The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

More than a decade since the departure of Nicholas Rees, another Bahamian swimmer is heading to Ohio State University where he hopes to leave his mark on the Buckeyes’ swim team.

Dustin Tynes, fresh off his appearance at the 4th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Dubai in August, signed his letter of intent on November 15 to attend OSU in the fall semester, 2014.

Tynes, 17, is currently home this week on a break from Baylor High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the Thanksgiving holiday.

“As soon as I got on the campus and I saw the pool and the classrooms and I spoke to the coach, I knew I wanted to be there,” Tynes told The Tribune about his decision to join the Buckeyes’ swim team.

Tynes, however, admitted that he was also inspired by the fact that the Buckeyes are ranked at No.10 in the nation.

“I know I could be a nationally ranked swimmer if I go there,” he said. “Being ranked No.10 is a huge deal for me. I believe I can fit right in there with my breaststroke because they have produced some good breaststrokes, so I believe that will help to drive my future.”

With the credentials that Rees left behind as an outstanding competitor in the butterfly, having represented the Bahamas at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, Tynes is hoping that he can go on and achieve the same type of success.

His ultimate goal is to make the team heading to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the 2016 Olympics.

“He was an Olympic swimmer, so I feel like I can get to that level if I can do very well at Ohio State,” Tynes said. “He went to Ohio State and he went to the Olympics and he represented the country very well. So I feel honoured to be able to follow in his footsteps. I really want to thank him for assisting me in getting to Ohio State. I hope I can represent him and the Bahamas very well.”

Retired Rees, now a member of the Bahamas Swimming Federation’s executive team, is pleased to see a Bahamian following in his footsteps at his alma mater.

“The BSF would like to congratulate him on this achievement as OSU is one of the top 10 swimming programmes in the USA today with perhaps one of the richest swimming history of all Division 1 programmes,” Rees said. “We have watched Dustin develop over the years and we look forward to Dustin’s continued success in representing the Bahamas.”

As he moves up the ladder, Tynes said he has been relatively pleased with his performances, but not complacent because he’s quite aware that there’s still plenty of room for him to improve.

“I feel I could have been in a better position than I am in now, but after I got hurt a couple years ago, the injury kind of pushed me back,” Tynes said. “But I’m still getting better and hopefully I can continue to improve as I step out on the world stage.”

After representing Team Bahamas in the CARIFTA Games for the past seven years, where he has won a number of medals, Tynes got his coming out party at the international level in Dubai, making the most of his long trek to shatter a four-year-old record of 29.69 in the men’s 50 metre breaststroke to 29.60 with his 28th place overall - the best showing by a Bahamian at the World Junior Championships.

“I felt really good about it, breaking Jeremy Knowles’ record,” he said. “They told me that I still have a lot of room to improve and the potential is still there so going to college will only make me a lot better. My goal is compete in the Olympics in Rio in 2016, but it’s still a long way off.”

Although he is home on a break, Tynes said he will continue his training because he’s looking forward to closing out his junior career in his final appearance at the CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Aruba April 21-27.

“I want to be in the best shape for CARIFTA,” Tynes said. “I really want to do something amazing at this CARIFTA.”