“I only got into swimming as a therapy for my sinuses as a child,” Karel Subagyo, the senior swimmer from Jakarta, Indonesia, said. It’s just an example of the myriad ways that our lives get sent down certain paths.
For Subagyo, his pesky sinuses just won him a gold medal in the Indonesian National Sports Week competition.
Let’s backtrack, though.
As previously mentioned, it all began with needing to relieve his sinuses. But the love of the game soon sprouted in a young Subagyo, and he began taking lessons and joined a swim club, JAQ Aquatics.
“In 2012, I joined my seniors on a trip to Bandung, West Java, to watch them compete in the national swimming championship,” Subagyo said. “This motivated me to start practicing for races, to be like them.”
It’s the exigency for his drive to compete on the biggest stages which led him to wake up at 3:30 a.m., practice swimming at 4:30 a.m., and then go straight to school at 6:30 a.m. So, while we were all bemoaning the fact we had early mornings in high school at 7:00 a.m., Subagyo already had a full practice before the sun came up.
“Even in my previous university, I had to go back and forth between campus and the pool using a motorbike, riding through Jakarta’s heaviest traffic jams,” Subagyo said.
All the hard work paid off for Subagyo, as he was able to achieve his dream of competing for a swimming program in the U.S. After reaching out to several colleges, he settled on Oakland University, which has a long history of success in the sport. However, the transition wasn’t seamless.
“I think, just like most international students, there is a degree of cultural differences that I experienced during the first weeks in the U.S.,” Subagyo said. “But I found the swim team to be very welcoming, and they made me feel very comfortable during my first days.”
However, he would have to wait to compete until this year. Subagyo was a late addition to last year’s squad and was ineligible to compete in actual events. Subagyo was still able to practice and train with the team and receive times for races during events where he wouldn’t swim against anyone.
This fall, all that training was finally put to the test.
Subagyo was invited to compete for his hometown, Jakarta, in the Pekan Nasional Olahraga, or Indonesian National Sports Week competition. It’s a multi-sport event that is held once every four years.
“It is my first time competing in what people call the most prestigious sporting event in the country, so it’ll be a really exciting one to watch,” Subagyo said. “The last edition in 2021 had West Java crowned as the champion, so this time, we will be fighting to avenge and make a comeback for Jakarta.”
Karel would be competing in the 400 free, the 400 individual medley, the 200 relay, the 200 free, the 200 individual medley, and finally, the 1500 free. He is no stranger to swimming these distances either.
“I mainly compete in middle to long-distance events in freestyle,” Subagyo said.
The results have been outstanding. Subagyo won the gold medal in the 400 free and earned a bronze in the 400 individual medley. He added two silvers in the 200 free and the 1500 free. Perhaps the most impressive fact was that Subagyo swam personal bests in all five races. To Subagyo, all the medals meant that all his hard work had paid off.
“Getting a gold medal in the 400-meter meant that I have succeeded in defeating my rivals. It’s the result of non-stop practice and a lot of sacrifices made along the way,” Subagyo said. “Representing Jakarta, the city where I was born and raised in, is a pride in itself.”
Once the event is over and Subagyo returns to Oakland, it’s right back to the grindstone. There are always more goals left to accomplish and more races to win. Hard work is what got Subagyo to succeed in swimming for his country; it’s no different here.
“I plan to practice my hardest and do my best for OU. I aim for first place in the Horizon League Championships and also to qualify for the NCAA Championships,” Subagyo said.
Personally, I would never bet against the kid who woke up at 3:30 a.m. every day.
“In Indonesian, there is a saying that goes, ‘Bersakit-sakit dahulu, bersenang-senang kemudian’ meaning no pain, no gain,” Subagyo said.
I’m willing to bet that that’s a saying Subagyo lives by.