Expertise from around the world is arriving for the new jobs in Boden, but people are also contributing to a growing community and association life in their spare time. William Roberson is not only a metallurgist at Stegra — he is also the swimmer who resumed training after moving here in January. By March, he was already set to compete for Boden at the Swedish National Championships.
– The best way to make new friends is to find people who share the same interests as you, says William Roberson with a broad smile.
For the second time in his life, swimming has led him into new social circles — through a sport and an element he feels comfortable in and clearly has a talent for.
– My family lived in Scotland for a few years, and when we moved back to the U.S. when I was 16, my mom thought I should start swimming to make some new friends,” he says, noting that the trick still works today.
Diving into Local Life
William arrived in Boden in January this year after spending several years working at major steel plants in the United States. As a metallurgist, he was drawn by the opportunity to help build Stegra’s green steel plant in Boden, as well as by the sense of security and the more stable political climate in Sweden.
But outside of work, he quickly wanted something more to do. He had stopped swimming several years ago, but he had stayed in touch with a Swedish training and competition friend from his university days in the U.S.
– He lives in Stockholm, and we realized that if we wanted to compete together again, I would need to qualify for a bigger competition.
New Training Partners
So he got back into swimming – at first on his own during the public exercise sessions at Nordpoolen. But his pace was a little too fast for casual lap swimming. When the local swim club arrived for practice, he noticed they had reserved lanes and asked if he could train with them.
Suddenly, he had training partners – most of them half his age and half his size – but with the same burning passion for swimming.
The swim club quickly realized that this was no ordinary hobby swimmer from America.
– I competed at the national level and had the privilege of racing at Olympic Trials, says William, though he quickly and humbly adds that he is nowhere near that level now after several years away from the sport.
National Championships next
But it seems the skills are still there. William started training in Boden in February. Just a month and a half later, he competed with the Boden swimmers at the Öjeby Games. His 50-meter freestyle time was 22.94 seconds. In June, he will stand on the starting blocks at the Swedish National Championships representing Boden’s swim club, where he will once again compete against his old training and racing friend.
– Right now, I train every day, and since Nordpoolen is closed, we temporarily travel to Älvsbyn for swimming practice. But for me, the gym is just as important.
He explains that he brings a lot of technical swimming knowledge that he can share with the younger swimmers in Boden, while they in turn provide him with a sense of community and opportunities to practice both swimming and Swedish.
– We’re very happy to have a swimmer at William’s level join the club! It’s something that can inspire our younger swimmers and attract more people to discover swimming as a sport. We certainly hope William will continue swimming with us in the future. Right now, we’re also putting extra effort into finding more coaches who can help develop our activities. That’s also an important prerequisite for the club to grow and welcome more swimmers, regardless of level, says the board of Boden Swim Club.
A beautiful and safe city
During his first few months in Boden, William has not had much time for anything other than training and work, but he looks forward to exploring more of the area.
– Boden is the first city I’ve been in that is this beautiful. And it feels so safe compared to places like Memphis. So far, I really enjoy living in Boden, and I’m aiming to stay, at least two years, maybe four, or even longer.
He is happy to have found a larger apartment of his own that he will soon move into, and he would love to buy a house once things like his personal identity number and BankID are sorted out — a process he feels is taking frustratingly long.
Otherwise, he has nothing but good things to say about his new local life.
William has bought a car and is also looking forward to trying mountain biking and exploring more of Boden.
But first: the Swedish Championships.
A warm welcome and good luck from all of us in Boden!
TEXT: ANNA BERGSTRÖM
