Kaloyan Bratanov
Kaloyan Bratanov
QUICK STATS
- Birthdate: July 24, 2000
- Hometown: Katy, TX
- Club Team: Katy Aquatics
- College: Texas A&M
- Coach: Jay Holmes
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- NCAA All American
- NCAA Championship Qualifier
- Bulgarian national record holder
EXPERIENCE
Kaloyan (Koko) Bratanov has a special relationship with swimming, as the sport has provided stability during times of transition. He says, “Growing up, my family moved quite a bit. Swimming was something that remained constant and grounded me wherever we went; the pool was my sense of home.” One of those moves included leaving his home country of Bulgaria and eventually settling in Katy, Texas. Kaloyan went on to swim for Texas A&M where he specialized in sprint freestyle and was a nine-time All American and team captain his senior year.
Bratanov views Fitter and Faster clinics as an opportunity for him to share his experience with clinic participants, while improving his own swimming. He says, “working with age group swimmers helps me improve my skills as a coach as well as a swimmer. Explaining the mechanics of a stroke to young swimmers who are eager to learn gives me a different perspective, and I often think about how I can be better when watching them execute what I’m teaching.” Koko says he likes to teach his best and his worst stroke, claiming backstroke is the one that he has to work on becoming more efficient at. He has a “passion for freestyle ” due to the speed and excitement of freestyle sprinting. Koko shares with clinic participants that the key to success in sprint freestyle racing is to master each element of the event so that when race time comes, everything is automatic. “If you think too much during the 50 free, you’ve already lost the race. Execute what you’ve trained for and you will be successful.”
Kaloyan appreciates the virtues that swimming has taught him, such as comradery, discipline, and perseverance. He says, “Swimming is unique in that it is an individual sport while also being a team sport; teammates are always pushing each other to do their best.” Bratanov also appreciates the discipline and perseverance that swimming teaches, and credits his time in the pool with giving him the skills to be successful and driven in his professional career.
