Koski Including To Household Legacy At UGA

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Ten years in the past, when Matias Koski was one in every of Georgia’s high swimmers and the reigning NCAA champion within the 1,650-yard freestyle, his child brother Tomas used to come back to meets with their dad and mom and run round Gabrielsen Natatorium. Now, Tomas Koski is a junior freestyler with the Bulldogs, a six-time All-American, who can race the 100 all the way in which as much as the mile.

“He’s got the range to do it all,” Georgia males’s swimming and diving head coach Neil Versfeld mentioned after the No. 7-ranked Georgia males’s 183.5-114.5 win over No. 12 Florida State on Saturday.

In Bauerle Pool towards the Seminoles, Koski gained the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:33.66, practically two seconds forward of everybody else. Later, within the 100 free, Koski simply missed out on one other win. In a race that got here right down to the ultimate strokes, Florida State’s Michel Arkhangelskiy touched first in 42.92 and Koski was a fraction of a second behind at 42.95. In the ultimate race of the day, the 400 freestyle relay, Koski swam the second leg in 42.81 to assist the Bulldogs win by greater than two seconds.

“I felt good today; I felt like I was on top of my details,” Koski mentioned of his performances towards FSU. “We just came off a big, monster block of work, and I actually had the flu this week, so coming off of that and dealing with all of that, I feel like I was where I thought I would be today.”

As the Bulldogs head into the meat of their season, Koski has posted Georgia’s quickest occasions within the 200 (1:31.42) and 500 (4:13.85), and he has the second-fastest within the 1,000 (8:56.95, behind teammate Sean Green’s 8:51.56) and third-fastest within the 1,650 (15:09.72).

Former Georgia swimming and diving head coach Jack Bauerle, who coached Matias, mentioned Tomas “was the little kid at the table” throughout Bauerle’s residence go to to recruit Matias. But all these years later, Tomas has established himself as a powerful and versatile swimmer.

“He’s the real deal,” Bauerle mentioned Saturday. “With the men’s team right now, they have the capabilities to be the best team we’ve ever had, and he’s a gigantic part of it.”

Throughout his a long time teaching Georgia’s males’s and girls’s groups, Bauerle at all times cherished the swimmers who reveled in doing their greatest within the relays.

“That has always been a barometer in my career: my kids stand up on relays and swim great. That’s when you know you have a good kid, and (Koski) lets it rip.”

Tomas and Matias aren’t the one Koski brothers to swim at a excessive degree. Middle brother Joonas swam for Georgia Tech from 2016-20, when Versfeld was an assistant coach with the Yellow Jackets.

“There are some similarities between them all, but at the same time, they’re all unique,” Versified mentioned of the three brothers. “One thing about Tomas, having a killer instinct is a big strength of his. He loves to race, and he loves to win.”

Matias was a two-time Olympian for Finland, competing in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. Tomas want to comply with swimsuit by competing for Finland within the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, however that is a methods down the highway. Tomas is already the Finnish report holder within the 100-meter, 200 and 400 freestyle. At the 2024 Atlanta Classic, Koski broke his brother’s nationwide report within the 200.

Koski has achieved so much previously few years regardless of getting a late begin as a critical swimmer. Although he swam competitively when he was younger, Koski, who’s from Alpharetta, Ga., left the game as a teen and targeted on basketball. “For around four years, I didn’t really touch the water at all,” he mentioned.

That lasted via his first few years of highschool, when a critical knee damage compelled him to rethink his path. Rather than undergo surgical procedure, he opted to return to the pool and see what he might do as a swimmer.

“I just figured, Hey, why not give this a shot,” he mentioned.

Despite all that his brothers completed within the pool, Koski mentioned he is by no means felt any strain to reside as much as what they did.

“Once I figured I might have a shot at this, to pursue this collegiately, my brothers being as good as they were gave me a lot of motivation,” Koski mentioned. “And I credit them for that, because I wouldn’t have had the courage to pursue this and work hard every day, but knowing what they did, they gave me that motivation.

“It’s like, that is in my blood. This is my household’s legacy, in order that gave me a whole lot of confidence going into it.”

Being a standout Georgia swimmer is a nice full-circle moment for the kid who grew up around the program.

“I used to be slightly child up there working round within the hallways ready for Matias to swim, watching Matias swim, and now to have the ability to be in his sneakers and proceed what he began right here at Georgia, it is a blessing,” Koski said. “I’m actually blessed to be on this place.”

The Bulldogs return to Bauerle Pool on Jan. 24, when they host No. 10 Tennessee. The event is “Swimapalooza 2,” a fan-oriented meet that can have an environment extra just like the U.S. Olympic Trials and the NCAA Championships, with a Kids’ Zone, a photograph sales space, and far more.

 

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the employees author for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can discover his work at: Frierson Files.