When faced with challenging scenarios, third-year Bisons swimmer Andriy Usan chooses to remain confident. Whether it's his upbringing, appearance or trajectory in the pool, the butterfly specialist has nothing to hide, embracing who he is and what he has become.
 
Born in the Ukraine, Usan moved to Yorkton, Saskatchewan with his family in November of 2008. The adjustment was tough to begin. He couldn't speak the language, had to make new friends and navigate new surroundings.
 
"I remember coming here, and I was completely lost," he acknowledged.
 
Usan "didn't know why I was going or where I was going." All he knew was that he was going somewhere different. He entered grade one in Canada as the youngest in his age. It was difficult to fit in. He felt isolated.
 
"I remember getting all this help, taking reading courses. I remember a lot of crying days. I was with the other kids, but I couldn't speak, I couldn't understand. I didn't know what the teachers wanted from me. I had a lot of panic attacks and freaking out."
 
But then, he admits "almost out of nowhere," it was fine. A curious person who does what it takes to improve, he dedicated himself to learning English, made friends and grew in confidence. 
 
That same confidence and persistence has helped him in the pool.
 
Usan joined the Yorkton Storm Swim Club at "the lowest level" and then slowly progressed. A smaller program, Usan (when he was in the oldest group), swam with a boy two years younger, and three girls who were three years younger. The age difference wasn't something that he thought about too much. He kept working hard, seeing results over time.


 
During his club career, Usan won medals in multiple events, including gold in the 100 free and silver in the 50 butterfly and 200 free at the 2016 Short Course Provincial 'A' Championships. 
 
But because of the size of his club, and other factors, he went unrecruited during high school. Taking it upon himself, he reached out to Bisons head coach Vlastimil 'Vlastic' Cerny in his senior year, where he was granted a spot in 2020 as a walk-on.
 
Usan wasn't afraid to put himself out there. He did what was needed to continue his athletic endeavours, even if it meant going outside of his comfort zone and moving somewhere different. 
 
He needed to make new friends, to integrate once again. Instead of backing down, he rose up, and continues to do so. 
 
In February of 2023, Usan made it his mission to qualify for U SPORTS nationals for the first time. A month later, he made it happen.
 
His time of 25.41 in the 50 fly earned him a birth at the big event in 2024. He's one of five Bisons on the men's side and nine overall who've already qualified for nationals. 
 
With his ticket secured, he's focusing on the little things. 
 
For the short course portion of the year, that means executing his dolphin kick. 
 
"[Head coach] Vlastic [Cerny] always wants us to not be stressed about time. It does get in the way. If you stress about time, somehow you can't focus on anything else. I'm stress free in that sense. I don't have to qualify. I can just focus on strictly what I need to do to swim fast," he says. 
 
"Pre-January, I want to focus on my underwater kick. That's what the best excel at. In swimming, especially in the short course season where the pool is 25 metres long, if you are really good under water, even if you're short or weaker, you can excel. That's my goal for short course, to really work on my under waters and my dolphin kicks. As a butterflyer, that's my main kick is dolphin kick."
 
'I chose to be confident'
Usan likes to keep things fun at practice. He knows training can be tough, and that it's easy to get in your own head. For that reason, he puts himself out there, no matter what. 
 
Last year for example, during underwater work, Usan randomly started swimming diagonals around everybody else from corner to corner.
 
"I'm going great, he's actually doing an extra five metres per length. I like it," chuckled Cerny at the time. 
 
"Something like that sets off a fun dynamic inside the group. They were just laughing, having a good time. They're striving together, they're suffering together and they're succeeding together."
 
"From last year to this year, my mindset hasn't changed," added Usan.
 
"My goal is to make swimming more fun. We swim so much, which means every single day we're tired and more disappointed if something goes bad. My goal is to forget about that and have fun, but stay focused of course."
 
A motivator and positive role model, Usan was named a captain for the 2023-24 season, alongside Carson Beggs on the men's side.
 
"I want to train hard, but it's easy to get stuck up training hard. My goal is to see if I can bring out that joy in practice. Why not make it fun?"
 
Outside the pool, Usan remains his genuine self. Sporting a plethora of piercings, and hair that's bleached blonde, he has no problem "putting himself out there."


 
"When I was 17, my hair started thinning completely," he admits. 
 
"I basically had two options. Become super insecure, or become confident. I chose to be confident, and I chose to not care what my hair is like. If I don't care what my hair is like, then let me just try out different things. It's all just based on fun and being more confident in myself." 
 
"For the longest time with my hair, I didn't like how it was so thin. It was receding. That's every guy's biggest fear almost," adds Usan.
 
"After just giving it a shot and being confident in myself, I learned that it really wasn't that big of a deal. Try things out. Change your mind to the point where you are super confident and just see what happens."