By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Ten years ago, when Matias Koski was one of Georgia’s top swimmers and the reigning NCAA champion in the 1,650-yard freestyle, his baby brother Tomas used to come to meets with their parents and run around Gabrielsen Natatorium. Now, Tomas Koski is a junior freestyler with the Bulldogs, a six-time All-American, who can race the 100 all the way up to the mile.

“He’s got the range to do it all,” Georgia men’s swimming and diving head coach Neil Versfeld said after the No. 7-ranked Georgia men’s 183.5-114.5 win over No. 12 Florida State on Saturday.

In Bauerle Pool against the Seminoles, Koski won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:33.66, nearly two seconds ahead of everyone else. Later, in the 100 free, Koski just missed out on another win. In a race that came down to the final strokes, Florida State’s Michel Arkhangelskiy touched first in 42.92 and Koski was a fraction of a second behind at 42.95. In the final race of the day, the 400 freestyle relay, Koski swam the second leg in 42.81 to help the Bulldogs win by more than two seconds.

“I felt good today; I felt like I was on top of my details,” Koski said of his performances against FSU. “We just came off a big, monster block of work, and I actually had the flu this week, so coming off of that and dealing with all of that, I feel like I was where I thought I would be today.”

As the Bulldogs head into the meat of their season, Koski has posted Georgia’s fastest times in the 200 (1:31.42) and 500 (4:13.85), and he has the second-fastest in the 1,000 (8:56.95, behind teammate Sean Green’s 8:51.56) and third-fastest in the 1,650 (15:09.72).

Former Georgia swimming and diving head coach Jack Bauerle, who coached Matias, said Tomas “was the little kid at the table” during Bauerle’s home visit to recruit Matias. But all these years later, Tomas has established himself as a strong and versatile swimmer.

“He’s the real deal,” Bauerle said Saturday. “With the men’s team right now, they have the capabilities to be the best team we’ve ever had, and he’s a gigantic part of it.”

Throughout his decades coaching Georgia’s men’s and women’s teams, Bauerle always loved the swimmers who reveled in doing their best in the relays.

“That has always been a barometer in my career: my kids stand up on relays and swim great. That’s when you know you have a good kid, and (Koski) lets it rip.”

Tomas and Matias aren’t the only Koski brothers to swim at a high level. Middle brother Joonas swam for Georgia Tech from 2016-20, when Versfeld was an assistant coach with the Yellow Jackets.

“There are some similarities between them all, but at the same time, they’re all unique,” Versified said of the three brothers. “One thing about Tomas, having a killer instinct is a big strength of his. He loves to race, and he loves to win.”

Matias was a two-time Olympian for Finland, competing in London in 2012 and Rio in 2016. Tomas would like to follow suit by competing for Finland in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, but that’s a ways down the road. Tomas is already the Finnish record holder in the 100-meter, 200 and 400 freestyle. At the 2024 Atlanta Classic, Koski broke his brother’s national record in the 200.

Koski has achieved a lot in the past few years despite getting a late start as a serious swimmer. Although he swam competitively when he was young, Koski, who is from Alpharetta, Ga., left the sport as a teenager and focused on basketball. “For around four years, I didn’t really touch the water at all,” he said.

That lasted through his first few years of high school, when a serious knee injury forced him to reconsider his path. Rather than go through surgery, he opted to return to the pool and see what he could do as a swimmer.

“I just figured, Hey, why not give this a shot,” he said.

Despite all that his brothers accomplished in the pool, Koski said he’s never felt any pressure to live up to what they did.

“Once I figured I might have a shot at this, to pursue this collegiately, my brothers being as good as they were gave me a lot of motivation,” Koski said. “And I credit them for that, because I wouldn’t have had the courage to pursue this and work hard every day, but knowing what they did, they gave me that motivation.

“It’s like, this is in my blood. This is my family’s legacy, so that gave me a lot of confidence going into it.”

Being a standout Georgia swimmer is a nice full-circle moment for the kid who grew up around the program.

“I was a little kid up there running around in the hallways waiting for Matias to swim, watching Matias swim, and now to be able to be in his shoes and continue what he started here at Georgia, it’s a blessing,” Koski said. “I’m really blessed to be in this position.”

The Bulldogs return to Bauerle Pool on Jan. 24, when they host No. 10 Tennessee. The event is “Swimapalooza 2,” a fan-oriented meet that will have an atmosphere more like the U.S. Olympic Trials and the NCAA Championships, with a Kids’ Zone, a photo booth, and much more.

 

Assistant Sports Communications Director 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.