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Junior Pan Pacs medallist Oliver Dawson has handed his verbal commitment to Indiana University as part of the class of 2030. The Canadian breaststroker will arrive in Bloomington from Grande Prairie in Northern Alberta in the fall of 2026.
I’m excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my swimming career and academic studies at Indiana University! I would like to thank my family for their support in making this decision and my dad for being my coach and starting me on my journey. Without his wisdom and guidance, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Thank you to @raylooze and @corychitwood and the rest of the team at IU for giving me this opportunity. Go Hoosiers!!!!⚪️🔴
Dawson broke onto the Canadian national scene this summer, which culminated in him winning bronze in the 100 breaststroke (1:01.27) and silver in the 4×100 medley relay (3:36.13) at the 2024 Junior Pan Pacific Championships, helping Canada earn their highest ever medal total (16) at the championships.
Dawson swims for the Grande Prairie Piranhas, where his father Alex Dawson is the head coach and Director of Swimming. Over the last eight years, the club has grown into a destination for rising Canadian talent; they went from having no Olympic Trials qualifiers in 2016 to one in 2021, then seven in 2024, including Oliver Dawson. Their one qualifier in 2021, Catherine Minic, is a current senior at Indiana.
Best Times (LCM):
- 100 breaststroke: 1:01.27
- 200 breaststroke: 2:12.42
- 200 IM: 2:07.34
Dawson arrived in Toronto for the Canadian Olympic Trials with a long-course meters 200 breaststroke lifetime best of 2:17.13, swum in March 2024. He lowered that mark twice, first swimming a 2:14.20 in prelims to break the Canadian Boys’ 15-17 Age Group Record. Then, in finals, he smashed that record, swimming a 2:12.42, for a 4.71-second drop on the day.
He also dropped in the 100 breaststroke, swimming 1:01.52 in prelims, then a 1:01.47 in finals for a new Alberta Provincial Record for 16-year-old boys, and moving to second in the 15-17 age group rankings behind Gabe Mastromatteo. The two are the only boys to break 1:02 in the 100 breast before their 17th birthday, and Dawson just missed Mastromatteo’s age group record of 1:01.24 with his bronze medal-winning time at Junior Pan Pacs.
Indiana University is well-known for developing breaststrokers, including 2024 U.S. Olympians Lilly King and Josh Matheny. It’s also a strength for them at the NCAA level, with a breaststroke group that like Dawson, shines in the 200. At the 2024 Big Ten Championships, Indiana swept the top four spots with Jassen Yep, Matheny, Toby Barnett, and Maxwell Reich.
Indiana won the 2024 Big Ten Championship and finished fourth a few weeks later at the NCAA Championships.
Dawson joins an Indiana recruiting class that includes #2 Gabriel Mantefeul, #14 Sam Wolf, BOTR Cooper Zakrorchemny, BOTR Brody Engelstad, and Toby Barnett.
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Good pickup for Indiana.Canada,s future in breaststroke.
Seems like class of 2026 is going to have good parity at least among the top 4-5 schools
isn’t luke ellis in 2025 and toby barnett has been in college and sam wolf is #14??