Staples phenom shares more than just swimming bond with twin

The way Annam Olasewere tells the story she and her twin Ayaan started swimming when they were 18-months-old because the doctor recommended it.

“So we wouldn’t drown,” Annam said.

Dad and mom, Abdul and Ngassam, signed them up for lessons at the Chesterfield, Mo., Family YMCA. Their love of the water would grow to the point where they went two and three times a week.

“We were doing lessons one day when they were 61⁄2,” Ngassam said, “and they saw a bunch of kids going back and forth in lanes. They go, ‘What are they doing?’ We told them it was competitive swimming. They’re like, ‘We want to do that.’ ”

And wouldn’t you know it?

“They walked right over to the coach,” Ngassam said. “The coach said ‘yeah you can doggy-paddle from one end to the other.’ ”

On Wednesday night — seven years later — the freshman twins from Westport’s Staples High School did much more than doggypaddle, and Annam blew the doors off the Hutchison Natatorium at Southern Connecticut.

And when they were done they would explain this night was about more than swimming in a pool.

Annam set the state and FCIAC record with a 22.77 last week in the 50-yard freestyle. On this night, her time of 22.67 shattered the state, Class LL and pool record. She wasn’t nearly finished.

With a 50.14 in the 100 free, Annam broke the state record of 50.39 by Elizabeth McDonald of Pomperaug, the Class LL and the pool mark. The twins then spearheaded relay victories for Staples in the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relays. Ayaan finished sixth in the 50 and seventh in the 100.

Annam’s most satisfying of her performances?

“I’d say the 50,” she said. “My coach says none of the events are an all-out sprint, but the 50 (up and back in a 25-yard pool) is the closest to it. I love getting my events done quickly.

“Everyone thinks they are going to improve. I thought I’d improve, but I didn’t know I’d go this fast. My coach has helped me so much. My family, my captains, teammates push me to do better. Especially my twin.”

Coach Mike Anderson said he figures the 22.67 will rank Annam first nationally among 14-year-old girls.

“It’s still early and by the time everyone gets going, the California and Florida girls will be six months older, stronger and faster,” Anderson said. “But it should still end up in the top three.

“Annam started the season at 23.6 and she has dropped a full second. It’s astronomical. Swimming and track is roughly a 1 to 4 ratio. So the 50 is like a 200 in track. Imagine being a national caliber Division I girl and dropping a full second in three months in the 200-meter dash? Big, big difference.”

Abdul and Ngassam met while they attended the University of Miami. Ngassam’s position with Mastercard led to the move to St. Louis’ suburbs. The fraternal twins were born in Creve Coeur, Mo., on June 29, 2007.

“Fifty-five seconds apart,” Ngassam said. “I don’t want to say who was born first.”

“It was me,” Annam said. “My mom didn’t want to tell us because she thought it would just make us argue about it,” Ayaan said. “I think it is actually 57 seconds.”

“And they’ve been chasing each other ever since,” Ngassam said.

Their families are from Nigeria, descendants of the Yoruba tribe. In Arabic, Annam and Ayaan means God’s blessing and God’s gift, respectively.

Like twins in any language, they are competitive.

“We are really close,” Annam said. “Besides swimming I play the double bass and Ayaan plays the cello, so we’re always competing to see who can play better. We play classical, jazz.”

Classical, jazz, in a jazz ensemble … Madame Butterfly Stroke. Yo-Yo Ma Ledecky. We could have fun for hours with that combo.

“It’s a really unique experience,” Ayaan said. “Even though we are pushing each other and motivating each other, we’re always there for each other too, if, say, we don’t get the time we wanted.”

Annam, according to Ayaan, is better in math and science. Ayaan enjoys English and social studies.

“We each have our strengths,” Ayaan said. “We argue all the time about something, who’s better. But we inspire each other.”

“I’m a little taller,” Annam said. “I like to tell her that.”

They are smart, full of life, full of energy and share an undeniable bond. After finishing talking to Annam, I lost Ayaan in a crowd of swimmers. Looking around, looking around. I look back at Annam. She is pointing to Ayaan.

She smiles and says, “Twin telepathy.”

“They are so much fun,” said Anderson, who coached college at Nevada, Alabama and Hawaii for nearly two decades. “Working with them is like opening up a can of squirrels every day. Regardless of how fast they are, they just turned 14. They keep me on my toes.

“We knew they had potential to go a lot faster. It’s a lot of technique, a lot on race planning, a lot on overall fitness and strength. I coach them the same way I coached my college women with the same times. There was a lot of new stuff and they were accepting of it. All the girls bought in. Good things happen to those who buy in and believe.”

The 200-freestyle relay was a classic. It was Annam by a fingertip. Jessica Qi, Ella Alpert and the Olesewere twins broke a 25-year state record in 1:35.75. Glastonbury finished second in 1:35.90 to also break the state, meet and SCSU mark of 1:36.18 set by Cheshire in 1996.

Qi, Alpert and the twins then ended the meet in a pool record 3:28.54 in the 400 free relay. Both times Annam had hunted down the leader.

“How fun were those relays?” Anderson said. “Glastonbury really pushed us. You always notice the last one who catches everybody. But it is a total team effort. All four swam great and the best part is they are great friends.”

Two senior leaders. Two freshmen phenoms. Four wins for Staples.

“It’s really awesome to be in such a positive environment,” Annam said. “The captains are amazing. They really push us to be the best we can. They’re like our big sisters. They’re our mentors. We’re always with them in the relays. They’re always there for us.”

Recruiting in NCAA Division I swimming isn’t allowed to start until the end of the sophomore year. So as Ngassam, a business consultant, said, “We’re only starting on a journey, even though we’ve been on a journey.”

A second corporate move has seen the girls live half their lives in Connecticut. After their arrival, the family was pointed toward the New Canaan YMCA. It was with coach Chandler Crosby that Annam and Ayaam began to blossom.

When Crosby, an AllAmerican swimmer at SCSU, moved to the Westport Weston Family YMCA and the Water Rats, the twins followed him.

“We followed him because he was such an amazing coach,” Annam said.

“He worked on technique, worked on everything. He was there outside of swimming, too. We even had private lessons with him here at this pool.”

Crosby would coach at SCSU and later, qualifying as a yogi, worked as yoga instructor and moved to Colorado.

The news broke on July 26. It was shocking. Crosby was killed in an auto accident in Boulder. He was 43.

“This night is kind of full-circle for us,” Ngassam said. “The coach who really started them competitively was (an All-American) here. We went to his memorial. He is (the) one who helped them fall in love with swimming. This one is for him.”

On her special night, Annam was asked if she felt Crosby’s presence at the natatorium.

“Yeah, I did,” she said. “Especially when coach brought me over to his AllAmerican plaque on the wall out there in the hallway.”

She read it and thought about him. And then Annam Olasewere went back to the pool and did Chandler Crosby proud. Both twins did.

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