 and 200-meter butterfly for Canada. He holds Canada’s national record in the 200 fly with a time of 1:58.08. He also won the 100 butterfly at Canada’s Olympic qualifying meet. Pietucha became the first UVa swimmer to win a NCAA title when he won the 200 butterfly at the 1999 NCAAs with a time of 1:43.50, which set both Virginia and Atlantic Coast Conference records. During his stellar collegiate career, Pietucha earned All-America honors nine times. He begins competing on Sunday, September 17 in the 200 butterfly.
Bosevska has qualified to compete in the 400 and 800-meter freestyle and 400-meter individual medley for Macedonia. Bosevska also represented Macedonia at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. At the 2000 NCAA Women’s Swimming Championships, Bosevska garnered first-team All-America accolades in the 400-meter individual medley, the 1500-meter freestyle and the 800-meter freestyle relay, and was an honorable mention All-American in the 400-meter freestyle. Bosevska was also named the ACC Rookie of the Year. Bosevska’s first event is the 400 IM on Friday, September 15.
Yimsomruay will compete in the 200-meter individual medley for Thailand. Preliminaries for the 200 IM begin on Tuesday, September 19.
Also, current Virginia head assistant coach Bill Smyth will help coach the Macedonian Olympic Team. Smyth, a 1994 Virginia graduate, is in his fourth season as a coach in the Cavalier swimming program. A five-time All-American, Smyth was a finalist at the 1992 Olympic Trials in the 400 individual medley.