After Stellar NCAA Career, Louisville Swimming Star Nick Albiero Leaves Behind Team USA to Join Brazil for Paris Olympics

A former swimming pro from Louisville recently announced a major change ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Nick Albiero is a two-time Male Swimmer of the Year in high school and the US World Junior champion, winning the State Championship six times overall. His resume just grew impressive from there on with more medals and achievements added throughout his five-year collegiate career.

Albiero broke numerous records adding his name to the NCAA history book of records. As an American, he achieved many milestones in the nationals before deciding to move back to his native country to compete in the Games. Before the transition, Albiero shared his thoughts on the decision in a recent press release.

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The 24-year-old swimmer was born in Louisville with a US-Brazilian heritage since his father is Brazilian. It took him more than sixteen months to finally make the hard choice to leave the US team. He told Swimming World, ?Joining the Brazilian Swimming Federation allows me to embrace my family heritage and pay tribute to my dad?s roots.? He also expressed gratitude for being able to represent the University of Louisville and Team USA.

Albiero’s father Arthur is the men’s swimming team’s head coach in Louisville. He has been designated for a long-time and often enjoys visiting Brazil along with his kids. The experiences allowed Albiero to feel at home during his trips back to Brazil. In the press conference, he also mentioned, “this decision feels like a part of who I am in my core. I am incredibly grateful for the support of my family and the opportunity to compete under the Brazilian flag.”

Nick’s year has been pretty exciting as he competed in the Brazilian competition?this year. World Aquatics stats?show that Albiero competed in five events for the Brazil Trophy 2023. He seemed to have covered all of his bases by swimming in the Men’s 100 and 200m Butterfly, Men’s 100 and 200m Backstroke, and Men’s 200m Freestyle events, earning a silver medal in the 200-meter backstroke competition. Even though this is just the beginning, his performance for the USA Team thus far is nothing short of impressive.

Swimming star’s medal tally as American competitor

Although the history of wins is never ending for the swimmer, some of his career highs were achieved as a University of Louisville freshman. In his debut year as a Cardinals member, he won golds in 200 fly and relay, silver in 100 back, and a bronze in the 100 fly at the ACC Championships. He also won a medal in each of Cards? dual meets events. Later, he was felicitated with SCAA Scholar All-American and All-ACC Academic Team honors for doing well in the pool and in the classroom. He also became the ACC Freshman of the Year.

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Throughout his college years, he steadily added the best sportsman title to his resume. In 2019?20, he broke the records for the 200 and 400 medley relays, 100 back, 100 fly, 200 fly, 200, 400, and 800m free relays. He was given a seat on the USA Swimming National Team as a sophomore after winning gold, silver, and bronze again in the Nations. He became only the fourth swimmer in history to break both the ACC meet and pool records in the same year. Finally, he won the ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award and surpassed himself to become the fifth-fastest swimmer in history.

As the young talent moves on to another team, do you think this is a major loss for the US Team now that you browsed through some of his records tallies?

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