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Cal has added another major Swedish sprinter to their roster with a verbal commitment from Swedish National Team-er Robin Hanson.
I’m very excited to announce my commitment to swim and study at the University of California, Berkeley! Thank you to everyone who has helped me and believed in me all this time. Go Bears🐻
Hanson joins their class of 2025, while Swedish record-holder Björn Seeliger is currently on the Cal roster as a member of their class of 2024.
TOP TIMES (LCM / SCY conv.)
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50 free – 22.61 / 19.66
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100 free – 49.05 / 42.97
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200 free – 1:46.93 / 1:32.90
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400 free – 3:50.53 / 4:17.27
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50 fly – 24.17 / 21.60
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100 fly – 54.14 / 47.38
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200 IM – 2:04.09 / 1:47.01
The Stockholm-based Hanson is a huge get for Cal, with a very impressive freestyle repertoire and plenty of international success. He is the Swedish junior record-holder in the 100 free and 200 free in both long course and short course meters.
At the 2019 European Junior Championships, Hanson won a trio of individual medals, including a gold in the 200 free (1:46.93). He also collected the 100 free silver and 400 free bronze, a testament to his range from the sprint to endurance events.
Hanson followed up that meet with more hardware at the 2019 World Junior Championships, collecting the 200 free silver (just hundredths behind U.S. teen phenom Luca Urlando) and 100 free bronze.
Last season, with his converted bests, Hanson would’ve been Cal’s #1 200 freestyler. He would’ve also been #3 on the roster in the 50, 100 and 500 free. At the 2020 Pac-12 Championships, which Cal dominated, Hanson would’ve won the 200 free conference crown, while he would’ve been a 500 free A-finalist and on the A/B bubble in the 50 and 100 free. His converted 200 free best would’ve also gotten him an invite to the 2020 NCAA Championships, where he would’ve been tied for the 10-seed.
Cal just saw three key sprinters, Zheng Quah, Pawel Sendyk and Michael Jensen, exhaust their eligibility. Hanson joins #6 Jack Alexy, #14 Trent Frandson, Jacob Soderlund, Kai Crews, Michael MacGillivray and Gabriel Jett in Cal’s 2025 class.
If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].
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Ikea nation represent
NC State is SHOOK rn
So he’ll be 20 when he starts college. Is that common? In Australia, kids are 17 or 18 when they start.
Most in the US are 17 & 18 when they start college. I have to bite my tongue – there is a huge difference in a 20 year old body and a 17 year old. Love the Bears but I will never support sacrificing the US swimmers so deserving of a chance.
Depends on international curriculum. From a quick google search, Swedes typically graduate at the age of 18/19 as there are more mandatory curriculum aspects.
The beauty of Berkeley is its diversity including its many international students. Welcome, Robin- the bear fam is so happy to have you!!
@ Scott Stubblefield: do you think, perhaps, your son Seth was able to benefit from the international diversity on the men’s team during his incredible four years at Cal? If nothing else, great friends in Italy, Estonia, and Denmark?! And, what about the potential that those international students learned and were able to benefit from a fine individual even from Texas (a modicum of humor here…), that being your son. I’d hesitate to guess it was a win-win all around. The world is grander than a myopic view of opportunity. Expanding opportunities is what it is all about, is it not? Good on your son to expand his horizons and have the chance to meet, train with, and become friends… Read more »
Welcome, Robin! Bear Territory is glad to have you on board!
Related to the Hanson sisters?
Nope. Different spellings. Hanson vs. Hansson.
Hansson is one of the most common last names in Sweden. Hanson is actually not that common in Sweden – it’s historically an Anglicization of the Danish Hansen or Swedish Hansson, so it’s possible that someone in Robin’s lineage moved to the US or UK and moved back.
To the Hanson brothers of Chiefs.
NC State hypebeats punching the air
Definitely a contender for the 200 free NCAA title all four years
Looks like a young Matt Grevers.