Athlete of the Week: Joaquin Riojas Zambrano
It’s senior Joaquin Riojas Zambrano’s last leg in the 200 free. The Suffield swimmer is blazing behind him, so Riojas Zambrano does what he knows best: he puts in some work. All that is left between him and the win is a couple of meters, some water, that last little bit of energy and that final kick. In a burst of pure energy and power, Riojas Zambrano surges forward and hits the wall. He wins. Later in the meet, he goes back in the pool and does it again, this time in the 500 free. Exeter goes on to beat Suffield that day—Riojas Zambrano did his job.
"From his first days in a YMCA pool to practicing and racing with Big Red, Riojas Zambrano puts in the effort."
If there’s anything that the senior and co-captain of the boys’ varsity swimming team knows how to do, it is work. From his first days in a YMCA pool to practicing and racing with Big Red, Riojas Zambrano puts in the effort. In the off-season, he’s completing strenuous workouts early in the morning. During races, he pushes himself to the brink of what is physically possible. “Nobody works harder than Joaquin,” said co-captain and fellow senior Taylor Walshe. “He puts on his Speedo and rips through the water.”
This winter, Riojas Zambrano, along with Walshe and senior Harry Saunders, will lead varsity boys’ swimming. It’s clear already that Riojas Zambrano intends to lead by example and share some of that magic that pushes him through each lap and show the team what it means to grind. On the upcoming season, Riojas Zambrano said, “As far as what we’re doing to make this season successful, the answer is very simple. More. More than the other teams. We need to work under the assumption that every other team is working just as hard as we are and that every other team wants to win as bad as we do. So, we have to ask ourselves this question: ‘What are we willing to do that no one else is?’ ”
Riojas Zambrano’s diligence has had a big effect on his teammates. Lower Charlie Venci spoke of Riojas Zambrano’s performance at the Suffield pool with awe. “That is something that’s always stuck with me,” Venci said. Saunders explained how Riojas Zambrano’s competitive spirit encouraged him to work harder, while also bringing them together as friends. “This is one of the things that makes Joaquin and I good co-captains: we both think that we are faster than the other…there is constant hemming and hawing about who is the better swimmer, and this motivates each of us to work harder,” Saunders said. He shared how he and Riojas Zambrano, along with upper Peter Tuchler were roommates for the New England Championships where they made an agreement that whoever placed the lowest amongst the three would have to sleep on the floor. With Riojas Zambrano, the competitive spirit is everywhere, but instead of encouraging division, it brings the team together in a close, lasting bond.
The connections Riojas Zambrano forms with his teammates in and out of the pool have been the most important part of Riojas Zambrano’s swim experience at Exeter. Indeed, his teammates fundamentally altered how he views swimming. Before coming to Exeter, Riojas Zambrano swam on a club team, going to and from meets with his mother. “Before swimming at Exeter, [it] was, for me, a highly individual sport requiring extreme discipline and leaving no room for fun with teammates or cheering,” he explained. Entering an environment in which his teammates were his classmates and his neighbors changed that perception of swimming. His teammates were no longer just the people next to him in the pool. They were the people he shared meals with at Las Olas and listened to music with on the bus. Riojas Zambrano’s competitive spirit blossomed into something more. “Here, too, swimming is a sport that requires much discipline and dedication, but here the team is brought closer by the hard work and long hours,” Riojas Zambrano said. “Although we often find ourselves racing each other, we do not compete with one another; rather, we push ourselves to be faster swimmers and work together for the betterment of the team.”
It’s the bond he has with his teammates, born from hours working together constantly to reach victory that has been the most meaningful part of Riojas Zambrano’s swimming experience at Exeter. There’s a special connection formed between people who work together, who reach the brink of physical possibility together. “I don’t know why, but there is something about going through physical pain together that allows you to form connections with people that no one else can,” Riojas Zambrano said. “I love being a part of this team, and getting to be its captain is a great honor.”