Martin Cernansky is a former Austrian Junior champion. Now 5,000 miles away from his homeland, coaches expect him to be one of the best breaststroke swimmers in Missouri history.

"It has always been my dream to come to the States and to study here," Cernansky said.

Cernansky said he chose Missouri because the facilities are top notch and the location is appealing.

"You hear about cities like New York City or Boston, really well known cities, but you never hear anything about the Midwest," Cernansky said. "It was kind of exotic going Midwest."

Fluent in four languages, he was named academic all-Big 12 last season.

Surprisingly, his early struggles in the United States came in the pool. Foreign swimmers must adapt to using a pool measured in yards rather than meters. Now, the difference between a yard and a meter is only about 8.5 cm, but when that's stretched out over a pool, some foreign swimmers struggle.

"I know Martin struggled his freshman year to adjust to swimming yards," MU swimmer Allison Bennett said.

"He has just trained hard, he races, the guys like him," MU swimming coach Brian Hoffer said. "He's easy to get along with."

Cernansky is focused on the conference championship and a rematch with super star Michael Phelps at the Missouri Grand Prix in February.

"He beat me. He was faster, although he is not a breaststroker," Cernansky said. "And, I hope he will come back this year and I will beat him this time."

That will take a breaststroke of genius.