Fijian swimmer Tolu Young is setting his sights on the Oceania Games in May as the next step on a fast-moving season that could open the door to the Commonwealth Championships next year. The 20-year-old has just come off a hectic stretch — competing at the Pacific Mini Games in Palau before travelling straight to Singapore for the World Aquatics Championships, where he posted a season-best in the 50m butterfly.
Young says the months ahead offer a chance to recover, refine technique and build fitness as he targets the qualifiers. He plans to return to the United States this weekend to begin studies and compete collegiately for Arizona State University, a move he describes as an immediate step that will help him sharpen his short-yard race skills and translate improvements back to long-course times.
This season Young has arrived in strong form, producing multiple standout performances across international meets. He has lowered Fiji national marks and posted competitive times at events in the US and Australia, results that helped secure his place at the World Championships and underline his rapid development on the global stage. Those performances have drawn praise from figures in Fiji’s swimming community and have raised expectations as he prepares for the Oceania Games and beyond.
Why the collegiate move matters: racing the short-yard collegiate season in the US gives Young frequent, high-intensity race practice and access to structured training and recovery resources. Those elements tend to produce speed and race-awareness gains that can carry over to long-course racing — important as he aims to peak for regional qualifiers and the Commonwealth Championships pathway over the next nine months.
Additional comments and suggestions
– Focus areas: continuing to refine start and turn efficiency, strength and conditioning, and race-pace endurance will likely deliver the biggest long-course gains.
– Balance: managing coursework with a high-volume training schedule will be key; strong support from ASU’s program and Fiji Aquatics will help maintain progress.
– Inspiration: Young’s trajectory — breaking national marks and competing consistently on international stages — provides a positive example for younger Fijian swimmers and raises the profile of Fiji in regional and world competition.
Short summary
Tolu Young, 20, heads to the Oceania Games in May after a busy season that included the Pacific Mini Games and the World Aquatics Championships, and will return to the US to compete for Arizona State University. With recent national-record-level performances behind him, he aims to use collegiate competition and the next nine months of training to qualify for and represent Fiji at future major events, including the Commonwealth Championships next year.
Leave a comment