GKOLOMEEV Kristian

General
LIVING ABROAD
He was born in Bulgaria and grew up in Crete, Greece. He was talent-spotted by the University of Alabama coaches at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and moved to the United States of America to attend the university where he competed during the 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 collegiate seasons. He later moved to San Diego, CA, United States of America, where he trained ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "It's a lot different in San Diego than training in Greece. In America, you have a group of 20 to 25 people to train with every day, and that is really important. Everybody that you train with has the same goals, and that is to achieve something big. We have a really good team right here and everybody is pushing each other. We have great facilities and great weather." (cw.us.edu, 29 Mar 2015; rolltide.com, 31 Oct 2014, 01 Jan 2016; swimswam.com, 01 Jul 2019; documentonews.gr, 08 Aug 2019; usa.greekreporter.com, 05 Apr 2020)

FAMILY TRIBUTE
He says he swims in honour of his late father, and at the end of races kisses his hand and points to the sky. After his mother's death from complications through childbirth, his father moved his sons to Crete, Greece, and worked as a swimming trainer before Kristian moved to Athens in 2010. "My father always wanted one of his sons to follow in his footsteps. When he passed away, I took swimming more seriously. I said, 'I'm going to do this for him'. Every time I race, I am thinking about him and my mother. I point to the sky. I don't know if they are watching, but I hope I make them proud. I'm a tough individual, but life made me this way." (tuscaloosanews.com, 10 Apr 2015; documentonews.gr, 08 Aug 2019)