By Amy Farnum
NCAASports.com

Cal State Bakersfield's Mansoor Al-Mansoor has come a long way since nearly drowning in his uncle's backyard pool as a 10-year-old growing up in Kuwait.

Since that summer 11 years ago, Al-Mansoor, or 'Manny' as he's known, has not only learned to swim, but he has become one of his country's best athletes and a top competitor at the Division II collegiate level.

Al-Mansoor's father sent him to swim lessons following the incident at his uncle's, and by the end of the summer the coach of the swim club asked him to swim in a meet. He took third place in his very first race, and his competitive swimming career was born. Eventually, Al-Mansoor began swimming internationally, and when it came time to attend college he decided to come to the United States.

"The United States has a really good structure of universities and that can go hand-in-hand with swimming," said Al-Mansoor. "I wanted to continue swimming and go to school, which is kind of hard to do back home."

Al-Mansoor moved to Florida for a couple years, swimming at a club in Ft. Lauderdale and attending community college, before contacting Lance Cansdale, head coach of Cal State Bakersfield -- one of the top Division II swimming programs.

Despite the fact Kuwait and countries in the Middle East are not known as a hotbed for swimming, Cansdale took a chance on Al-Mansoor – a chance that definitely paid off.

"Most of the kids that we get from Middle Eastern countries are on the outside of trying to make a program," said Cansdale. "The fact that he could come here and contribute immediately was pretty special. He had a great season last year. He was just talent waiting to happen."

Al-Mansoor, who currently holds the majority of Kuwait's national swimming records, has flourished at CSUB and especially enjoys the team atmosphere.

"There's more dedication (in the U.S.), and there's a bigger group of people that want to practice and get better," said Al-Mansoor. "In Kuwait, I would sometimes be practicing by myself. It's more inspiring when you wake up at 5:30 in the morning and there are other guys doing it too because they want to get better."

Cansdale has high praise for the sophomore, and admires Al-Mansoor's positive attitude. "He's sort an emotional leader in our program," said Cansdale. "He's always smiling and joking, and is the first one to make a joke about his self. He keeps the morale up, and he can also back it up because he's a very good swimmer – and not by mistake. He trains very hard, he's focused. His desire and his heart are as big as any part of his ability or talent."

In his freshman year, Al-Mansoor placed third in both the 100 and 200 yard butterfly events at NCAA Championships, and has impressed Cansdale with his constant improvement. Over the past year, he swam for Kuwait at the World Championships in Montreal and qualified to represent his country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

During winter break in December, Al-Mansoor won five gold and two silver medals at the West Asia Games held in Qatar. Following the event, Al-Mansoor was named Kuwait's Athlete of the Year.

"That was a part of my life that I'll never forget because it wasn't only a swim meet," said Al-Mansoor. "There were 24 countries competing in 36 different games from soccer to swimming to track and field. It was really a nice atmosphere to compete in."

Al-Mansoor hopes his success will spark his fellow countrymen's interest in swimming, although the sport has already grown since he began competing.

"Now, when you go to a swim club in Kuwait you have at least 40 people swimming," said Al-Mansoor. "When I started, there were not many people. We have a good base of little kids right now, and hopefully in 10 or 12 years we'll have a good national team."

Cal State Bakersfield will try to add to its NCAA record 13 national championships as the Roadrunners compete in the Division II Championships on March 8-11 in Indianapolis, Ind. The Runners last won a team title in 2004, and have finished in the top two in each of the last eight years.