How Indiana swimming’s Van Mathias balances a full-time job with record swims

· Yahoo Sports

INDIANAPOLIS – By day, Van Mathias is Indiana University's director of operations for swimming. On weekends like this one, he's one of the fastest breaststrokers in the United States.

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This week, the former Hoosier broke two American records at the TYR Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis. By Monday morning, he'll be back in the office catching up on the emails that piled up while he was racing.

"I'm sorry to everyone that I haven't responded to this week on my email," Mathias said. "I'll get back to you guys on Monday."

Mathias opened the meet Wednesday by lowering his American record in the 50-meter breaststroke to 26.53 seconds, shaving four-hundredths off the mark he set in January.

He capped the meet Saturday by breaking the American record in the 100 breaststroke, touching the wall in 58.01 seconds. The swim made him the fourth-fastest performer in history and left him just one-hundredth of a second shy of becoming the first American to break the 58-second barrier.

"Both were good," Mathias said. "I didn't have any expectations. Just go for it."

Instead of focusing on what he narrowly missed, Mathias is looking at what comes next.

"I think just missing it by a little bit is going to keep us hungry for more," Mathias said. "I wouldn't ask for it any other way. Gotta stay motivated, gotta stay hungry."

Just three years ago, Mathias believed he had closed the chapter on his competitive career. A return to elite swimming — and American records in breaststroke — wasn't part of the plan.

For most of his career, he specialized in middle-distance butterfly. During his fifth season at IU, he shifted his focus to sprint freestyle and breaststroke, earning NCAA All-America honors before stepping away from competition after the 2023 NCAA Championships to become the Hoosiers' director of operations.

Two years later, Mathias and Indiana’s coaching staff watched the results of the 2025 U.S. Swimming Trials at the IU Natatorium and came to the same conclusion: He could compete with the nation’s best. 

Mathias returned to training. Just eight weeks later, he earned a spot on the U.S. national team by swimming 26.76 seconds in the 50-meter breaststroke at the U.S. National Championships in Irvine, California, qualifying for the Pan Pacific Championships.

Now, Mathias is balancing international competition with the day-to-day responsibilities of helping run one of the country's premier college swimming programs.

"It's been unique," Mathias said. "I'm kind of riding a fine line between the two right now. Trying to figure that out still."

The balancing act becomes a little easier during the summer, when Indiana's workload slows, giving him more time to train. But after a week that included two American records, his focus quickly shifts back to the office.

"Hit a hard reset this next week," Mathias said. "Get back in the office, push some paper and get ready for the rest of the summer."

As for what's next in the pool, Mathias isn't overcomplicating it.

"Let's keep having fun," Mathias said. "Just keep racing."

Jessica Garcete is an IndyStar sports reporter.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Van Mathias breaks two American records, balances Indiana swimming operations role

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