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Australian age record holder Olympia Pope has committed to swim at the University of North Carolina beginning spring 2026*. Pope, who turns 17 in May, will be one of the younger members of her class.
Pope has represented Australia internationally at a few minor and junior meets. She is a four-time Oceania Swimming Championships gold medalist, and at the 2024 Junior Pan Pac Championships she finished 9th in the 100 breaststroke and 10th in the 200 breaststroke
At April’s Australian Age & Multi-Class Championships, she won the 15-year-olds age division in the 200 breaststroke in 2:29.12 ahead of another young Australian breaststroke star Sienna Toohey (2:29.52). The two are both front-runners to take the torch for a struggling Australian breaststroking group ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Lifetime Bests in LCM (SCY Conversions)
- 100 breaststroke – 1:09.07 (1:00.42)
- 200 breaststroke – 2:29.12 (2:10.73)
While Australians have not historically had as big of an impact as other countries on the NCAA, the door is open for more to come with the new policy of having international selection meets later in the season and the ability of athletes to collect NIL money and retain eligibility (Pope thanked her sponsor, Arena, in her commitment announcement).
Among the few Australians who have made the trip, notable names include Arizona and Arizona State swimmer David Schlicht, who was the NCAA runner-up in the 400 IM last year before finishing 5th at Short Course Worlds in the 200 IM; and several like Mel Schlanger, Phoebe Hines, and Laticia Transom (a transfer from USC) at the University of Hawaii. Hawaii is where most Australians have wound up, in part because of geography (it’s only a 9.5 hour flight from Sydney) and in part because of the presence of Australian coaches like Chris Mooney, who used to coach at the Miami Swimming Club in Queensland where Pope trains.
UNC is coached by Mark Gangloff, who is himself a breaststroker like Pope and won two Olympic gold medals swimming the breaststroke leg of American relays. Pope is currently the fastest Australian 13-year-old ever in the 200 meter breaststroke, having swum 2:31.71 in 2022.
UNC has one other Australian on its roster: freshman diver Sofia Knight from Sydney.
Others in a strong UNC class of 2025 include Marija Romanovskij from Lithuania, Adeline Cloutier from Florida, Chloe Stinson from California, Lexie Ward from Carmel Swim Club in Indiana, Kamryn Meskill from Washington state, and a local swimmer Samantha Armand from Cary, North Carolina.
Leaning into Gangloff’s strengths, Armand (1:00.52/2:10.85) is also a breaststroker, though it is overall a versatile class.
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Laticia Transom is a Kiwi.