How a 23-year-old Wells Fargo analyst moved to Charlotte and made her first Olympics

Apsara Sakbun spent about 10 minutes reading over this text message.

A few weeks ago, she heard there was a spot open on the Cambodian national swim team for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The national record-holder — whose father immigrated to the United States from Cambodia — was at the top of the coach’s list.

Sakbun, 23, moved to Charlotte last year after taking a job as an operations analyst at Wells Fargo. She joined the Dowd YMCA, where she found herself swimming at least six days a week, while still regularly running and lifting.

“If there was a time to be in tip-top, ‘perfect shape,’ this hit me at the right time,” Sakbun said. “It was just right place, right time. Miracle-type moment.”

A love for swimming

Sakbun grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana, and always loved to be in the water.

Many of her friends, along with her older siblings, swam when she was younger. She enjoyed sitting outside at those long swim meets during the summer and appreciated how the sport has the ability to move indoors when it gets colder.

She played tennis, ran cross country and track, danced and was a gymnast before getting to high school. That’s when she dropped all those other sports and focused on swimming full-time.

“I feel like it’s one of those sports where there’s always room for improvement,” Sakbun said. “It just kind of hooked me in that — I can consistently keep getting better if I do this, or if I change this, or if I learn this. Both a love for the sport, and wanting to do it and get better.”

She kept herself involved during her years at Terre Haute’s South Vigo High. In addition to being a part of the Distributive Education Clubs of America, Sakbun served on student council and class Senate.

In Ball State’s athletic department, Sakbun was a diversity, equity and inclusion intern. A three-time Academic All-MAC selection, she was a distinctive scholar and won a college athletics academic award.

Not the only top swimmer in the family

Sakbun’s time of 26.41 seconds represents the national record by a Cambodian in the 50-meter freestyle.

As a point of reference, the winning time in the 2020 Olympics in the 50-meter freestyle was 23.81; the eighth and final place was 24.41.

Sakbun also set records in the 100-meter freestyle (58.23 seconds) and the 100-meter backstroke (1:07.44). Her younger sister, Haley Sakbun, is a junior at Ball State and holds Cambodia’s national record in the 200-meter freestyle (2:12.85).

When the Cambodian coach offered the elder Sakbun a chance to compete in the 50-meter freestyle in Paris, he referred to her record time in the event — but also let her know that if she weren’t up for it for whatever reason, he had a list of three top candidates, determined by fastest times in the event.

So if it weren’t Apsara Sakbun heading to the Olympics to swim the 50-meter freestyle for Cambodia, it would have been her younger sister.