Renzo Jair Tjon-A-Joe is a

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

se swimmer who mainly swims in 50 m and 100 m

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

events. He competed at the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

, Renzo is the fastest swimmer in Surinamese history in the 50 m and 100 m freestyle category.

Biography

-born Renzo Tjon-A-Joe is his country's fastest swimmer to date. He made his first appearance on the world stage at the age of 18, as a member of the Surinamese selection for the 2013 Junior Worlds in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. In Dubai, he was a finalist in the 50 m freestyle. He went on to be the most successful athlete from Suriname in 2013 and 2015 and was named 2013 and 2015 Male Athlete of the Year. In his country, he currently holds all national sprint records for the 50 m and 100 m freestyle in the long course and short course. Renzo previously trained a
Auburn University
in preparation for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

under the sprint coach Brett Hawke. He studied Economics at the

Harvard Extension School Harvard Extension School (HES) is the extension school of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school is one among 12 schools that grant degrees and falls under the Division of Continuing Education in the Harvard Faculty of Arts ...

for two years before dropping out and further pursuing his swim career. In 2018 Tjon A Joe completed a regional sprint trifecta- winning gold in the 50m Freestyle at the

ODESUR The Organización Deportiva Suramericana (ODESUR) is a multi-sports organisation. They organize the South American Games. Affiliates There are 15 affiliated National Olympic Committee, National Olympic Committees: References External link ...

South American Games, Central American and Caribbean Games and CCCAN Championships.

Personal bests

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, Veracruz, 2014 Central American& Caribbean Games, 50 m butterfly bronze medal, * 50 m freestyle silver medal, 100 m freestyle 4th place, all national records *

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, 2014 Junior South American Championships, 50 m freestyle finalist, silver medal * Dubai, 2013 Junior World Championship, 50 m freestyle finalist * Dubai, 2013 Junior World Championship, 100 m freestyle, semi-finalist *

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, 2013, 50 m freestyle finalist, gold medal/new meet record * Chile, 2013, South American Junior Championships 50 m freestyle finalist, silver medal *USA, 2015 Arena Pro Swim Series Mesa, Arizona 50 m freestyle finalist with 22.53 * Cochabamba, 2018 South American Gold Medalist, 50 m freestyle

Achievements

* First Surinamer to swim under 50 seconds in 100 m freestyle ( SC-2014) and under 23 seconds in 50 m freestyle (LC-2013) * Male Swimmer of the Year Suriname 2013 * Male Athlete of the Year Suriname 2013 * He broke a national record in 50 m freestyle at the 2013 Junior Worlds in Dubai (22.75) * A-finalist in the 50 m freestyle at the Arena Grand Prix, Orlando, Florida (02/14) * A-finalist in the 50 m freestyle at the Arena Grand Prix, Meza, Arizona (06/14) * Sep. 1, 2014 – training with the Auburn Pro Team at Auburn University. *

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Man of the Year 2005 * Auburn University Swimming and Diving Coach: Brett Hawke * Male Swimmer of the Year Suriname 2014 * Nominated in top 3 athletes of Suriname for Athlete of the Year 2014 Award * Male Athlete of the Year Suriname 2015

National records

with Juan Limburg, Irvin Hoost, and Zuhayr Pigot :

International competitions

2014 Arena Grand Prix Series USA

* 02/2014:

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

: 50 freestyle: A-Finalist, 8th : 22.98 * 02/2014: Orlando, FL: 100 freestyle: C-Finalist, 24th: 52.79 * 04/2014: Mesa, AZ: 50 freestyle: A-Finalist, 7th place 22.91 * 04/2014: Mesa, AZ: 100 freestyle: B-Finalist, 14th place 51.27 *

2015 Arena Grand Prix Series USA

* 02/2015: Orlando, FL: 50 freestyle: B-Final, 2nd: 23.07 (10th overall) * 02/2015: Orlando, FL: 100 freestyle: C-Final, 1st: 50.91 (8th overall)

Speedo Championship Series, USA

* 03/15: Plantation, FL: 50 freestyle: A-Final, 2nd: 23.14 * 03/15: Plantation, FL: 100 freestyle: A-Final, 3rd : 50.44

Personal life

Tjon-A-Joe has an older brother named Maikel and a younger sister named Arantxa. He speaks Dutch,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and Sranan Tongo. He has said his favourite film is Pim De La Parra's Wan Pipel.

References

* Auburn University http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/c-swim/coach_hawke.html * Suriname's swimming federation: Surinaamse Zwem Bond (SZB) * Suriname Olympic Committee (SOC) http://surolympic.org/ * USA Swimming - Arena Pro Swim Series http://www.usaswimming.org/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabId=1420

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tjon-A-Joe, Renzo 1995 births Surinamese male swimmers Living people Sportspeople from Paramaribo Swimmers at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Suriname Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic swimmers for Suriname Competitors at the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Suriname Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Suriname Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Suriname South American Games gold medalists for Suriname South American Games bronze medalists for Suriname South American Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 2014 South American Games Competitors at the 2018 South American Games Swimmers at the 2019 Pan American Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Olympics Auburn Tigers men's swimmers