USC’s Louise Hansson’s Overlooked Speed Finally Claims Title (Video)

louise-hansson-
USC's Louise Hansson. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Editorial content for the 2018 NCAA DI Championship coverage is sponsored by TritonWear. Visit TritonWear.com for more information on our sponsor. For full Swimming World coverage, check event coverage page.

By Dan D’Addona.

With all the attention focused on first-place Stanford, Louise Hansson’s performance at the NCAA Division I championships had gone unnoticed.

The USC sophomore from Sweden opened the meet by swimming the leadoff leg of the 800 free relay in 1:42.47.

In the 200 medley relay, Hansson swam a 22.33 butterfly split. She split a 49.24 in the 400 medley relay.

“It has been feeling great all week since we got here,” she said. “I knew I had it in my body going into the meet.”

But after her performance in the 100 fly on Friday, her performance could not go unnoticed any longer.

Hanson raced to the NCAA title in the 100 fly, swimming in 49.80, the second fastest time in history.

“I have been wanting to go under 50 all season and it felt really good to final do it,” Hansson said. “You can’t really affect how others are swimming, so my goal was to break 50. Winning the race is incredible. For the team, it is great to feel that support.”

Only Louisville’s Kelsi Worrell, at 49.43 in 2016, has been faster.

It wasn’t just the win, either. It was a win over a pack of elite swimmers hungry for their first individual title. She finished ahead of Tennessee sophomore Erika Brown (50.34), Stanford senior Janet Hu (50.56), Cal’s Noemie Thomas (50.92) and Ohio State’s Liz Li (50.94).

“Louise’s win tonight was the culmination of a lot of determined hard work this season,” USC coach Dave Salo told USCTrojans.com. “I’m proud of another Trojan individual championship. She is an important leader for the team and she sparked everyone’s strong efforts today.”

Hansson came close to a title as a freshman at USC, taking third, but has grown in her second year of college in the United States. She is a two-time Pac-12 champion.

“It was definitely more comfortable. I knew what to expect from myself,” she said. “My freshman year, I had no idea about times. First time swimming yard and my underwaters were not good. I definitely feel more comfortable now.”

After the butterfly win on Friday, Hansson joined teammates Hannah Weiss, Riley Scott and Marta Ciesla in USC’s first ‘A’ final relay of the meet, finishing seventh in the 4×50 medley relay in 1:36.44.

“I feel like we have had a really good season. Everything has been going well. I haven’t been sick. I had a good taper. It is just fun being here.”

A lot more fun after standing on the top podium for the first time — and it is the kind of fun that Hansson, an underclassman, could get used to.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x