Croatia native Vili Sivec already had over a decade of swimming experience when he came to California State University, Bakersfield in 2022 on an athletics scholarship, but he soon found himself thrown into the deep end in more ways than one.
Sivec, a business major and member of the men’s swim and dive team, remembers how overwhelmed he felt when he came to campus for the first time after spending all his life in his hometown of Zabok, Croatia.
“I had absolutely zero idea how it was going to be. I was really shocked how different it was. It’s a totally different culture. A lot of new things to get used to,” he said. “It was really hard in the beginning, those first two or three months. It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced in my life. I don’t think I’ll ever experience that big of a change again.”
Not only did Sivec have to become acclimated to living in a new country, he found that even the way men’s swimming works is a lot different in America than in Croatia.
“Back home, it’s a lot more individualized. Here, it’s more about being part of a team, a group. That was something I had to get used to,” he said. “Everything we do we all do it as a group. To a certain extent, we’re like a family.”
Sivec threw himself into training, which he said was significantly harder than what he had experienced in high school. That hard work has paid off, as Sivec has broken numerous records and earned several awards.
He broke three records at the 2024 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Championships: the 200-meter freestyle as well as the 100 and 200 butterfly competitions. Sivec became just the second male athlete to hold three individual MPSF records.
He also went on to become the MPSF champion in the 100 and 200 fly this year.
In recognition of his achievements, the MPSF announced in April that Sivec was its Male Swimmer of the Year. The federation had previously awarded Sivec its 2023 Freshman of the Year award after winning a gold medal in the 200 freestyle and silver medal in the 200 butterfly at last year’s conference meet.
In addition to breaking several CSUB records in the freestyle and butterfly categories, Sivec also broke a national record when he became the fastest Croatian to ever swim the 200 butterfly with a time of 1:58.09 at Princeton’s Big Al Invitational in December.
“The biggest goal I had in mind when I started swimming was to break a national record. I wanted to be the fastest of the fastest,” Sivec said. “Breaking the record was an amazing feeling. I’m really proud I can call myself the fastest ever in Croatia. Swimming for Croatia is always an honor. I’m really happy to have a chance to represent my country to the best of my ability.”
Sivec said he’s grateful for the success he’s had on the swim team, but he’s trying to avoid letting it go to his head.
“When you see that you’ve reached your personal best result, of course you’re happy because you have that feeling that all the hard work paid off,” he said. “It’s definitely a cool feeling to have. But, to be honest, I don’t think about it that much. If anything, it’s more pressure to have. There’s a lot of responsibility, a lot of expectations behind that.”
Men’s Swimming Head Coach Chris Hansen believes Sivec needs to take ownership of his success and skill level. While he said Sivec has already accomplished much since coming to CSUB, he believes there’s more success to come.
“He’s breaking records every time he swims. That’s not normal. There’s almost always a crash, but he’s been able to avoid that so far,” Hansen said. “I think he can break a lot more (records) — he’s not done. He’s just coming into his own.”