Olympians Bring Paris Experience to NCAA

Freshman Focus (Part Four): International Olympians Bring Paris Experience to NCAA

Elite college swimming always includes swimmers with Olympic experience, and this year’s class includes a pair of swimmers who won individual gold medals in Paris, Hubert Kos and Torri Huske, along with 13 others who captured at least one medal last year. Meanwhile, a lesser-known group of swimmers got valuable racing practice on the sport’s grandest stage before kicking off their respective college careers.

Rebecca Diaconescu raced in an Olympic semifinal in Paris, sneaking into the second round of the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 1:59.29 in prelims. She was unable to move up in the standings that evening, but Diaconescu has done well since arriving at the University of Michigan. Diaconescu was born in Las Vegas but represents Romania internationally, just like her mother, Ioana Diaconescu, did at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

The younger Diaconescu entered college having previously won medal at the World Junior Championships and European Junior Championships, including a 200 free silver last year. In college, she has been most successful in the 500 free so far, having clocked a time of 4:35.03 at the Georgia Tech Invitational for the No. 6 spot in the national rankings. The time would have placed Diaconescu fifth at last year’s NCAA Championships.

Ella Jansen actually raced for a spot on the Olympic podium in Paris, helping Canada to a fourth-place finish in the 800 free relay with her 1:57.50 split. She also took 11th in the 400 IM, finishing less than two seconds away from a spot in the final. Now, Jansen will take on a do-everything role for the Tennessee Lady Volunteers, a group coming off an impressive fourth-place finish at last year’s national meet.

Currently, Jansen sits eighth in the country in both the 500 free (4:35.85) and 400 IM (4:06.06), and she owns a 200 butterfly mark (1:54.86) that is hundredths behind what it took to place top-16 at the 2024 NCAAs. She will undoubtedly step into a relay role as well, having frequently raced both the 100 and 200-meter events internationally. In her career, Jansen has won a pair of Commonwealth Games medals plus five World Junior Championships honors and a relay bronze for a prelims swim at last February’s World Championships.

Kaii Winkler aimed to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, reaching the Olympic Trials final of the 100-meter fly and placing eighth, but after that meet, he immediately pivoted and chose to represent Germany at the Games instead, with family connections to the country making him eligible to pursue that option. Winkler had never represented the U.S. internationally, with a broken arm in 2023 costing him likely qualification for the World Junior Championships, so he did not have to sit out international competition before starting with his new country.

The Paris experience was not perfect, with Winkler falling short of his best time in a 28th-place finish, but now he turns his attention to a big future at NC State University. Winkler is currently ranked 17th nationally in the 100 free, just off his lifetime best of 41.96, so he will have a real chance to score individual points at the NCAA Championships while immediately contributing to the Wolfpack’s relays. Winkler has a 100-yard fly best time of 45.98, but his long course time of 51.51 from Olympic Trials suggests much more in the tank.

Read more on this year’s top freshmen:

Here are two others who have started strong this season with a real chance of making a national impact:

Marie Landreneau, Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs could have a difference-making 200 freestyler and capable relay swimmer in Landreneau, who is ranked 10th in the country in her main event with a time of 1:43.32, quicker than what it took to reach the B-final at last year’s national meet. Landreneau has also clocked 48.77 in the 100 free and 4:46.40 over 500 yards. The 800 free relay is typically Georgia’s best relay, with a sixth-place finish nationally last year, and Landreneau could take the position of the graduated Zoie Hartman in the lineup alongside veterans Shea Furse, Dune Coetzee and Sloane Reinstein.

Cooper Lucas, Texas

He won’t get a ton of attention on a Texas team loaded with stars, but Cooper Lucas has been impressive in his debut season, highlighted by the eighth-best time in the country in the 400 IM at 3:40.75. That time would have placed Lucas in the middle of the pack in the consolation final at last year’s NCAA Championships. Previously a teammate of Thomas Heilman at Lakeside Aquatic Club and Keller High School, Lucas has strong lifetime bests across the mid-distance events, including the 200 fly (1:42.72), 200 IM (1:43.88) and 500 free (4:14.53).