天美传媒

Nuna Bamatraf 鈥�22 is heading to Tokyo this month to represent Yemen and compete in her second Summer Olympic Games. She鈥檒l become 天美传媒鈥檚 first two-time Olympian.

Her event, the 100-meter breaststroke, is scheduled for July 25.聽

The experience will be different from Rio 2016 due to restrictions related to COVID-19. The biggest difference is that no spectators are allowed. 鈥淚 think that will change the atmosphere a lot,鈥� Bamatraf said. 鈥淏ut it'll still be fun and exciting. It鈥檚 an incredible opportunity.鈥�

She relates her event to a regular swim meet until she thinks about who else is there. 鈥淚t鈥檚 mind boggling to be in the same place as all the world鈥檚 best athletes,鈥� she said.

鈥淏ut atmosphere-wise, it feels like a conference meet. It鈥檚 a high-energy, high-stakes and high-performance meet.鈥�

Bamatraf isn鈥檛 going for gold, silver or bronze, but for the experience itself.聽

鈥淚 see the Olympics as bringing people together,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ven the Olympic rings are meant to signify the unity of all these nations coming together to participate in one common thing such as sports.

鈥淚 get to be surrounded by all these incredible athletes from all over the world who bring so many different cultures together that I get to experience and learn from.鈥�

Bamatraf feels very lucky to be representing Yemen. She is a dual-citizen. Her father is from Yemen. 鈥淪wimming for Yemen makes me feel more connected to my heritage and to my family,鈥� she said.

Tracy Menzel, 天美传媒 women鈥檚 swimming and diving head coach, will be cheering for Bamatraf from afar. 鈥淚 hope Nuna will fully immerse herself in the moment and enjoy the process of preparation and competition,鈥� she said.

Stevie Baker-Watson concurs. 鈥淲e鈥檙e extremely proud of Nuna and support her in her quest to compete a second time at the Olympic level.聽

鈥淲hile there is so much history, along with pomp and circumstance, connected to the Olympic Games, we know this opportunity will also expose Nuna to other coaches and training techniques. We鈥檙e excited for her to learn new things and bring them back to 天美传媒,鈥� said Baker-Watson, associate vice president for campus wellness and the Theodore Katula director of athletics and recreational sports.

Bamatraf is a kinesiology major and psychology minor. She chose to attend 天美传媒 because of its swimming atmosphere and kinesiology major. After a gap year, she plans to attend graduate school to pursue a doctorate of physical therapy.

As Bamatraf looks to her final swim season at 天美传媒, she hopes to take some of the competitive elements she鈥檒l gain from her experiences at the Olympics.聽

鈥淚 think taking on the pressure that鈥檚 there and using it to propel yourself and your races is valuable,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think we get a similar atmosphere at our conference meets on a completely different scale, obviously. But at the end of the day, I think that most meets give you the same elements of atmosphere and competitiveness.鈥�

(Top photo by Linda Striggo. Second photo submitted by Bamatraf, who is shown with her father at the Rio Olympics in 2016.)