Sophomore swimmer dived into the sport in an effort to lose weight

As a full-fledged member of the varsity boys' swim team, sophomore Randy Tsai sports a thin, muscular build.

But this was not always true. At age 10, he started swimming partly because of a weight issue.

“It’s a funny story, but I got into swimming because my mom wanted me to lose weight,” Tsai said. “A lot of weight.”

While Tsai started swimming at a club called De Anza Cupertino Aquatics (DACA), he soon discovered his niche for the 100-meter backstroke and stuck to swimming.

“I soon found out that I really enjoyed swimming as a sport because it came so naturally to me,” Tsai said. “I had also made a lot of friends through swimming at the club, so it was hard to not think about swimming.”

Tsai said that he also stuck to swimming because he claims 

that swimming is safer than sports like football and soccer.

“It was what my mom called the only ‘injury free’ sport,” Tsai said. “There is much less of a chance to collide with other swimmers, so the chances of getting an injury due to another person are greatly reduced.” 

Before joining the varsity team, Tsai received many awards from competing in the Junior Olympics and the Far Western Championships. 

However, Tsai thinks that his greatest achievement in swimming occurred during his freshman year.

“I think the accomplishment that I was most proud of was making my cuts for CCS in 200-meter individual medley and 100-meter backstroke at a high school meet last year,” said Tsai. “I was sort of stuck at a slump at this time, so getting those cuts and dropping my time in those events meant a lot to me.”   

 Fellow varsity swimmer junior Michael Zheng said Tsai is both a good friend and rival in and out of the pool.

 “I've known him for a pretty long time from swimming. He's a fast backstroker, and is all about having fun, but he also tries really hard in practice,” Zheng said. “Overall, he's a good teammate and a good friend.”

Tsai said that his goal is to advance further into CCS and get to the top of high school swimming.

“My goal this year is to get to top 16 at CCS,” Tsai said. “After that, I’ll see what limits I can break then.”

The boys’ swim team will attend its first meet in Palo Alto on March 15.