Stefanos Michael, International Track Star

      Stefanos Michael competing in long jump

Good afternoon sports fans and welcome to this weeks edition of Wide World of Wildcats. I hope you all are enjoying your weekend and the NBA playoffs which are now underway. To get things started, I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to one of UA's international athletes, Stefanos Michael, who I will later be doing a more in-depth story on. Here's a preview of his life and his journey to the U.S. and the UA.

Stefanos grew up in Cyprus, an island not too far from Greece, with a population about the size of Tucson. Growing up, he loved to play basketball, but when he was 13-years-old, he started practicing the long jump. When he was 16, he was the third best jumper in all of Cyprus. At 17, he was the best in Cyprus. He then became the fourth best in all of Greece and Cyprus and in 2003, he qualified for the Youth World Champion

ship in Canada. 

After high school and lyceum, Stefanos, served in the military, a requirement in Cyprus. Due to a bad coaching experience, Stefanos stopped jumping and stopped competing. It wasn't until after his time in the military when he started practicing again.

"It's hard to be an athlete and a student in Cyprus," Stefanos said. "They don't care about athletes there."

After a year of studying at the University of Cyprus, Stefanos decided he wanted to come to the United States.

"I came here to have a better future in sports and school."

He decided on the University of Arizona because it's a "good school, has good weather and a good team in track."

      Stefanos in competition

Being an international athlete, the initial adjustment to the U.S. was challenging, but he was able to adjust quickly.

"The hard part is missing your family," said Stefanos, who only sees his family twice a year, but talks to them on the phone twice a week. "The hard thing for me is the language."

Although English is taught at school back in Cyprus, Stefanos admits that he never paid attention. It wasn't until the military when he started to learn it. Greek is his first language.

Today, Stefanos could not be happier about his decision to come to UA where he is a sophomore majoring in Electrical Engineering. 

"This is a good environment for athletes," Stefanos said. "Everyone is helping and supporting here."

Stefanos hopes to attend graduate school after completing his undergrad at UA. He also hopes to continue competing in the long jump.

"I look to jump good so I can show my appreciation. That's the thing I want to do," Stefanos said. "I want to thank my coach, Sheldon Blockburger, head coach, Coach Fred Harvey and manager Francesca Green for their support for everything they do for me and the team."

For more on Stefanos, please visit the Arizona Athletics website and in a few weeks, check out borderbeat.net.

That wraps up this weeks edition. Tune in next week for a final farewell of the Wide World of Wildcats. Until then, Bear Down!

      Stefanos (in blue) taking a break during competition