It was 80 degrees in Livermore on May 14. Nathanael Ridosko, 20, dove from the diving block into the pool and into a center lane, his straight, golden-blond hair stuffed beneath a Tri-Valley Aquatics swim cap. He swiftly flew from the block into the water, gliding beneath it to the center.
Every stroke counts. Each second in the water is an opportunity to perfect form.
Slovakia’s Olympic swim history is decent, but small. Carried by Martina Moravcová, who won two silver medals in 2000. Since then, Slovak swimmers have usually qualified for the Olympics and sometimes reached the semifinals, but finals are rare — the closest recent case was Richárd Nagy finishing ninth in 2016, one spot short of the final.
It is not an unrealistic goal for a strong national-level swimmer, but making the Olympic finals is extremely hard for anyone. It means being among the top eight swimmers in the world.
Nathanael Ridosko neared the end of his first lap when he suddenly felt a body touch him at his hips, then his full torso was being swam over. The sudden force ventured under the lane line and made contact with Nathanael Ridosko. It was his father, Daniel Ridosko, getting laps in one lane over.
Nathanael Ridosko kept his freestyle form until he reached the wall to rest. He took off his goggles and looked over at his dad with a smirk. This was nothing new for the Ridoskos — rivalry in the pool had been a lifelong affair.
“He’s got that spark in him,” Daniel Ridosko said. “When he’s after something, very little diverts his focus on it. It’s pretty unique.”
Daniel Ridosko journeyed 6,000 miles from Slovakia to the United States. The lifelong swimmer had no specific plan in mind. He just knew it was time to hang up his competitive goggles.
But swimming is a lifestyle. The pool was his universe. He wanted to stay connected to the environment where he spent the majority of his days. Coaching became his new calling.
He started a family after settling into his new life in the United States. He and his wife, Maryann, have four boys — all of whom swim.
Now, the family identity is synonymous with lap pools. Daniel Ridosko founded Tri-Valley Aquatics in 2008 at LPC, where his sons grew up on pool decks and learned competition, discipline and community.
Third of four children, Nathanael Ridosko carries his dad’s legacy by swimming for Las Positas. He honors the sacrifices his father made after emigrating from Slovakia to build a new life through swimming.
His sights are set on something beyond the Livermore horizon. His gaze fell on Slovakia, where his father’s journey began.
Nathanael Ridosko’s desire to connect with his father transcends the laps he swims or the times he posts. He’s in pursuit of his father’s pride. He’s fueled by the satisfaction a son feels, the confidence he beholds, from his pop’s approval. Nathanael Ridosko’s relationship with his dad isn’t tied to accomplishments. The life lessons passed down through swimming transformed him into a man. The son is shining.
Each dive into a pool affirms his father’s path is worth continuing.
Each lap marks progress toward seeing his family name on the national team.
Each race becomes a step toward continuing the legacy his dad began.
Nathanael Ridosko is pursuing a state championship at the junior college, or JUCO, level. He’s working toward a scholarship to swim at the NCAA level. He is also keeping an eye on international competition back in Slovakia, dreaming of one day representing his father’s motherland in the Summer Olympics.
Every race is a stride toward something bigger. Not just personal advancement, but the continuation of a path built from his father’s journey.
“If he started with nothing and got here,” Nathanael Ridosko said, sitting by the LPC pool where he has spent countless days in his life, “Why can’t I go even further?”
DANIEL RIDOSKO, left, has four boys, all of whom followed his path in the pool. Nathanael, the third son, won a conference championship with Las Positas and took home a state championship. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
In March 2026, Nathanael Ridosko got on a flight across the country. He sat for 1,950 miles, buried in his homework. When he powered through that, the competition ahead was all he could think about.
He made the trek to Indianapolis, where he attended championship trials to improve times and qualify for the Slovak national team. He had success, with one new personal best and plans to train there even more over the summer.
Nathanael Ridosko, 6 feet, is best at freestyle. His speed is unmatchable at the JUCO level. His Las Positas season proved to be a cakewalk. He never lost a race in that stroke at any meet, except state. At 100 yards. At 200. At 300. At 500. At the mile.
He competed at LPC in the 2025-26 season, earning high honors at the state level, including third place overall in the 200-yard freestyle. Overall, at state, his lowest finish was 12th — still within the top 15 swimmers in the country.
“He was able to swim some really good swims last summer,” Daniel Ridosko said. “He qualified for the World Cup that he was part of, and he got on the radar of the possibility to make a national team . . . . It’s a lot of hard work and a lot of time and a lot of ups and downs, but he’s still pursuing it.”
Nathanael Ridosko’s story begins in the early 2000s, when his father decided to leave his life in Slovakia during the era of the Soviet Union. Daniel Ridosko claimed it’s an exaggeration, but the locals of his small town referred to him as the “Michael Phelps” of the area. He swam competitively his whole life there, building a reputation of being the best of the best in his country.
He was ready to compete. Not as a swimmer, but as a coach.
