AHoward University student and two of her siblings are taking their talents to the 2020 Olympics. Senior Latroya Pina and her sister and brother Jayla and Troy have been selected to be on the Cape Verde National Swim Team during the Summer Olympics which is slated to take place in Tokyo, Japan, the Sun Chronicle reported.
Pina has been racking up several accolades at Howard for her swimming skills, the news outlet writes. She came out victorious in the women’s 100 breaststroke and 200 individual medley against Marymount during the 2017-2018 season. The honors went beyond the swimming pool for Pina. She made the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Commissioner’s All-Academic Team and the 2018 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Spring President’s Honor Roll List. Although having the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games is a huge honor for Pina and her siblings, she says their accomplishment isn’t “far-fetched.” “We’re not just swimming for our colleges or schools, but for a nation so we want to do our best,” she told the Sun Chronicle. Pina also added that she’s proud to be representing Cape Verde. “Cape Verde is trying to make swimming a big sport now, so it’s our responsibility to represent our country. People in Cape Verde and all the Cape Verdeans in the U.S. will be looking up to us.”
Howard’s Swimming & Diving Head Coach Nicholas Askew is excited for Pina and her siblings. “To represent your country at the Olympic level is every swimmer’s dream,” he said in a statement, according to HU Bison. “We are excited for Latroya and have no doubt, she will make Howard University and Cape Verde very proud.”
The siblings are slated to compete in the Confederation Africaine de Natation Championship Meet in Algeria next month
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