H/T to Eva Whitehead for catching the connection!
Former high school swimmer Nicolas Vansteenberghe is part of the cast on the latest season of the reality dating show Love Island in the U.S., joining a growing history of former swimmers appearing on reality television.
Vansteenberghe grew up swimming in the suburbs of Jacksonville, training with Loggerhead Aquatics and Bartram Trail High School. As a senior, he finished 11th in the 100 back and 13th in the 200 IM at the Florida High School 3A State Championship meet. He also swam the leadoff leg of the 7th-place 200 medley relay and the third leg of the 5th-place 400 free relay.
His team finished as the state runners-up that year. Several of his teammates went on to swim in college, including notably Jack VanDeusen at the University of Florida.
Vansteenberghe’s Best Times in Yards:
- 50 free – 21.94
- 100 back – 52.77
- 200 back – 2:02.18
- 200 IM – 1:58.56
Since high school, Vansteenberghe graduated from Florida Atlantic with a degree in nursing and has worked as a model and caterer.
Vansteenberghe is one of 12 remaining contestants on the show of the 18 original players on Season 7 of the U.S. edition of the global franchise. The premise of the show is that players live on an island in Fiji, isolated from the outside world, and are coupled up. The goal of the show is to remain paired, and players can be eliminated from the show if they are not.
During the final week of the show, the public votes on their favorite couple of remaining pairs, and that couple receives $100,000 (which, in theory, could be stolen by just one member of the couple, though that hasn’t happened yet in the show’s history).
Past swimmers who have competed on reality dating shows include Brian Batesy, who was on a season of Love Allways; Thomas Nguyen, who was on The Bachelorette; and Robby Hayes, who was on a season of The Bachelorette in 2016 before carving out a minor celebrity career with appearances on Bachelor in Paradise, Siesta Key, and as the possible real-life love interest of Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Shay.
Love Island airs nightly on Peacock.
FWIW, he actually swam for and graduated from Bartram Creek High School. Tocoi Creek didn’t even start until the 2021 school year.
Mommy?
Mamacita
Irrelevant
I think you forgot Aaron Clancy from Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise. He swam for UCSD 2015-2016 and I think a junior college before that.
OMG NO WAY I LOVE THAT SHOW
thats a huge red flag
oh please theres plenty of other tuings that make me a res flag
We love a self aware queen
oh please theres plenty of other things that make me a red flag
You can edit your comments, after you post but before you refresh the page
They get a little “edited” tag v
I’ve heard some college programs are actually like love island
Ryan Lochte on CBB and the traitors
Yo, how sick is it that Nicolas Vansteenberghe’s on Love Island?! Dude was killing it at the Florida HS State Champs, and now he’s out here stealing hearts on TV. Those 100 back and relay times? Straight fire! Love seeing swimmers like him pop off outside the pool. Let’s go, man!
Peace
Not sure making a B final at a state swim meet is “killing it”, especially with those times. It’s great that he’s having fun, but let’s be real about his swim times. Those are solid if he was a woman in high school, not a man.
the sarcasm in that post flew right over your head
hahahah 100%. It was one of those days. I’ll take the hit.
dont feel bad. i also missed the sarcasm. lol
Alex Walsh was faster than him by the time she was 14
But was she ever on Love Island?
Advantage: Nicolas
Advantage: Cierra