“My perspective is the one thing that motivates me and that perspective is not competing against others. I have to swim against a clock which means swimming against myself and beating myself.”
That’s 11-year old Samyak (Sam) Ramchandre from Nuremberg, Germany. Wise beyond his years, Sam is a prolific swimmer who has represented three countries – India, The United States of America and Germany – in international races, winning multiple medals in the process. But perhaps the most memorable experience of his so far would be that of swimming with Jason Lezak, mentor to none other than Olympic legend Michael Phelps. “I got the chance to swim with Lezak on my birthday. It was quite special,” Sam tells us. Working towards his dream of being a decorated Olympic swimmer, Sam sat down with Team Storyweavers to talk about his journey so far.
I first waded into water when I was two and a half years old
Sam’s underwater exploits started when he was made to jump into the Krishna River as a toddler. “My dad wanted me to get connected with Mother Nature,” he says, adding, “I was just splashing around in the water and having fun.” As he grew older, he became increasingly drawn towards swimming pools. Soon, it was during a casual dip in an apartment pool at the age of four that his father spotted Sam’s interest in swimming. “I then decided to go to a swim school, where I learnt how to execute different strokes. That was the first stage of my swimming career,” says the 11-year-old.
With this came the opportunity to participate in competitions. Sam tells us, “In the US there was a competition in the summer called the Tri-county League. There, I stood first among my age group and won the championship. I also broke the record for my club. And when I was lifting the trophy I could see my name on the record. That was my first achievement when I was six years old.”
The back stroke is one of Sam’s specialties!
Having lived in three countries, Sam is in a unique position to have represented multiple national teams. “I was a member of the US national team when I lived there. When I was in India, I was the fastest swimmer in Maharashtra for the 50m freestyle category. My latest achievement is here, in Nuremberg, where I have been selected for the German national team.”
My whole family helps me pursue my career
Complementing his thriving passion for swimming is a rich support system that actively helps him succeed. “My mom helps me with my diet. She gives me the right kind of food at the right time. My dad on the other hand helps me with exercise and other sports. As for my coaches, they help me with my technique, while my sister loves to cheer me on. She is pretty loud though, especially when during competitions!”, he adds, with a hearty laugh. “There are also my grandparents who give me their blessings before every race. My relatives and friends always say that I will be an Olympic swimmer for India one day.”
Sam with his family!
Sharing their experience during his swimming journey, Sam’s parents talk about their approach to help enhance Sam’s talents. Shitalkumar Ramchandre, Sam’s father, says, “As parents, our first job is to raise children in a way that they become good humans. That’s the minimum expectation that we (the family) set for ourselves and so we started working on it from when Sam was two years old. But the moment we saw a spark for swimming in him, we did not hesitate to help him. So in that way when we look at the entire journey, it makes us feel proud because the important thing is that he is actually enjoying everything that he does.”
Anita Shital Ramchandre, Sam’s mother, also shares how she has taken on the role of an expert nutritionist to help Sam with his dietary requirements during his journey towards an Olympic career. She says, “When I was in Pune, I did a nutrition course. The motivation for this was provided by my husband too. We’d discuss that since our son is now a swimmer we have to make healthy food for him. So as soon as he became a swimmer, I signed up for a nutrition course.”
BYJU’S gives me much more time for my activities
With a packed schedule, full of swimming practice and meets, how does Sam manage his studies? The answer is BYJU’S. Sam believes that learning from BYJU’S makes his learning simple and gives him the time needed to focus on his swimming. He loves the sports-based examples in particular that help him visualise and learn concepts. He says, “If I am learning angles they (BYJU’S) take the example of cricket. If I hit a six, they take a protractor to measure the angle and how far the ball went,” he explains.
Sam reveals that his mentor at BYJU’S plays a huge role in simplifying his method of studying. The 11-year-old says, “My mentor, Ashwin Sir, helps me with my studies. We have weekly discussions about my progress and performance. It’s fun to talk to him because he always asks about my swimming and never hesitates to answer my questions.”
