Gold and Black is a multi-platform media company that covers Purdue athletics like no one else.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/592932
VOLUME 26, ISSUE 2 109 From Russia With Drive Given 10 words or less to describe Purdue to friends and family back home in Russia, Marat Amaltdinov needs only two: "Second home." The sophomore already has made a big splash on campus, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 100 and 200 breaststroke last spring — the program's first freshman qualifier in an individual event since 2006. Amaltdinov's best time in the 200 broke the school freshman record and already ranks second in the program's history. With a long run of outstanding athletes in the same event, Coach Dan Ross has made a bit of a historic run in finding breaststroke swimmers. Fit- ting for the man who has been the school's coach for three decades and associated with the program since his own swimming days nearly 40 years ago. A three-time Big Ten Coach-of-the-Year, Ross is the longest-tenured of all 15 Purdue head coaches and the dean of the Big Ten swim coaches. He knows a good swimmer when he sees one. And he knows how to groom him, too. It's not unusual for Ross to recruit student-ath- letes from overseas. Singaporean, Spanish, French and Slovenian swimmers have all been part of re- cent Boilermaker teams. He said Purdue might nor- mally get one international athlete per class. "But my assistant coach J. Agnew gets all the credit for bringing Marat to Purdue," he said. "Marat was looking for a good academic school and J. answered his email in seconds and went on the offensive." Indeed, Amaltdinov liked what he learned about Purdue through web searches and Skype conversa- tions with Ross and Agnew. At least enough to move from Moscow to West Lafayette. "I made the right decision," he said. Leaving Moscow, where he lived among 10.6 mil- lion people, to live on even a sizeable Big Ten cam- pus can be a bit of a culture shock. A visit to the biggest nearby U.S. city provided a stark contrast to where he came from. "The first difference I noticed was the architec- ture," Amaltdinov said. "There are more skyscrapers in Chi- cago, where Moscow has many buildings that are big and wide, but not so tall." One tall order in establishing a campus routine had to do with waking up for the 6:30 a.m. practic- es, a tad too early for Amaltdinov's liking, though nothing he couldn't handle with the help of team- mates. His biggest challenge, the same likely for most student-athletes, is balancing academics and swimming. His overachievement seemingly extends to the classroom, too, earning a near-perfect grade point av- erage in economics and Scholar All-America honors from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. "Every day we can see economic laws in action," Amaltdinov said. "It's interesting for me to learn and understand how these laws work." As for what he hopes to work out this year, Amaltdin- ov is focusing on both national and global goals. "As a collegiate swimmer I want to win the Big Tens and be in the top three at the NCAAs," he said. "On the international level, I hope to make the Rus- sian Olympic team." This summer, Ross accompanied Amaltdinov to the World University Games in South Korea, where the swimmer competed for Russia. "When we get guys from the international com- munity, we have to show that we can get them ready for their respective national teams," he said. "And, of course, I want Marat to earn a great degree and have the collegiate experience he wouldn't get in Russia." If hard work has anything to do with those achievements, Amaltdinov could well be on his way. According to Ross, international athletes who have competed on worldwide stages tend to bring a lot of maturity to the pool. "He does everything that's asked of him," Ross said. "He's easygoing and funny, but no one works