Awarded Junior Sportswoman of the Year (2024) by the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee, 17-year-old Zuri Ferguson is making waves in the international swimming arena. Ferguson has been a multiple-time champion at events like the CCCAN and CARIFTA Championships, excelling in the 100m backstroke event.
Now an Olympian, Ferguson was the youngest athlete proudly representing T&T in the XXXIII Olympic Games in 2024. Even at a young age, Ferguson exudes confidence, eloquence, and self-assurance as she sits with Guardian Media WE magazine to speak about her accomplished swimming career.
Born and raised in Attleboro, Massachusetts, to two proud Trini parents, Ferguson began swimming at three years old and joined her first swim team at five. “My parents thought it was important for me to have the basic skill of swimming and keeping myself afloat,” she says, but little did they know, it was only the beginning of her love affair with the pool.
Since starting competitive swimming, Ferguson worked her way up from local championships to US national-level competitions to US Olympic Trials in 2021. In February 2024, in what she describes as a “special moment for me,” she began swimming for the T&T National team, which was made even sweeter by getting to know her teammates and travelling for meets with them.
“Competing in the Olympics has always been a dream of mine since I started swimming. To achieve it was so fulfilling,” Ferguson muses. Her experience at the Olympic Games was a major highlight in her career, as she considered herself lucky to be surrounded by elite athletes who, similar to her, have put so much time and dedication into excelling at their respective sports.
On the day of her race, Ferguson “felt a lot less nervous than I ever had in the past. Definitely it was the calmest I had been for the whole summer circuit.”
Armed with her calm and steady mindset, she excelled to place a remarkable third in her 100m heat. To arrive at a place where she has the ability to control her nerves, Ferguson has not only worked hard to develop her talent in the pool but has also poured herself into developing a tough competitor mentality.
“A challenge has been the struggle to create goals for myself instead of expectations. Falling short of my expectations would leave me being harsh on myself, bring a lot more nerves, and not allow me to swim to my full capability.” Working to overcome these mental hurdles has been a highlight for her, “as I’m more able to enjoy racing and being in the pool.”
Another of her highlights has been the sheer number of amazing people she has met on the pool deck and the community that swimming has given her. With a personal best of one minute one second in the 100m backstroke, the goal she is focused on at the moment is pushing her swimming ability to the limit and becoming faster in her event.
Ferguson’s intensive training schedule—seven days a week for hours at a time—is only half of the puzzle, as she also seeks to excel academically. Describing herself as a “math brain,” she also likes classes that challenge her and encourage her academic growth. The balancing act requires “a lot of late nights, working on the weekend, and trying to get ahead in my studies as much as possible.”
Her dedication continues to pay off as she is now poised to attend the University of Florida to swim for the next four years. Her gratitude for her support team, including her family and coaches, is boundless, and she insists that for any young woman interested in sport, having a community of people behind you is crucial. Another piece of advice she lives by is to “Always love what you’re doing. Make sure you’re having fun.” Having won the Junior Sportswoman of the Year award, she feels “honoured to not only be recognised but to have an award from the country of my parents and make them proud.”
With her impressive track record and determination, Ferguson is poised for a bright future in swimming, aiming to build on her Olympic experience and achieve even greater heights in the sport.