Sam’s father says that it was a shift from the US to the Indian education system that motivated him to enrol Sam with BYJU’S. “When we were kids, the focus was more on play time, but now I see everybody pushing kids to study. So much so that nowadays most kids study under the influence of fear. But when I saw the uniqueness of BYJU’S for the first time, I realised that it is different from routine execution. BYJU’S teaches you to follow excellence. So in short I can say that education with BYJU’S comes with 5 Es: experiment, experience, excitement, enlightenment and exposure. That’s something that my kid learnt from BYJU’S. And these 5 Es are important to shape one’s life, and I think that’s good enough.”
We wish Sam all the very best for his Olympic dreams!
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Deepthi is an ambivert who is on a steady diet of good food, filter coffee, and self-improvement. Being an ardent reader, storytelling has been her first love and she enjoys exploring how to convey stories compellingly. Having studied psychology and experienced the learning and development field, Deepthi is driven to understand human behavior and to know what makes each of us unique. You are most likely to find her tucked into a cozy corner at a local cafe with a Kindle or a book in hand. If you find her there, stop by and say hello, she'd be eager to learn your story too. Until then, you can ping her at storyweavers@byjus.com for anything you may like to share.
Arya C is a 4th grader who talks about her transition from the US to India and how BYJU`S has helped her at that. She also loves how BYJU`S has made learning a lot more fun.
Meet Sourabh who has a ton to say about his BYJU`S learning experience. His love for quizzes, games and other fun activities are paying off!
V Shriya is a class eight student who has been using BYJU’S for a year now. She shares her experiences with using the app and how it has helped her in improving her academic performance.
Aanvi from class 9 has been with BYJU`S for just 6 months and hear what she has to say about her learning experience with the app.
Comments
Madhusri
August 11, 2021
Weldon
Madhusri?
August 11, 2021
Good job ??
Pramit GORDE
August 8, 2021
Very good
Excellent
Bhumi
August 7, 2021
Hey
That’s great ?
I hope you will succeed your dream and one day you’ll represent India.
Good luck:-)
MIHIR
August 2, 2021
?Wow!
kush kumar
July 31, 2021
nice bro
Srikanta kumar panda
July 28, 2021
Very nice app
Aeindrila Chatterjee
July 23, 2021
Good job Samyak ???
Rudra Mandal
July 21, 2021
Everything is fine
Nikita
July 17, 2021
It is really nice keep it up!!!!
Sarit Roy
July 16, 2021
Wow samyak ??congratulation. Keep it up and best of luck for your future.
Mega Das
July 16, 2021
I am very happy for SAMYAK.
Keep going ?
Dimple
July 15, 2021
Best wishes and congratulations ?
Abhiya m joy
July 15, 2021
Congratulations great samyak????????? I will pray for you to become a Olympics swimmer.
Wishwaanee Aryaan
July 13, 2021
All the best for your new journey samyak, stay safe and happy
AjanyaSathyaraj
July 12, 2021
Very nice
Anjali
July 11, 2021
Well done samyak.? You did a great job.
Keep it up ?
Aarnav Sambyal
July 11, 2021
Great
Shilpisikha Saikia
July 11, 2021
Very good,I wish your future life?
Gracy Patel
July 10, 2021
I want to also make my india and family proud . I got and karate and debate but due to this pandemic not only me others are also not getting to show there talent
Congratulations ? ?
KAASHVI GUJRATI
July 10, 2021
Samyak india is pround of you. You done a great thing. An inspiration for all childs including me.
Abhinav.S.Murali
July 10, 2021
He is great ? ?
Soham
July 10, 2021
Hi I’m Soham
Ishika rout
July 9, 2021
Very nice and congratulation
Shristi Singh
July 9, 2021
Best luck for your more swimming competition ?
Eva pandey
July 9, 2021
Very good samyak..
.we r proud of you
Pritipsha nayak
July 9, 2021
I want to swim
Meher Parveen
July 8, 2021
Hey
That’s great ?
I hope you will succeed your dream and one day you’ll represent India.
Good luck:-)
Nazish siddiqui
July 8, 2021
Wow he done great job
Kumar Ansh Raj
July 8, 2021
Very good dude
Azam khan
July 8, 2021
Thanks
Azam khan
July 8, 2021
Nice Byjus app
Azam khan
July 8, 2021
Nice Byjus app
Aheri Mandal
July 8, 2021
the best thing is to follow your goals
And you did that ?
