While many ODI Scholars had a cool internship or an enjoyable job over summer break, incoming freshman Aaron Owusu earns the gold medal in the what-did-you-do-this-summer-competition.
The Morrill Scholar competed in the 33rd Olympic Games in Paris, swimming in the 50-meter freestyle event for his mother's homeland of Eritrea, an East African coastal country. For the teenager with only a single international meet under his swimming goggles, it was a memorable and daunting step into the rare air of competing against the world's best on the biggest stage.
"There was a Swiss guy in my heat, and he walked into the room and was a head and half taller than me and 220 pounds, and I was thinking there's no way I'm swimming against that," Owusu said. "But at the same time, I was kind of excited to swim against him because I knew it would push me to be better."
The Swiss swimmer, Thierry Bollin, won the heat with Owusu touching the wall for fourth amongst the eight swimmers in his preliminary group. But the competition did push Owusu to new heights as he knocked an impressive 1.5 seconds off his personal record.
"I think it was a mix of the practices I had been doing during the months prior, and then my adrenaline definitely kicked in," he said. In an event so short that the swimmers don't even take a breath as they dash one length of the pool, it was over almost before it began for Owusu, who finished 51st of 74 swimmers overall in the 50 freestyle.
Eritrea sent Owusu and his teammate, Christina Rach, under an Olympic rule that allows every country to send their top male and female swimmer to the Olympics. During the NBC television broadcast of Owusu's event, American swimming commentator Amy Van Dyken heaped praise on the rule. "I think it's a great, great rule: it opens up all of swimming for everybody, and that is what the Olympics is all about," said the former six-time Olympic gold medalist.
The experience has Owusu itching for the next Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028 when he could once again take to the water for his mother's homeland. "I think going into the next one, since I have four years to prepare now, I'll definitely be able to learn from this experience," said the 17-year-old who is trying out for Ohio State's varsity swimming team and lifting weights on his own to prepare while on campus. "Being with the top of the top swimmers, it definitely motivated me to practice harder and continue to get faster."
Away from the water in Paris, Owusu said he especially enjoyed staying in the Olympic Village where he routinely rubbed elbows with world-class athletes. "I saw (gymnast) Simone Biles, but she was far away from me. I saw (sprinter) Noah Lyles while he was entering the lunch place, the cafe," he said. "I saw Caleb Dressel and the whole US (50 freestyle) relay team before they won gold and silver." (Sorry, no Snoop Dogg sightings; we did ask.)
Owusu said he was surprised at how down-to-earth the other athletes were at the Olympics as he mingled with them. "It was surprising how nice and humble most of the athletes were behind the scenes," he said. "I really thought they might be kind of jerky...but most of them that I met were really nice."
As Owusu dives into his studies at The Ohio State University, he's again facing a daunting challenge in unfamiliar waters--this time it will be electrical engineering coursework. He said he's always been interested in how things work and wants someday to devise new technology that combines his budding passion for engineering with his longtime love of swimming.
"What if a coach could see you underwater through a video feed just to make sure you're doing the right things in practice? Or maybe an earpiece so the swimmers can hear to be coached while they are racing?," he wondered aloud. "I don't think they really have that kind of technology yet.... but incorporating swimming somehow has solidified my choice in engineering."
The second-oldest of four boys born to African immigrants, Owusu said he's eager to make a splash as he enters a different environment at Ohio State. "The new community I'm joining will be cool to be a part of and also going to the football games, obviously," he said. "But just looking forward to someplace new and a change of scenery."