Singaporean swimmer Christie Chue brings skill set to south Florida
MIAMI (BVM) — The Christie Chue story begins in Atlanta, Georgia, where a happy conclusion resulted from last month’s NCAA Division I swimming and diving championships.
Chue swam three events in her inaugural NCAA championship competition and fared well for a first-timer performing on a rather large stage. The Florida International University freshman placed sixth in the consolation 200-yard breaststroke final and 14th overall. Chue also swam the 200-yard IM and the 100-yard breaststroke.
But the 200-breast is currently her premier event.
“It is right now,” FIU head swimming coach Randy Horner said. “It was this year. I definitely think she has potential…in her other events to be just as good. But this year is kind of what came out as being her strongest one…but her freestyle events are very good too.”
Horner said growth is the vehicle for Chue’s success.
“She’s growing,” he said. “I think this was a big step this year…throughout the year she developed a lot of skills and a lot of things that allowed her to do what she did this year at the NCAA championships…I think it’s a scenario where that’s constant growth, constant reflection, constant trying to become better at that.”
Chue said that based on her NCAA championships performance, and the room for improvement in the breaststroke, she’s leaning toward that event in the near future.
“I would definitely try other events if I have the chance….but I’m placing my bet on the two-breast,”
Chue said.
Chue, a highly competitive swimmer in her native Singapore, maintained hopes of swimming collegiately in the U.S. One program showed interest, and she thought her ticket was punched.
“And, you know, we had seen that she…was going to come to a university in the U.S. And that didn’t happen,” Horner said.
The school was the University of Michigan.
“Well, for first, is that they (University of Michigan) actually got my hopes high because they said that I was more or less admitted to the school. But then…I didn’t make the cut.”
Interestingly, Chue placed higher than Michigan freshman Letitia Sim in the 200-yard breast at the NCAAs. (Conversely, Sim swam better than Chue in the 100-yard breast.)
Chue resolved to get on with it and continue her training in Singapore.
“To me, it’s not the end of the world,” she said. “And then I just thought that maybe it’s not the right time for me. So I just continued training back home with my coach.”
Her parents were sad, but Chue soldiered on biding her time.
The right time would be arriving soon.
Recruiting college athletes has changed over the years; coaches and recruiting services adopted current technologies as they became available. That holds true today as social media has become an invaluable tool in stocking programs with student-athletes (who can now acquire sponsorships, a story for another day).
Chue was found via social media.
“Well, it’s a small world nowadays with technology and the internet and everything else,” Horner said. “And we’re always scouring international top results for high-level talent, people that we feel like could help the program that aren’t already in the U.S.”
With her dream of competing and studying in America scrapped after the Wolverines’ rejection, Chue was surprised when she was contacted by FIU via social media.
“So I just thought I was just gonna stay local at home,” she said. “But then one day, I was just swimming as per usual, training, competing, and then Brien (Moffitt, assistant coach), just DM’d me on Instagram…Honestly, I never heard of this school before. When they reached out to me, I was very shocked. Like, how did they find my social media because you know I’m like on the other side of the world?”
Chue thought it might be a scam, so she had her mother respond to all the messages initially. Once she realized the 21st-century recruiting process was legitimate, she seized the opportunity. And Horner is glad she did.
“Great kid. I mean, she’s brought a lot of things,” Horner said. “Obviously, a high-level swimmer, great trainer, great work ethic. Just a great person. That’s one of the things that we look for…people that are good character-people, people that bring a good quality to the team and are fun to work with. And she definitely hits all those boxes.”
As for cultural challenges, all foreign student-athletes spend time adjusting to their new environment. Chue experienced some difficult times this year while adapting to South Florida and living away from her family.
“Well, for starters, there’s a lot of sun here,” she said. “And I’m not a big fan of the sun. So when I first came here, Brien kind of helped me settle down, Coach Randy as well.”
Her dorm roommates also helped her acclimate to life on campus, but Chue couldn’t settle in emotionally.
“And it was hard for me the first few months because I was like homesick really bad….And I had a few breakdowns, like emotional and mental breakdowns,” she admitted.
Without her parents — a lifeline of support her entire life — she now had to own adversity by herself.
“But now, it’s like they’re on the other side of the world,” she said. “I have to deal with this myself. So it was kind of tough. But then I kind of got the hang of it, and kind of take this as a learning journey to be independent.”
She said her coaches and teammates were instrumental in assisting her through the trying circumstances.
“Here at FIU, we’ve got, gosh, I haven’t counted recently, but I think we have kids from 17 different countries on our team this past season,” Horner said. “So we’re well versed at helping those kids adapt, transitioning them in, and have had high levels of success with that as well. And Miami’s a great town with a good culture of international, you know, melting pot.”
Chue is optimistic about next season now that she understands the expectations and has experienced competition at the NCAA Division I level.
“I think I’m kind of looking forward to it because now at least I know what to expect,” she said. “I’m not like in the dark…I know how to prepare myself better. And also, I’m gonna kind of target meet season as my qualification meet for the NCAAs. So I think it’s gonna be an exciting second year for me.”
