Mathilde Thorsen '25 Recruiting Profile

If you met me in gym, or in the pool, you could easily identify me as an athlete. I have always liked sports – growing up in a small town close to the Sea, I started early on with swimming. I added gymnastics later – but swimming became my passion. 

I have known that I wanted to swim collegiate, since I was awarded ‘Sports talent of 2019’ by Helsingor Municipality. The award was given for my accomplishments swimming for the Danish junior national team and wining four medals at the Nordic Junior Championships. Winning that prize was what I needed to trust my athletic abilities and pursue my goals.

Naturally, there have been setbacks that forced me to think deeply about my swimming career. One key lesson learned is that sometimes you must go against the stream and move on to develop and take your sports to the next level. This is why I left my hometown club and joined a swim team in Copenhagen, where competition was tougher, and the Coach was on fire. I have always worked closely with the coaches to optimize and improve my technique, speed, and durability. I swim ‘body and mind’ in the pool which makes me very coachable. 

Although swimming is not a team-sport, I believe in supporting and cheering on teammates because it benefits everyone on the team. So, I believe in always having a smile on the deck, even though its 5am in the morning and high school awaits after the morning-training. 

The hard training program is made possible as I attend an official Team Denmark High School to persuade a dual career.  That has helped me tremendously, because I come from a home where both my parents have taught me the importance of doing an effort in school. I guess my motto, and the motto I have grown up with, is that nothing should be done “half assed” and failing is only okay if you have done everything you possible could (and could control). Therefore, I want to swim in the US, because it’s simply the best place to be both academically and for my swimming career. Because I always strive to improve my skills (in and out of the water) and become the best student athlete I can be. For me if I want to become the best student athlete, the US is the best place to persuade that. So, what’s in my hands and something I can control, is to dare to search for my dream (back from 2019), when I first wanted to swim collegiate.