Florida State's Peter Varjasi ready to swim at 2023 World Aquatics Championships
Nervous would be one way to describe Peter Varjasi at the TYR Pro Swim Series Westmont 2023 in Westmont, Illinois.
The Florida State men's swimmer from Erlangen, Germany swam at the event April 11-15 in an attempt to qualify for the 2023 World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan which start Saturday and run through July 29.
"I was crapping my pants because I really wanted to qualify and there were these Olympians swimming right next to me on my 100-(meter) freestyle," Varjasi told the Democrat about the experience.
"I was swimming on my 50 freestyle. I was swimming right next to Ryan Held (an American freestyle swimmer). And he's a very, very good sprinter. So I jumped in and he was immediately ahead of front of me. I was really just trying to catch up to him and I caught up to him. So that went well. It was definitely a good experience too."
Varjasi, who will be entering his fifth year at FSU in 2023-24, accomplished his goal and will swim for Germany.
He is one of seven athletes with ties to the Florida State swimming and diving teams. Varjasi qualified as part of the 100-meter freestyle relay for his country.
Varjasi will also compete individually in the 50 free on Thursday.
Prelims for all swimming events will air live on Peacock starting at 9:30 p.m. Finals will follow the next morning at 7 a.m. The top 16 will compete in the semifinals and the top eight will advance to the final the following day.
Rising sophomore Max Wilson will represent the U.S. Virgin Islands, while former Seminoles Molly Carlson (Canada), Ida Hulkko (Finland), Julio Horrego (Honduras), Max McCusker (Ireland) and Emma Terebo (France) will also be competing.
"I've never been to Japan and I'm super excited to go there because it's a different culture," Varjasi said of qualifying. "And I've never been to championships either. So it's my first time."
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Why Varjasi picked FSU?
Varjasi said the chance to compete in the Aquatics Championships before returning for his fifth season as a Seminole. He holds the FSU record in the 200 free (1:32.76) and has collected 10 All-American honors during his career. He is also part of the FSU records in the 200, 400, and 800 free relays.
He picked the Seminoles to further his swimming career following just one visit.
"I was looking at a place where I could manage my engineering degree, swimming, and still have fun and have a life besides the practices in school.," Varjasi said. "Coach Neal (Studd) took me on a visit here in 2019 and I was just amazed. I didn't visit any other universities."
Varjasi took home the bronze medal in the 100m free at the German Swimming National Championships earlier in July. He clocked 49.43 for third and he also added a fourth-place finish in the 50m free (22.65).
He said he was relieved when he did not get an internship in engineering, as it allowed him to focus on his swimming this summer.
Varjasi said he will use this championship leading into the college season. Then he has one more goal before he is ready for a professional career.
"The goal is to qualify for the Olympics next year," he said. "That's my biggest dream and I don't have any other plans after that."
Peter Varjasi – Germany (profile via FSU Sports Information)
50m free – July 27 | 4x100m FR July – 22 | 4x20m0 FR – July 27 | 4x100m MR – July 29 | Mixed 4x100m FR – July 28 | Mixed 4x100m MR
Other swimmers participating with Seminoles ties
Max Wilson – U.S. Virgin Islands
50m back – July 28 | 100m back – July 23
Wilson will be swimming in his first long course World Championships after competing twice in short course. Wilson has also competed at the junior meet in 2019.
Wilson heads to Japan after the Central America and Caribbean Games, where his meet was highlighted by three personal best times, placing fourth in the 100m back (56.64) after posting a 56.33 in prelims. He took seventh in the 200m IM (2:06.47) after clocking 2:05.97 in prelims and placed fifth in the 50m back (26.09).
Wilson lowered his national record in the 50m back, which previously stood at 26.44.
As a rookie in 2022-23, Wilson was voted the Most Improved Swimmer after he finished 14th in both the 200 IM (1:45.16) and 100 back (46.59) at the ACC Championships.
Wilson starts his meet on July 23 by swimming the 100m back.
Molly Carlson – Canada
High Diving – July 24-25
Carlson started off the 2023 season by winning the World Aquatics High Diving World Cup in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on May 27 with a score of 253.00.
Since her victory, Carlson has picked up three silvers while competing in the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
Carlson earned her spot in the World Championships after finishing second in the qualifier in December of 2021 with a score of 232.30.
Prelims will start on July 24 at 10:30 p.m., while finals will take place on July 25 at 11 p.m., and can be found here.
A member of the Florida State diving team from 2016-2020, Carlson was the 2017 and 2020 ACC Female Diver of the Year and was a three-time ACC Diving Meet MVP. She was a three-time ACC Champion during her career and has earned five All-America honors.
Julio Horrego - Honduras
100m breast – July 22 | 200m breast – July 26
Horrego took home three bronze medals in the breaststroke events at the Central America and Caribbean Games, which ran from July 9-13.
Horrego grabbed the last spot in the 50m breast final after taking eighth in prelims (28.85). Working from lane eight, he clocked 27.86 for third. In the 100m, Horrego touched second at 1:01.64. At night, he placed third at 1:02.14. In the 200m, Horrego swam his career-best, touching at 2:15.70, setting the national record.
As the flag-bearer for Honduras at the 2020 Olympic Games, Horrego went on to compete in the 100m and 200m breast. This will be his fifth World Championships.
Horrego competed for the Noles between 2017-19.
Ida Hulkko – Finland
50m breast – July 28 | 100m breast – July 23
Hulkko competed for Florida State during the 2018-19 season where she won the bronze medal in the 100m breast at the ACC Championships. She went on to earn All-America honors by placing fifth in the race at the NCAA Championships.
Following her year in the USA, Hulkko pursued a professional career in the sport. She represented Finland at the 2020 Olympic Games, where she made the semifinals of the 100m breast.
Hulkko will race in her fifth World Championships, starting on July 23 in the 100m breast.
Max McCusker – Ireland
100m fly – July 27
McCusker will take on his first World Championships, swimming the 100m fly.
As a Seminole from 2018-2022, McCusker captured eight All-American honors on relays and five medals at the ACC Championships, including a gold as the anchor leg of the 200 free relay in 2020. He is a part of the 200 medley relay school record set back in 2022.
Emma Terebo – France
200m back – July 27
Terebo qualified for her second World Championships after she won the 200m back at the French Elite Championships in June behind a career-best of 2:09.35.
In 2022, Terebo finished fifth in the 100m back (59.98) and made the semifinals of the 200m back (2:11.77) at the World Championships in Budapest.
Terebo represented the Seminoles from 2017-21, competing at three NCAA Championships. She is a part of the 200 free relay that set the school record in 2017.
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU swimming: Peter Varjasi ready for 2023 World Aquatics Championships
