Maria Paula Heitmann will be an Indiana Hoosier.
The Indiana Hoosiers’ swimming and diving teams came home from Rio with 3 gold medals, 1 silver medals, and 2 bronze medals, and after such mountainous success, they’ve brought a little more Brazilian flavor with them.
Maria Paula Heitmann from Belo Horizonte, Brazil has committed to join the Hoosiers, and will arrive in January of 2017 in time to complete the 2016-2017 season.
Heitmann missed the 2016 Olympic Team but did represent Brazil at the 2015 World Junior Championships where she finished tied for 15th in the 50 free with a 26.10.
Her best times in long course meters (short course yards conversion):
- 50 free – 26.10 (22.79)
- 100 free – 56.33 (49.36)
- 200 free – 1:59.95 (1:45.18)
- 400 free – 4:14.96 (500 free – 4:45.66)
- 100 fly – 1:01.37 (54.02)
“Indiana’s coach Ray Looze was very kind and welcoming and I really felt that IU is the best place for me, where they will help me to improve my swimming and achieve my goals,” Heitmann said of her decision. “I am excited to start this experience in such a great team! Go Hoosiers!!!”
While Indiana had a lot of highlights in 2016, including Lilly King’s breakout freshman year, the sprint freestyles are still a weakness for them (though they return most of a very young group). The team didn’t enter a 200 free relay at NCAAs and finished 24th and out of the points in the 400 free relay. Heitmann will likely have an opportunity to step onto those relays immediately, though the mid-year arrival would add a hurdle to that.
Braden, Maria Paula Heitmann.You wrote a bit about her in the past(when she broke some Brazilian youth records).