Indiana’s swimming and diving team, in a way, has become self-sustaining.
Few programs, if any, in the country have a track record in the pool and on the diving board that stands up to IU’s. It becomes most noticeable in Summer Olympic years, as the Hoosiers churn out Olympians every four years. They have another large contingent competing in the Paris Games in late July and early August.
IU’s rich history serves as motivation for current and future athletes. Photos of past Olympians adorn the walls of IU’s swimming and diving facilities. So when current Hoosiers and recruits walk through, they see photos of champions like Mark Spitz and Lesley Bush. They want their chance to make history like those who came before them, and they want to keep Indiana’s Olympic flame lit.
“We have a saying that came up on the diving side, of ‘Feeding the flame.’ Andrew (Capobianco) created it about four or five years ago, and the team has taken that mantra on — swimming and diving — to feed the flame,” IU and United States Olympic diving head coach Drew Johansen said. “The kids consider themselves the kindling of that flame, the wood that’s burning the flame. And their effort every day keeps that flame burning.”
14 current or former IU swimming and diving athletes are set to compete in the upcoming Paris Olympics, along with two incoming transfers. When three athletes from other IU programs and three coaches, the contingent of 20 current Hoosiers ties the second-largest group of Olympians in IU history.
The opening ceremony takes place Friday, July 26 at 1:30 p.m. on NBC.
In total, IU athletes will represent a school-record nine countries in Paris. Nine swimming and diving athletes are competing for the U.S.
They all have different stories and paths they’ve taken to Paris. There’s medalists and three-time Olympians Lilly King, Blake Pieroni, and Jessica Parratto, looking to make their mark on the big stage one more time — King has said this will be her final games. There’s two-time Olympians, like Capobianco (U.S.), Tomer Frankel (Israel), and Kotryna Teterevkova (Lithuania), seeking another shot at glory. And first-time Olympians aiming to make history, like Carson Tyler, who became the first American since 2000 to qualify for the Olympics in both 10-meter and 3-meter diving.
They all tie back to Bloomington. They’ve trained around each other, motivated each other, and cheered each other on.
“It’s just something that builds upon itself,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “And they’re really all together, like everybody’s super excited and supportive between the two sports and the genders.”
Looze served as an assistant for Team U.S.A. in the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Games, but is now the head coach for Lithuania for the Paris Games. But he’s helped all of IU’s swimmers get to where they are, even though they may compete against his Lithuanian athletes in Paris.
Indiana’s Olympic history is a useful recruiting tool for Looze. Wielded properly, the history is one of the biggest reasons why the swimming and diving program has churned out Olympians so consistently. It helps convince top athletes to join the Hoosiers, and once those athletes reach the Olympics, they become veteran leaders and mentors for younger Hoosiers.
“I remember sitting down with Ray during the recruiting process and him kind of looking at me and being like, ‘Look, there’s no guarantees in the sport, but in 2024, I will do everything I can to try to put you on that team.’ And to me, that was something that I really liked to hear and obviously it’s been my goal, basically my whole career, was to make the team,” swimmer Josh Matheny said. “So to hear that from Ray was one thing. And then when you show up, you have names like Cody (Miller) and Lilly and Blake who really do set the tone on what it means to be elite, day in and day out.”
The Hoosiers won the Big Ten swimming and diving championships for both the men’s and women’s teams in 2024, the second time they’ve won both titles in the same year. Only one other Big Ten program has accomplished that feat.
IU swimmers and divers won a combined 12 medals in Tokyo. They’ll look to keep that success rolling in Paris, and they’re hoping to bring home gold for the first time since the 2016 Rio Games.
Indiana swimmers and divers competing in the Paris Olympics:
- Andrew Capobianco, 3m diving, U.S.
- Mariah Denigan, 10k open water swimming, U.S.
- Marwan Elkamash, 1,500m freestyle, Egypt
- Tomer Frankel, 100m freestyle, 100m butterfly, 4x100m freestyle relay, 4x200m freestyle, relay Israel
- Ching Hwee Gan, 800m free, 1500m freestyle, 4x100m medley relay, Singapore
- Lilly King, 100m breast, 200m breaststroke, U.S.
- Rafael Miroslaw, 200m freestyle, Germany
- Jessica Parratto, synchronized 10m diving, U.S.
- Anna Peplowski, 4x200m freestyle relay, U.S.
- Blake Pieroni, 4x200m freestyle relay, U.S.
- Kotryna Teterevkova, 100m breaststroke, 200m breaststroke, Lithuania
- Carson Tyler, 3m diving, 10m diving, U.S.
- Kai van Westering, 100m backstroke, 200m backstroke, 4x100m medley relay, Netherlands
- Matt King (incoming transfer), 4x100m freestyle relay, U.S.
- Zalàn Sárkany (incoming transfer), 800m freestyle, 1500m freestyle, Hungary
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
- Find us on Facebook: thedailyhoosier
- You can follow us on Twitter: @daily_hoosier
- Seven ways to support completely free IU coverage at no cost to you.
