By Charlotte Wells on SwimSwam
Oliver Søgaard-Andersen, who holds the Danish record in the men’s 4×100-meter freestyle relay, is set to join the University of Southern California’s class of 2028 starting this fall.
A native of Copenhagen, Søgaard-Andersen trains with Hovedstadens Svømmeklub (Capital’s Swim Club) in Denmark and represents the Danish Swimming Federation.
Søgaard-Andersen’s record-breaking performance came this past June at the 2024 European Aquatic Championships, when he, alongside teammates Frederik Riedel Lintz, William Textor and Rasmus Nickelsen, set a new Danish record in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay with a time of 3:17.70. Søgaard-Andersen had the fastest split on the relay (48.83), and the squad placed 9th overall, narrowly missing out on the final.
At the same meet, Søgaard-Andersen set a new personal best time in the 200-meter free (1:48.18), placing 13th in the semifinals after going up against international powerhouses like David Popovici and Danas Rapsys.
Søgaard-Andersen primarily specializes in sprint/mid-distance freestyle and butterfly. At the Danish Open back in April, he was the runner-up in the 200-meter free (1:49.76) in addition to placing 4th in the 50-meter free (22.81) and 5th in the 100-meter free (50.11), both personal bests for him.
Best LCM Times (SCY Conversion)
- 50 Free – 22.81 (19.82)
- 100 Free – 49.83 (43.45)
- 200 Free – 1:48.18 (1:34.57)
- 100 Fly – 54.60 (47.92)
USC was formerly a part of the Pac-12 Conference but is moving into the Big-10 Conference, effective beginning the 2024-2025 academic year. Søgaard-Andersen’s converted times would have landed him in the ‘A’ final in the 200 free, the ‘B’ final in the 100 free and the ‘C’ final in the 50 free at the Big-10 Championships, giving him plenty of opportunity to score points for the Trojans.
Other members of USC’s men’s swimming and diving class of 2028 include Sanberk Oktar, Thomas Olsen, Ian Pickles, Cole Ballard, Nathan Wu, Pierce O’Grady, Nasim Elkassem, William Miller, Junhao Chan, Diego Balbi, Diggory Dillingham and Andrew Brown.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Danish National Record Holder Oliver Søgaard-Andersen to Swim for USC Beginning Fall 2024