Boilermakers Country

Purdue Swimmer Nikola Acin Qualifies for Olympics with Serbia

Nikola Acin is the Purdue men's swimming record holder in the 100-yard freestyle and four relays. He qualified for the Olympics as a member of the Serbia 4x100 freestyle relay team.

D.J. Fezler

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue swimmer Nikola Acin qualified for the Olympic Games alongside the Serbia 4x100 freestyle relay team. The group is officially ranked top 16 in the world, making Acin the first Boilermaker swimmer to qualify for the Olympics since 2004.  

Acin was the anchor for the team's time of 3:13.73 at the European Aquatic Championships. The mark was a two-second improvement for Serbia from last year's World Championships, allowing them to earn one of four wildcard berths in the relay. 

The top 12 teams qualifying for the relay were determined at the the preliminaries of the 2019 FINA World Championships. Serbia's team remained together during the two-year wait. 

Acin joined Velimir Stjepanovic, Uros Nikolic and Andrej Barna at the World Championships and European Championships. He is the younger member of the squad at 21 years old. 

The Purdue swimmer is the program's record holder in the 100-yard freestyle and in four relays. Last year, he was an All-American selection in the 100-yard freestyle and an Honorable Mention All-American in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. 

The last male Boilermaker to represent the program at the Olympics was Javier Diaz, representing Mexico in 2000 and 2004. 

The swimming events for the Olympics Games in Tokyo are scheduled for July 24 to July 31. The 4x100 relay preliminaries are set for July 25 with the finals on the next day. 

Recent Stories from Boilermakers Country

  • BIG TEN DAILY, JUNE 8: Michigan State basketball announces staff changes, conference programs were knocked out of the NCAA baseball tournament and Northwestern hires a new athletic director. Here's the latest from around the Big Ten. CLICK HERE 
  • PURDUE'S GILLIS ARRESTED: Purdue forward Mason Gillis was booked into the Tippecanoe County jail and released for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. He appeared in 28 games for the Boilermakers as a freshman last season. CLICK HERE 
  • THOMPSON SHINES IN SUMMER BALL GAME: The Rochester Honkers earned a 9-8 victory over the Bismarck Larks on Sunday. Purdue baseball player Cam Thompson recorded three hits, a solo home run and three RBIs leading to a walk-off win. CLICK HERE 

Become Part of the Boilermakers Country Community!

Published
D.J. Fezler
D.J. FEZLER

D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball. 

Home/Other Sports