 Cyprianos at the 2023 African Games | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 7 October 2002 Bulawayo, Zimbabwe |
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
| Weight | 186 lb (84 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Country |  Zimbabwe |
| Sport | Swimming |
| Strokes | Backstroke |
| College team | Carson–Newman Eagles South Dakota State Jackrabbits |
Denilson Cyprianos (born 7 October 2002) is a Zimbabwean swimmer. He competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the men's 200m backstroke event.
Cyprianos was born on 7 October 2002 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. [1] [2] He has two brothers who also were competitive swimmers. [3] He attended Christian Brothers College, Bulawayo. [4] He was trained in swimming by his father, until his father's death in late 2020, [5] and became one of Zimbabwe's top youth swimmers; by January 2021, Cyprianos, a backstroke swimmer, had set national records in the 50m, 100m and 200m events, also being the Zimbabwe Junior Sportsperson of the Year runner-up in 2020. [6] He competed as a member of the Stingrays Swimming Club. [7]
Cyprianos received an athletic scholarship to compete in college in the U.S. in 2021. [6] He moved to the U.S. and enrolled at Carson–Newman University in Tennessee, studying finance. [6] Within a month of joining the school and competing for the Carson–Newman Eagles swimming team, he set a team record by winning five events in one competition. [8] As a freshman, he qualified for the NCAA Division II nationals and became an honorable mention All-American after placing 13th in the 200-yard backstroke event. [3] Later in 2021, he qualified for the United States Open Water National Championships in the 5km event. [9] In 2023, with the Eagles, he qualified for the NCAA B tournament and the swimming National Invitation Tournaments (NITs). [10]
Cyprianos later transferred to South Dakota State University where he was part of school record-setting 400m and 800m freestyle relay teams and broke the school record for the 200m backstroke in 2024. [11]
Cyprianos began competing for Zimbabwe internationally by 2019 and broke the national 100m backstroke record that year at a tournament in Dubai. [4] He became one of only two junior-age Zimbabwean swimmers to set a national record. [7] He was selected for the 2019 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships where he participated in five events with a highest placement of 40th. [12] In February 2020, he served as captain of the Zimbabwe team competing at the CANA Zone IV Swimming Championships in Botswana. [7] There, he won seven gold medals and one silver. [7]
Cyprianos competed at the 2021 African Swimming Championships where he had a highest placement of fourth, in the 50m backstroke. [12] Two years later, he participated at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships and broke the national record in the 100m backstroke with a time of 57.29 seconds. [13] He finished 46th at the tournament in the 100m backstroke and also competed in the 200m, where he was 26th. [12] He later competed at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, where he placed 34th in the 100m and 26th in the 200m. [12] Cyprianos participated at the 2023 African Games, held in March 2024, and won the gold medal in the 200m event, ending a nine-year gold medal drought for Zimbabwe at the games. [14] He also won silver in the 200m at the African Games. [12]
Cyprianos was selected to represent Zimbabwe at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. [15] Competing in the 200m backstroke, he set the new national record with a time of 2:01.91, although he did not advance from his heat. [2] He finished 28th in his event. [12]
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