“It was fun growing up around athletes and swimmers,” Daniel Ridosko said. “I think it just kind of inspired me to go further with that.”
He met Maryann not long after arriving in the United States. She, too, grew up swimming. Their goals were mutual, and soon they were married. Their first child came in 2001, Samuel. Two years later, Ryan joined the crew. In 2005, Nathanael made his debut, and in 2007, the Ridoskos’ fourth and final child, Kyle, was born.
Daniel Ridosko and his wife both coached. But eventually their hankering to expand on their experience led them to start their own program. Daniel Ridosko had a vision to carry out.
“Sometimes things don’t work out as you think it should,” Daniel Ridosko said. “It kind of inspired me to get my own way of doing things.”
The program prepares swimmers of all ages for competition and offers conditioning practices. Tri-Valley Aquatics hosts meets, time trials and summer teams. TVA is affiliated with USA Swimming, the governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. This affiliation allows TVA athletes to compete in officially sanctioned meets.
Daniel Ridosko still roams the edges of the pool at Las Positas. His kids grew up at the peak of Campus Hill Drive behind the gymnasium. The place where it all connected.
All four boys went on to swim. Samuel, 24, eventually gave up competing for a camera, chasing his passion for film and media. Ryan, 22, currently swims for Colorado State University, where he places in the top 10 at his meets in the individual medley and freestyle races. The youngest, Kyle, swims locally at Granada High School, where he is preparing himself for the college-level pace.
“Did I know if we’re gonna raise a bunch of athletes? No,” Daniel Ridosko said. “I don’t think any of us thought that we’d be raising athletes, but more so active, healthy young children. They were much more competitive against each other when they were younger. They’re still competitive, but each of them has slightly different interests and a different way of thinking about things.”
Nathanael Ridosko, the third of the four children, could be the best of them all.
“I wasn’t always the fastest swimmer growing up,” Nathanael Ridosko said. “It’s knowing your end goal and being consistent, always showing up, always putting in the work even when you’re not swimming fast . . . . It’s your whole life and being consistent with your goals and your lifestyle.”
However, his aspirations are far beyond the collegiate horizons. For the last few years, Nathanael Ridosko has spent time at meets across the country, aiming to improve his personal bests. His motivation is something deeper than being a possible Olympian.
It’s to finish what his father started.
NATHAN RIDOSKO, right, has hopes to make the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles. He wants to represent Slovakia, the home nation of his father, Daniel, left. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/ The Express)
Internationally, Nathanael Ridosko has already met Slovakia’s B-team qualifying standard, which places him in the national program and provides opportunities to compete at lower-level international meets.
His ultimate objective is to earn A-team status, the top tier of the Slovak national team, in which swimmers are selected for major international competitions such as the World Championships and Summer Olympics. To reach that level, Nathanael Ridosko plans to matriculate through sectional, national and summer championship meets. This summer, he will travel to Slovakia to compete with his father’s hometown club.
Nathanael Ridosko hopes to transfer to a four-year university where he can continue developing toward the Los Angeles Games. He sees making it to SoFi Stadium — home of the NFL’s Rams, where the Olympic swim competition will be held — as a long shot. But not out of the realm of possibility.
“I got the opportunity to go to Olympic Trials in 2024,” Nathanael Ridosko said. “Seeing the swimmers there made me realize they weren’t much different from me. I used to think they were superhuman. But being there showed me I can do this too.”
His progress is driven by a personal desire to continue the national-team path his father once pursued in Slovakia. The life Daniel Ridosko could create for himself after moving overseas was once uncertain. Now, he is inspired by the way his sons have taken that piece of him. Taken aback by Nathanael’s flourishing journey. Proud of what he and his family became.
All those lessons, 20-plus years on the Las Positas pool deck and thousands of laps swam, were for something bigger than the accolades. Nathanael Ridosko does it because the person who gave him life didn’t quite finish his.
“I think about how much my dad sacrificed to get me where I am because of how hard he worked growing up,” Nathanael Ridosko said. “He never felt like he got to swim to the level he wanted to. Swimming for Slovakia is about representing my family, too, and continuing the path he started.”
But who’s the best swimmer in the Ridosko family? Competition is a way of life in their household, a trait passed down from their pops. Part of the blueprint, their DNA, is hating to lose.
The latest king will be crowned this summer. The four brothers and their patriarch will race across Lake Tahoe for bragging rights. This is their Olympic showdown.
“I’ve learned it’s not always about chasing bigger goals,” Nathanael Ridosko said. “But focusing on the small details and staying true to yourself, your passion and where you come from.”
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TOP PHOTO: Daniel Ridosko, left, migrated to America from Slovakia and brought his swim culture with him. He started a swim club, Tri-Valley Acquatics, at Las Positas and now his son, Nathanael, right, is a star of the program and Las Positas College. (Photo by Ian Kapsalis/The Express)
Annie Moore is the Sports Editor of The Express. Follow her on X @SanJosAnnie.