Exactly superb
I also can’t do so after being your age
Keep it up ??
sarthak
July 8, 2021
Hi sir I am a Sarthak and I am swimming competition participating and I am my mother’s name is varnmala my father’s name is Mahadev and and my brother name is Harshita
Sharshti Chauhan
July 8, 2021
Byjus help for science and math
Anushka taral
July 8, 2021
Oooo wow i want to be like here only and also a good human also and a sports
Rahul Kankawale
July 8, 2021
I also want to join swimming
So what is prosess
Nazeef saif
July 7, 2021
Nice
vis hal
July 7, 2021
Wow
Pawan Kumar
July 7, 2021
H
Aaditya Singh
July 7, 2021
I am so inspired from this and I am also trying to be make my future bright so i am practising more and more In all good and weak subjects
Ajit Aggarwal
July 7, 2021
very Super thank you
Divya kushwaha
July 7, 2021
Very great job samyak
Rajveer Singh
July 7, 2021
Mujhe Swimming pay jana hai
Dolly Malviya
July 7, 2021
Congratulations samyak ,
We proud byju,s
Tanisha
July 7, 2021
I like byjus so much
Nandika
July 7, 2021
Good for him
Ranjana Kumari
July 7, 2021
Excellent ??
Priyadarshini
July 7, 2021
Nice Sam
All the best
Atul Kumar
July 7, 2021
Wow
Prabin Jeba Singh
July 7, 2021
Can I speak with you
Kanishk jadonn
July 7, 2021
Nice
Alina Khan
July 6, 2021
Congratulations samayak your journey is very inspiring.??
Dhruv Mannish.Lad
July 6, 2021
Dear Samyak you are a very good person and even extremely motivative for me because I am also good at skating I have even gone to state level but cause of this pandamic situation I am not able to practice at my skating classes but your motivation told me that just don’t just see dreams you if you want to complete your dreams you have to do hardwork but if you are not able to practice so we should have a help with our coach by with any kind of contact thank you and have a nice day ?
Shreya
July 6, 2021
Good
Aditya Sangal
July 6, 2021
Bro if u remember Pune pls. Come here sometime.specially our society. Congrats ????
Maithili Talwekar
July 6, 2021
Wow such a great swimmer,also a great journey of is swimmer life. I also want to learn swimming but bcs of this pandemic situation I can’t. First I was learning swimming in Nagpur as I live in Nagpur in the 3 std but I forgot how to swim now bcs there is no practice from 5 years ( I am in 8 std ) ☹️. But it’s ok ?.
Thank you and thank you Byju’s for giving me /us such types of informations.
Thank you ?☺️.
Sampurnna Dutta
July 6, 2021
Proud of you Samyek. I hope your all dreams come true.??
Hasnain Ansari
July 6, 2021
Amazing
Himika Bhakta
July 6, 2021
Thankyou Byju’s for posting this wonderful blog…
SO INSPIRATIONAL…???
RACHANA RK
July 6, 2021
Super
tejpal
July 6, 2021
very nice
Aditya yadav
July 6, 2021
Very nice
Rishav
July 6, 2021
Best of luck Samyak
Satyam
July 6, 2021
Very nice
Shahrin
July 6, 2021
Best wishes ?Enjoy the experience ???Great swimming ??
Patil Manan Paresh
July 6, 2021
Thanks to all bjyus teacher
Satyam
July 6, 2021
Very nice videos
Arhan Tariq Ansari
July 6, 2021
Me too having a unique talent of mathematics. I play with numbers and make the numbers plays with me. I can visually calculate numbers, visually says multiplication tables of 5 digits also I can say you the exact day when someone is born by just knowing his or her dob, and many more. I am in 6th std and a byjus premium course student. Allow me to exhibit my talent on thi platform.
Soniya thakur
July 6, 2021
Chef
SOMYAPRAVA DAS
July 6, 2021
Meet
G. SAI RUPESH CHOWDHARY
July 6, 2021
I am so happy with sam ? words ?
Trinadh
July 6, 2021
Great samyak congratulations and keep it up you are same like me but I am in 9th and I like quizzes
Abdur Rahman
July 6, 2021
Wow he done a good job ?