I’m reprinting this story from The Dickinson Press. It’s one of the most heart-warming stories I’ve found in a newspaper in a long, long time.
By Jacob Cheris
The Dickinson Press
January 10, 2025 at 6:10 a.m.
DICKINSON, N.D. — DHS junior swimmer Bohdan Shevchenko has already made a name for himself in his short time in the Dickinson community. This season, he has earned state qualifiers in all individual events, most recently qualifying for the 500-yard freestyle and the 200-yard individual-medley in the Midgets’ dual against Legacy on Jan. 7.
In the first home meet of the season, on Dec. 20, Shevchenko set a school record for the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 54.87.
Shevchenko, who hails from Ukraine, was introduced to the sport of swimming when he was just 6 years old, thanks to his grandfather.
“It’s just a skill that you need for life. And then I found it interesting, and I started swimming and swimming more,” Shevchenko said. “I like that it’s super competitive. And I like that, just a tenth of a second can get you from first place to last place.”
His blazing speed at a young age eventually earned him a spot on Ukraine’s professional swim team as a 14-year-old. He placed in the top-10 for backstroke and finished in the top-5 on the team overall among his age group.
Bohdan Shevchenko competes for the Dickinson Midgets but is from Ukraine.
Swimming isn’t as popular in Ukraine as opposed to other sports. Therefore, the training regime was different compared to America. But Shevchenko has taken a liking to his new routine. Before the season started, the DHS coaching staff pointed out some flaws in his swimming technique, which weren’t noticed back in his homeland.
“We are a post-Soviet Union country so it was very tough for us. It was like this old-gen training: Just swim and swim and swim,” Shevchenko said. “But here it’s more technical. We go to the gym every single day; we have a gym in high school at DHS, and I like it.”
Shevchenko got connected with the Dickinson swim community through the Dickinson Dolphins Swim Team, which is DHS’s club team. Prior to arriving in Dickinson, he spent a year in Chadron, Neb. and competed for the Chadron Sharks club swim team.
This was Shevchenko’s first time in the United States, and once he arrived at the Denver International Airport to start his new journey, he was immediately blown away by the scenery.
“I saw the Rocky Mountains, and that impressed me. I was so shocked; it was so beautiful. It was such a nice country from the first sight, and then over the months, I just started to understand that this is the best country in the world,” Shevchenko said. “Everybody is working, everybody’s getting money, and everybody’s getting the best out of their life.”
DHS junior swimmer Bohdan Shevchenko races in the 400-yard relay at the West River Community Center on Dec. 20.
The day he moved to the United States however, was not the day that he will remember the most. On Feb. 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, launching dozens of missiles and causing thousands of deaths and casualties across his country.
Shevchenko remembers that day, vividly.
“My mom woke me up at 5 a.m. and she told me that we need to hurry up. We need to go to the bunker, because the war started. And I was like, ‘Is it like the first of April? (April Fools) Is it like some joke or something? Why? Where are we going?’” Shevchenko said. “And then we went to the store to buy some food, and there was nothing on the shelves. Like no food left at 5 a.m. the people were hurrying up to the bunkers. It was so scary.”
Both of his grandparents still live in Ukraine, along with his childhood friends. He still keeps in touch with them and makes sure to give them a call every single week. One of the most jarring moments for Shevchenko was when a missile landed about two miles from one of his friend’s houses.
“I was playing games with my friends, and my apartment just suddenly started to shake. And I was like, ‘Oh what’s going on?’” Shevchenko said. “So I moved down the window, and it was like 11 p.m. but it was as bright as, like, 9 a.m. It was so bright because of the fire and missiles.”
Shevchenko did not leave Ukraine until April 2023 to head to Nebraska. Daily life changed for him and his family, from Feb. 22 until the day he fled the country. He had to be alert at all times in case another strike was imminent.
“I would say the first couple of months were crazy. I was in some kind of shock. But then we kind of adjust to that,” Shevchenko said. “The hard part about school was that we could not go offline, so we needed to go online. And every single time the alarm would sound on the streets, we needed to go to the bunker.”
Now fast forwarding to the present day, Shevchenko is enjoying life in Dickinson, both on and off the pool deck. There was an adjustment period for him, but he quickly found his people and his father has been enjoying his new job as a construction worker at Tooz Construction.
“When I first got to school, everybody was helping me. It’s a kind of big school, and it was tough for me to find friends at first, because the place is huge and there is like 1,100 kids there,” Shevchenko said. “One month later, I already had so many friends because the people are so friendly. I like that about the culture of America and Dickinson.”
From the first day he stepped on the pool deck in a Midgets uniform, Shevchenko has been embraced by his new teammates and coaches. What he appreciates most is how close the group is and how supportive they are for each other.
DHS junior Bohdan Shevchenko leads the team chant at the West River Community Center.
“Before every swim meet we go together and sing our team anthem, and everybody supports everybody,” Shevchenko said. “If a young guy goes to race, our whole team goes to support him, even if it’s some old guy or a small guy, we go support everybody.”
“He always talks about what he learned like at home and stuff back in Ukraine, and he will let me know for like different practices and stuff that he’d like to work on, and then we kind of bring it all together into one to make it fun for him,” DHS head coach Samie Bohl said. “He makes it to where he’s able to just be a joy at practice every single day and the work ethic that he has is fantastic.”
With the NDHSAA swim and dive season at the half-way mark, Shevchenko has one goal in mind and that is to make the Futures Championships in California, which is one of the biggest swimming tournaments in the country. While he claims that he’s been faster than before, he still hasn’t reached his peak.
“I will try to get it done. But right now, I’m kind of far away from it to be honest,” Shevchenko said.