World Junior Backstroke Champion Miroslav Knedla Signs With Indiana

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World Junior Champion and Czech National Record holder Miroslav Knedla has signed a National Letter of Intent to swim for Indiana University beginning fall 2024.

Knedla is a regular international competitor for his native Czech Republic. He won gold in the 50 meter backstroke and silver in the 100 meter backstroke at the 2023 World Junior Swimming Championships.

Race Video – 50 back gold at the World Junior Championships

100 back at the World Junior Championships

Most recently, he swam at the European Short Course Swimming Championships, where he finished 6th in the 50 back (23.21), 8th in the 100 back (50.57), and 7th in the 100 IM (52.49).

Best Times in LCM/SCM/SCY (Converted)

That time in the 100 back from the World Junior Championships qualifies him for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Knedla’s addition is another major international coup for the Hoosiers, and he resembles the kind of “versatile speed” swimmer that Indiana rode to a 4th-place finish at last year’s NCAA Championship meet.

The Czech 18-year-old will join a training group where the program has had a lot of recent NCAA success. Current 5th-year senior Brendan Burns is the defending collegiate champion in the 100 yard backstroke. He also won gold medals in the 50 back and 200 IM at the 2023 European Junior Swimming Championships.

While the backstroke group is currently a strength for the Hoosiers, with Burns graduating this year, and most of the rest of their backstrokers as juniors (with no 5th years available) or seniors, the team is badly in need of reloading in the class of 2024 – and Knedla’s addition addresses that need.

Others in the class include Alexei Avakov from New Hampshire (53.4/1:59.2 breaststrokes), Wilson Tuttle from North Carolina (4:28/15:31 freestyler + 3:53 400 IM), Raekwon Noel from Guyana via New Jersey (1:48 200 butterflier+ 4:30 in the 500 free), Saadeddin Saadeddin from New York (4:24/15:18 freestyler), Cooper McDonald from Georgia (1:35/4:17 freestyler), and Ian Everett from Kansas City (20.3/44.7 sprint freestyler). The group as a whole is very distance-heavy.

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