When Felix Jedbratt was a toddler, he by accident fell in a pool. His mom shrieked in panic as she tried to seize him, then her son started to drift.
Looking again, he says it set the stage for the place he’s now.
Jedbratt, a local of Gothenburg, Sweden, just lately capped his collegiate swimming profession at La Salle by qualifying for the NCAA championships in 2025 and 2026. His look final season, wherein he competed within the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly, marked the primary time a La Salle swimmer had superior to nationals since 1992.
This yr, he certified within the 50-yard free, 100-yard fly, and the 200-yard fly. He didn’t medal, however he completed with a private better of 1 minute, 41.26 seconds within the 200-yard fly.
“Last year was sort of my breakout year, where I really nailed everything and I managed to qualify for the NCAA [championships], which was a huge achievement for the school and personally for me,” Jedbratt mentioned. “I’ve been looking up to these guys that are swimming there for like so long. Finally being able to go and see how they race in real life and see, because it’s arguably the most competitive competition in the world, when you look at swimming, seeing all those guys was amazing.”
Jedbratt plans to stay near the water. He’s touring again to Sweden, the place he’ll practice with the Swedish nationwide staff for the subsequent two years, as he appears to compete for a spot on the 2028 Olympic staff.
“I’ve learned invaluable stuff here, about life, about how I am as a person,” he mentioned. “This place will always have such a big place in my heart.”
Building block
Jedbratt grew up working towards swimming together with his father, JJ, who performed water polo.
JJ would race Felix as he received older, and if he may beat his father, JJ promised to purchase his son a LEGO set, in response to Jedbratt.
He ultimately received. The prize? A Star Wars Death Star LEGO set.
“He would be like, ‘If you beat me in a 50-yard freestyle I will give you the Death Star LEGO Star Wars. I was like, ‘Bet let me lock in.’ And then I did it,” Jedbratt mentioned. “In the first place, [swimming] was a playful thing that I started doing and I tried to combine it with soccer.
“It got to a point where my soccer coaches, when I came to soccer practice, they would just be like, ‘How’s swimming going?’ That’s when I was like, I should probably pick swimming. There’s a lot of potential here. So I stuck with swimming.”
While swimming in Sweden, Jedbratt aspired to swim competitively within the United States. Despite plenty of school coaches reaching out to him, he solely spoke to a handful.
Then he met Kerry Smith, La Salle’s coach.
Smith has helped construct Jedbratt’s confidence over the previous 4 years. She’s labored with him to develop his endurance and push him past his limits.
“This summer, we had kids that were struggling with different things, and he would take time and Zoom with them and talk to them and help mentor,” Smith mentioned. “I’m really going to miss him next year, not just because of the pool aspect, but his leadership.”
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When Jedbratt certified for the NCAA championships final yr, Smith got here with him. Their relationship has grown as Jedbratt was Smith’s first swimmer to qualify for the NCAA championships in her 5 seasons on the helm.
“Bigger schools you have previous seniors, previous juniors, that would show you the way to navigate. Like, ‘OK, it’s a lot of nerves. This is usually how it goes. People swim really fast in the finals,’” Jedbratt mentioned. “They manage your stress in a way that is comfortable while with Coach Kerry and me, we didn’t know what to expect, so we sort of had to figure it out on our own. It made us much closer.”
‘Tremendous growth’
Competing within the NCAA championships was all the time Jedbratt’s aim. As a freshman, he idolized Florida swimmer and 2024 Olympic silver medalist Josh Liendo.
Jedbratt started mimicking Liendo’s model with hopes of qualifying for the NCAA championships. He ultimately did final season. While on the championships, the 2 competed towards one other within the 100-yard free and 100-yard fly.
“It was like seeing an idol,” Jedbratt mentioned. “He’s the NCAA champion from the past four years. So it was really cool to see him. … when I did the 100-yard fly. The first one you take it out pretty easy. Just because it sort of comes to you like you’re not tired yet, you’re just going off of adrenaline. I had too much adrenaline, so I was just rushing through it a little. Then I was like, ‘OK, calm down,’ I had three more legs. When I hit the wall, I was like, ‘Wow, that’s crazy.’”
He positioned 18th within the 100-yard fly and was pleased with his time (45.02).
Jedbratt broke 5 program information on the Atlantic 10 championships final season and set convention championship information within the 50-yard free and 100-yard fly. He additionally medaled in 4 different races.
That success carried into this season.
The senior picked up 16 first- place finishes and cruised to the NCAA championships, however this time he wasn’t alone. Carter Perkins, a junior on the staff, additionally certified within the 100-yard free.
Jedbratt struggled within the 50-yard and 100-yard free. During his last race as an Explorer, the 200-yard fly, Jedbratt felt decided to go away on a excessive word, which is precisely what he did.
“I really wanted to hit my milestone times and not being able to do that in those first two days, I was getting kind of sad and then I was like, ‘OK I have to make it up on this one. I have to go crazy on this one,’” Jedbratt mentioned. “…. I did and it pushed me to to a really good time, even though I opened extremely fast. But that’s part of who I am and what made the race so fun.”
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Jedbratt plans to maintain tabs on the Explorers and return as a spectator sooner or later. While he left his mark on this system, La Salle has helped Jedbratt flourish as a swimmer.
“It’s been such a crazy ride,” he mentioned. “If I’m looking back at who I was as a person when I came here my freshman year to the person I would come here now, it’s such tremendous growth.”