University of Georgia Athletics
Koski Showing Off Freestyle Versatiliy
November 06, 2015 | Swimming & Diving
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
Unless you spend time hanging around Gabrielsen Natatorium and the Georgia swimming and diving programs, you probably don't really get just how much time these Bulldogs spend in the water. That they haven't developed gills or fins at this point can make you question the whole evolution thing.
They swim eight miles a day, on average, Georgia coach Jack Bauerle said. It's simply a way of life, the work that must be put in if you want to touch the wall first.
And meet days, like Wednesday when the No. 3-ranked Georgia men and No. 3 women both routed Georgia Tech, those include a lot of laps, non-competition laps, as well.
Imagine the Bulldogs football team playing two or three quarters before the opening kickoff, then the game, followed by at least another quarter or two. That's life on the swim team.
Oh, and when the swimmers aren't competing in their events, they're often in the lap pool staying loose and warm.
All of this brings us to Georgia senior Matias Koski, for whom the term "being at home in the water" is a dramatic understatement. The senior from Duluth, Ga., is a freestyle specialist, meaning he competes at a lot of freestyle distances.
"That's not that unusual," Bauerle said.
On Wednesday against the Yellow Jackets, Koski won the 1,000-yard freestyle and, about 20 minutes later, the 50 free. The former was the longest and most grueling event of the day and the latter was the shortest and fastest.
This is the same swimmer that was the SEC champion last season in the 200 free and 1,650 free, as well as the NCAA champion in the 1,650.
"Now that's unusual," Bauerle said.
The 6-foot-5 Koski grew up in the Atlanta area but was born in Finland, and he represented Finland in the 2012 Olympics in London. He showed his freestyle diversity in the Games, competing in the 200-, 400- and 1,500-meter events.
Days like Wednesday, when he swims both a very long and very short race, require two different mindsets, he said. His winning time in the 1,000 was 9:09.59, nearly five seconds ahead of second place, and his time in the 50 was 20.39 seconds, narrowly edging teammate Taylor Dale (20.53).
"With the 50, it's literally just 20 seconds — just get as much power as you can get out of it," he said. "You really don't have to think about it, you just kind of thrash around. In the 1,000, you really have to have a race strategy going in and you have to be very clear in the head and know exactly what you're doing.
"You can't push too early or too late. It's a lot different, kind of like a mind game."
Koski said he knows of some swimmers like him that can do the full range of freestyle events. The longer events were more of his focus early on, but now the middle-distance races make up a lot of his training.
"I don't train for the 50 at all," he said.
Bauerle said all the training and all the different races ultimately work together to help Koski succeed at all the events.
"I think he needs all of it. I think one helps the other. I'm just glad he's on our team," Bauerle said. "I tell you what, that's the most versatile freestyler we've ever had, male or female."
Those are big words when you consider the NCAA champions and Olympians that Bauerle has coached. Of course the 2016 Olympics in Rio are less than a year away.
"I think he's getting more focused, more focused than he was a year ago," Bauerle said. "I think it's two things: it's his senior year and the Olympics are coming up. I tell you what, I love an Olympic year. It takes care of a lot of coaching."
Watching Koski swim the 1,000 during Wednesday's meet, it's easy to wonder what's going through his mind lap after lap. Swimming the short course (with each lap at 25 yards), that's 40 laps for the 1,000. When he competes in the mile, that's 66 laps.
"I usually just, in my head, think about it like it's a race at the end of the season," he said, adding that he'll also think about what senior associate head coach Harvey Humphries has discussed with him before the race. "I make sure I'm always engaged and I don't go numb in the head. It's hard to do sometimes, but that's what I try to do."
How can you not go "numb in the head" halfway through 40 or 66 laps?
"A lot of practice, I guess," he said.
Well, he gets plenty of that.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.