BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — When Vladimir Morozov left Siberia for Los Angeles as a 14-year-old, his English was limited to one sentence.
He remembers all he could say was “‘My name is Vlad and I swim.'”
After a year and a half in the States, Morozov began speaking fluent English.
Soon swimming earned him an athletic scholarship to the University of Southern California, where he swept the NCAA sprint titles this year.
On Thursday, Morozov introduced himself to the international swimming community with one of the quickest starts in the 100 free at the long-course worlds in Barcelona, Spain.
He’ll also be an outside favorite for Saturday’s 50 free final.
