The ambition behind the success: All-American Andrei Ungur tells his story
SALT LAKE CITY (BVM) 鈥� Andrei Ungur, following his older brother鈥檚 footsteps, ended up in the U.S. with a full scholarship all the way from Baia Mare, Romania.聽
It all started when his grandmother took him to swimming lessons. In the beginning, it was hard, but in the end, he was always leaving like the happiest kid.
His childhood had a big impact on his essence.聽
鈥淢y childhood was a crazy time, and that is the foundation of who I am today,鈥� Ungur said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I could have been the swimmer I am today if it were for different experiences while I was growing up.鈥�
His senior year in high school was decisive for his future. He ended up in Jefferson City, Tennessee at first, at Carson-Newman University with coach Jordan Taylor. He then transferred to the University of Utah with coach Jonas Persson in 2020.
Ungur鈥檚 freshman year was a rollercoaster. From qualifying for Division II NCAA鈥檚 to being diagnosed with epilepsy and kept out of competition because he had to stay out of the water for six months.聽
鈥淭hat felt like a dream crusher because I was not sure what would happen after those six months or if I would be able to get back to swimming and perform good enough,鈥� Ungur said.
His sophomore year didn鈥檛 go any better. He qualified for second in the country in the 100-yard backstroke but with the pandemic, everything shut down.聽
鈥淚 have never got to race the first qualifier,鈥� he said.聽
After this, Ungur made the decision that it was time for a change.聽
鈥淐arson-Newman offered me a couple of years that I will never forget because that was the time period when my cultural perceptions have expanded, and it gave me multiple perspectives that I would not have thought of otherwise,鈥� Ungur said.
With ambition and willingness to compete against the elite athletes of the world, he decided to happily transfer to the University of Utah.聽
鈥淥nce again I was following in my brother’s footsteps and, since I visited him a few times, I realized that his lifestyle was way different here in Utah compared to mine while I was in Tennessee,鈥� he added.
He received all the support from Taylor at Carson-Newman University to his coach back in Romania who helped him realize his talent and new ways to approach this sport.
Besides lockdown and trouble making deep connections with teammates, his first year at the U brought him the result he was working for: NCAA鈥檚 Division I qualifier.
鈥淎fter receiving an All-American title my perspective towards swimming has changed because I started realizing that all the work I鈥檝e been doing all these years is finally paying off,鈥� Ungur said.
And so came his senior year, where Ungur just got back from the NCAA Division I Championships, qualifying in four events: 100 backstroke (broke the school record), 100 freestyle, 200 medley relay (school record), and 400 medley relay (school record).
鈥淚 managed to drop quite some time from my previous bests, and I was able to make closer friendships,鈥� Ungur said. 鈥淐oach Jonas from the University of Utah showed me on separate occasions that I have no idea what my body is capable of and working first with Coach Jordan at the previous university and now with Coach Jonas, taught me a lot about this sport and lifestyle.”
Ungur hasn鈥檛 had an easy entrance into college. But besides this, he always made his way up, and never gave up.聽
鈥淓ven though I鈥檝e had some hard times when I wanted to stop swimming, the voice in my head was telling me that if I quit right now, I will regret it for the rest of my life,鈥� Ungur said.聽
Being successful in swimming is one of the most important things in his life.聽
鈥淚 know that achieving what I once dreamed will make me the happiest, so I am doing everything in my power to dream bigger and get there,鈥� he said.聽
Speaking of dreams, Ungur aims to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and he is confident that if everything goes as planned, he can do it.
Meanwhile, this year, his focus is on the World Championships that will be held in Budapest this summer.
鈥淚鈥檝e got to the point where I understand what I am doing and I trust my coach so as long as I show up and do the work, I will keep improving,鈥� he said.聽
Ungur said he has full control of his body when it comes to swimming because he directs a lot of the focus on technique. He believed that doing yoga every day is also what helps him keep his body in check and rested.聽
The biggest challenge for Ungur is to have the mental strength to be consistent with practices and give 100% when the coach tells him to.聽
That is why during a hard set, Ungur finds some motivation in quotes like 鈥淲ho鈥檚 gonna carry the boats?鈥� or 鈥� You know your body better than that.鈥�
Ungur’s first thing learned in the U.S. was that swimming isn鈥檛 just an individual sport.聽
鈥淚鈥檝e learned that even though it is mostly an individual sport, there is a whole team behind you that is ready to push you, mock you, congratulate you, and grind just as hard as you are,鈥� he said.
He gave thanks to all the people that made an impact on his life and contributed to making him a better person, including a special thanks to Seth Hughs (previous teammate) and Coach Jordan who saved his life during an epilepsy attack in the water during practice.聽
