2019-20 Georgia Tech Everyday Champions Issue #3

SWIMMING & DIVING | CAIO’S TIME

I s there such a thing as destiny? Caio Pumputis makes a good case that there is. Considering that his mom was a competitive swimmer and his dad played water polo, doing something in the water seemed to be the Sao Paulo, Brazil, native’s destiny. Those roots certainly helped him choose swimming over soccer, even in what may be the latter sport’s hottest of hotbeds. “It was really hard. All my friends used to play soccer, and I used to play soccer on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays back home,” said the 21-year-old Pumputis, who further acted out as a youngster by idolizing Lionel Messi, an Argentinian. “We had (swim) meets at the same time as the soccer games, so I had to choose one. My dad was like, ‘Go to the swim meet, and if you do well, stay with swimming. If you don’t, you can come back to futbol.’” It’s easy to guess how that meet went, as the pool topped the pitch from then on.

Still, narrowing down his sports options did not guarantee that greatness would follow. What has gotten Pumputis to his current status as one of the most decorated swimmers in Georgia Tech history -- with his senior year remaining -- and one of the most promising young swimmers in the world, with dreams of competing for his native Brazil in the 2020 Olympics, is what’s inside. “He’s a racer. He’s a competitor, and it doesn’t matter who’s up against him,” said Georgia Tech’s Toni M. and Richard L. Bergmark swimming and diving head coach Courtney Shealy Hart, a two-time Olympic champion. “Caio knows what he needs to do, and he takes care of business. It doesn’t matter what heat he’s in. I don’t think you can necessarily teach all that. That comes from within, and he brought that from day one. “Caio is an elite athlete. He’s very naturally talented, but he works very hard, too,” Hart added. “I think one of the greatest attributes that he has when he races is, if he is anywhere near

Pumputis has made school history by becoming the first Yellow Jacket swimmer to earn All-America status in three events.

6   EVERYDAY CHAMPIONS | SPRING 2020