Note: The article has been edited speaking on his experience at Michigan. His updated quote is below.
2026 NCAA ‘A’ finalist in both breaststroke events Luka Mladenovic spoke to his home federation of Austria after competing at the meet. Mladenovic just finished his freshman season at Michigan but has already entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Mladenovic finished 8th in the 50 breast at the 2025 World Championships last summer before arriving in Ann Arbor this past fall. He also was 21st in prelims of the 200 breast.
“I think it’s really cool that things are going so well right now, although I can’t really explain why,” Mladenovic said. “Even before the World Championships in Singapore, I made a big leap in performance, built up muscle, and improved my technique. Since then, it’s been a steady upward trend.”
The freshman had a strong fall, highlighted by a 50.92 100 breast and a 1:51.99 200 breast at the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge in November. Then in February, he swam to Big Ten titles and lifetime bests in both events with a 50.69 100 breast and a 1:49.34 200 breast. He finished his NCAA season at the NCAA Championships, finishing 3rd in the 200 breast with a 1:49.34 and a 5th place finish in the 100 breast with a 50.47 lifetime best.
Despite his best time and two ‘A’ finals, he still expected more. “I actually expected more at the NCAA Championships and I’m not entirely satisfied,” he said. “I can and definitely want to do more; there’s more in me.”
When speaking on what he thinks he can improve on, he said, “I have no problem in the final stretches and meters; I’m getting faster and faster there. I lack speed at the beginning. I’m too timid and therefore too slow. I have to change that. There’s still a lot to improve before the European Championships—at the start, in the first half of the race, and at the turn. I can still get a lot more out of it.”
Mladenovic told SwimSwam, “I’ve made the decision to continue my collegiate career elsewhere in order to find a training environment where, as a breaststroke swimmer, I can consistently be challenged alongside others in my event. That said, my freshman year at Michigan has been a truly positive and meaningful experience. I’m very grateful to the coaches and my teammates for their support, the lessons I’ve learned, and all the experiences I’ve had the chance to be part of. I sincerely appreciate my time here and will carry it with me moving forward.”
Indiana if he is serious.
So he definitely didn’t think that would get out of Austria
It seems everyone is highlighting his comments about the food, and not the rest of his statement. Certain athletes succeed in training only when in a racing environment; while of course, loyalty to a school is extremely important, understanding the value of training partners and elite competition is basic. I think its to early to say he’s immature: the willingness to leave a big-fish-in-a-small-pond environment and go somewhere where he may not be the fastest breaststroker shows maturity and desire to improve.
burgers, pizza, and other fast food – it is a typical cafeteria menu. all student athletes go through.
former ncaa student-athletes that went through same daily routine like you Luka: vendt, dolan, vanderkaay, hansen, ervin, murphy, piersol, lochte, biondi! + other ncaa all stars/ legends & MULTIPLE olympic champs made it from dorms and cafeterias to the olympic podiums.
p.s. apologies to all in advance for short brainstorming and not going deeper down the list.
His mindset seems quite mercenary but so are the schools recruiting a 21-year-old European freshman in order to win titles.
Fair play to him for acknowledging the priority is to improve his swimming and that the breaststroke group at Texas will help set him up for that
My dude, your diet is largely controlled by you. Especially when you have an athlete dining hall for ATHLETES only. I seriously doubt they had burgers, fries, and pizza only.
If you are somehow gaining weight from too much junk food while training with a DI program, you might want to take a look in the mirror.
I went to a mid-major D1 program and would have loved to have the resources that Michigan has.
Bella sims spread her negativity on to him, sad. They had a great year :/
If he truly wants to improve his breaststroke, he should be going to Indiana! Sounds to me like he just wants to hop on the NC train with Texas! Cool, just stop with the BS.