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The Virginia Cavaliers’ recruiting blitz continued this week with a pickup of Polish freestyler and backstroker Jan Karolczak. Karolczak, who turns 19 in January, will arrive in the fall of 2020.
Karolczak finished 8th at the 2019 European Junior Swimming Championships in the 200 free last summer. He was even faster at the World Junior Championships in 1:49.60, where he placed 11th overall. He also raced the 100 free at World Juniors, where he finished 10th in 50.03, and swam as part of Poland’s mixed 400 free relay.
He just-missed a relay medal at the European Junior Championships when he led off Poland’s men’s 400 free relay that finished 4th.
While that 100 and 200 free have been Karolczak’s bread-and-butter internationally for Poland, he has the range to go down to the 50 or up to the 500.
Among Polish swimmers of all ages, he ranked 12th nationally in the 100 free, 6th nationally in the 200 free, 11th nationally in the 100 back, and 5th nationally in the 200 back. In the 200 free, he’s within reach of a spot on the Olympic team, with Poland having earned their right to race the men’s 800 free relay in Tokyo via an 8th-place finish at the World Championships (without Karolczak).
Polish Rankings, 2019, Men’s 200 LCM Freestyle:
- Kacper Majchrzak – 1:47.32
- Jan Switkowski – 1:48.20
- Kacper Stokowski – 1:48.90
- Jan Holub – 1:49.07
- Jakub Hraska – 1:49.23
- Jan Karolczak – 1:49.50
- Filip Zaborowski – 1:49.65
Among the swimmers listed above, Karolczak is the youngest.
Karolczak’s Lifetime Bests (and conversions):
| LCM | SCM | SCY (Converted) | |
| 50 free | 23.29 | 22.81 | 20.26 |
| 100 free | 50.03 | 50.41 | 43.63 |
| 200 free | 1:49.60 | 1:47.68 | 1:35.85 |
| 400 free | 3:57.17 | 3:54.30 | 4:25.73 (500y) |
| 800 free | 8:18.34 | 8:07.83 | 9:18.36 (1000y) |
| 1500 free | 15:54.91 | 15:43.27 | 15:36.18 (1650y) |
| 100 back | 56.69 | 53.42 | 48.12 |
| 200 back | 2:01.84 | 1:57.16 | 1:45.54 |
Karolczak joins a big recruiting class due for arrival in the fall of 2020 for the Virginia men that includes Jack Moore, 6th-ranked recruit Matt Brownstead, honorable mention top recruit Will Cole, along with Noah Nichols, Brian Brennan, and Cal recommit Addie Laurencelle.
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Bardzo Dobrze!
Do they serve Keilbasa in the cafeteria?
Tak, tak!
Did he photoshop the UVA logo onto his white polo?
Heh. I think that’s the backing of the embroidery. The shirt is fresh out of the package, obviously. The UVA pool is in the background, so I assume he could purchase a shirt there too.
It’s what we used to call an official visit back in the day.
Congrats to Jan, a great academic school and a great program.
Congratulations. You have a welcoming family here ‘
WELCOME TO THE PARTY JAN! HERE COME THE HOOS! VIRGINIA VS. ALL!