By: Tayler Adigun
, Sports Editor (@TaylerAdigun)
Howard University senior, Latroya Pina will compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Pina will compete alongside her siblings, Troy and Jayla, representing Cape Verde.
The only pool in Cape Verde is currently under re-construction which limits how many people are able to get into swimming competitively.
Despite the lack of resources, competing with her siblings wasn’t something Pina deemed improbable.
“It’s not far-fetched, three members of one family all going to the World Championships and the Olympic Games,” said Pina to The Sun Chronicle. She does, however, admit that competing in the Olympics will be different from her past competitions.
“We’re not just swimming for our colleges or schools, but for a nation so we want to do our best.”
This mindset is what has led the 2017-18 season Bison Of The Month to not only the olympics but to a prestigious list of accolades expanding beyond the pool.
The Biology major was named to the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Commissioner’s All-Academic Team and 2018 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Spring President’s Honor Roll List. Pina managed to maintain a GPA of 3.6 or higher during the 2017-2018 school year.
The sky is truly the limit for Pina and her dedication to excellence in every capacity has not been in vain.
Howard University is currently the only HBCU to have both a men’s and women’s swim team. Coach Askew and the Bison begin their 2018-19 season in September. The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan begins Friday, July 24, 2020 through Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020.
