Junior Jakub Maly fell right in line after moving from Austria to compete for the Gophers and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2014.

 

The following year, he set the school records in both the 400 individual medley and the 200 breast stroke. He’s already a member of the Austrian national team and also owns more than 200 rubber ducks.

 

Maly was born and raised in Prague, Czech Republic, moved to Austria at age 15 to further develop his swimming talents and moved again for college.

 

“It’s been different. I was used to a bunch of different training styles back home in Europe,” Maly said. “College [swimming] is quite different; it’s been a transition from an individual to a team sport, but [that] was something I knew I would enjoy.”

 

During his freshman year, Maly was already knocking on the door of the school record in the 200 individual medley and was an honorable mention All-American.

 

After breaking two school records last year, Maly said this season he will be putting a big emphasis on staying at the top of his game all season long.

 

“I consider myself a big meet swimmer, but I get really beat up during the season and have a hard time competing during the year,” Maly said.

 

Maly said this year he also wants to focus on scoring as many points for his team as he can and continue to improve in dual-meets during the season.

 

“I think I contribute quite a bit in the big meets and the championship season, and I set pretty high goals for myself,” Maly said.

 

He said he knows he has a big responsibility to be a large part of the team’s success and set an example that the younger swimmers can learn from.

 

Getting the younger swimmers help will be important this year, with 10 freshmen on the roster.

 

“Outside the pool he’s a true leader for us,” head coach Kelly Kremer said. “He leads by example; he does the things we need and want him to do to help our program go in the right direction. I know the younger guys look up to him.”

 

Kremer also said it’s been nice to see that Maly has fit in so well with the team.

 

“I think Jakub offers a unique combination of humor but [is] serious when it counts,” sophomore Conner McHugh said. “He tells the team things that obviously help him and have helped him in the past. At the same time, he says it how it is. He’s not afraid to speak his mind for the betterment of the team.”

 

Aside from his work at the University of Minnesota, Maly spent his last summer training with the Austrian national team and hopes to be on the team for the 2016 Olympics in

Brazil.

 

Kremer said the fact that Maly is an international student makes him unique because he has a different perspective, and he is so well traveled because of his experiences

abroad.

 

“I have enjoyed swimming much more since I got here. I was beaten up swimming back home,” Maly said. “It’s so much more fun coming to practice every day, coming excited to every practice and getting to race these guys.”