Senior Anton Sviskrkyi dives during the SEC Championship on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023. Photo by Courtesy to The Alligator | The Independent Florida Alligator
The diver plans to bring home a gold medal
Source: The Independent Florida Alligator
By Krisha Sanghavi
As a wide-eyed 5-year-old boy, Anton Svirskyi didn’t wish for mere toys or games when he blew out his birthday candles. Instead, he hoped for something extraordinary — a gleaming gold medal.
Now, the determined 22-year-old diver is on a relentless pursuit to turn that childhood dream into reality as he aims to represent Ukraine at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The All-American began his diving career at 4 years old in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine. Growing up, he dabbled in various sports, from football to track and field, but the connection he formed with diving was unmatched.
Svirskyi’s fondness for the sport started from his fear of heights. His parents pushed him into diving to help him face this fear, and as he got used to being up high, he fell in love with diving, he said.
Fifteen years later, Svirskyi relocated to New Jersey with his family. He pursued track and field in high school and quickly caught the attention of Saint Peter’s University, which offered him an athletic scholarship. In his short stint as a track athlete, he claimed runner-up in the pole vault at the Yale Opener with a clearance of 3.85 meters.
It wasn’t long before Svirskyi’s school discovered his diving strengths. He paused his track career and committed to diving at his school.
Eager to advance in the sport, Svirskyi sought out the top-ranked Florida diving program and managed to get in. He sent a video of his work to diving head coach Bryan Gillooly, but it was clear his dives needed work.
“His dives were rough for sure,” Gillooly said. “But you could also see there was something else there. He did have some good fundamentals and something special there.”
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