Louise Hansson Reaping Benefits of Move to Loughborough as She Returns to World’s Elite
Louise Hansson was ready to take the next step after her college career at USC.
But just as she was gearing up as a professional, the pandemic changed everything. She suddenly had to leave the U.S. and figure out what to do next.
Flash forward a couple of years and the Swedish superstar is back to the dominant performer she was as an NCAA champion – even faster. She claimed gold at the European Championships in the 100 butterfly in August and has been a force all year, scoring sixth in the 2022 FINA World Cup Standings so far this season.
“It has been really good so far. I have impressed myself with my swims. I didn’t expect to go quite as fast, especially in the fly event. I am really pleased about that. In the past two years, I have gained a lot of confidence in racing against the world elite, trying to keep a high standard,” Hansson told Swimming World. “That gave me a lot of confidence going into short-course worlds last year, and we will see if that can be the same this year. I feel like I am on track.”
Even if she doesn’t win the race, she has shown herself something, like at the 2022 FINA World Cup stop in Toronto, where she had a head-to-head matchup with Olympic gold medalist Maggie Mac Neil of Canada, which resulted in a personal best time in short course for Hansson (55.0), just behind Mac Neil (54.7).
“Those races are super important. Some of these events feel like a mini world championships because they are pretty stacked. It is a good opportunity to have different people racing next to you,” Hansson said. “Racing Maggie last week was really good. I am pretty sure that will happen again. It is great being able to race someone and feel that pressure next to you to go after in.”
Hansson feels she is finally able to implement the training she has learned since moving to England with Loughborough University.
“I think all the steps in my career have played a big role. There were some clear stages. Going from Sweden to the U.S. and now to England, that has been different types of training. I feel like in my last year at USC, I was really on the edge of breaking through internationally, but then COVID happened and it took a year before I really had the chance to show it,” Louise Hansson said. “It is a smaller team, just 12 people, and coaches can focus more on us individually. We have amazing support staff and that has been a big difference in why I have been able to perform better.”
That’s not to say that it was easy moving to England. After all, Hansson’s home is Sweden and she made a second home in California during college. Another move to another country changes everything.
“It was honestly really tough. I enjoyed my years at USC and then when COVID happened, but that had a dead end in a second. I had to book my flight within 24 hours to leave the country and go home. That was really tough, and a few of the toughest months I have ever had to deal with,” Louise Hansson said. “Luckily, I had signed with Loughborough already, so that gave me something big coming up. But it still was a big gamble moving like that during an Olympic year. New coach, new group, new country – during a pandemic. My first year in England, I only knew the 20 people around me because I wasn’t allowed to see anyone. The Loughborough team made me feel really welcome.”
Changing teams and coaches in an Olympic year isn’t always ideal, either, but Hansson and her team had a plan.
“We had discussions about what kind of training I had done. We didn’t want to change much right before the Olympics. It was that combination that made the transition as smooth as possible,” she said.
It worked as Hansson made her second Olympic team and finished fifth in the 100 butterfly.
Now, her burst of speed and her comfort level at Loughborough have her focused on the next goal.
“Next goal is definitely the Paris Olympics. I am staying with the Loughborough team the next two years,” Louise Hansson said. “We have a pretty solid plan on what we want to get done as we continue to work hard and race fast.”
Women’s World Cup Top 10 Standings
1. Beata Nelson, USA, 115.6
2. Siobhan Haughey, Hong Kong, 112.9
3. Beryl Gastaldello, France, 105.3
4. Kylie Masse, Canada, 104.7
5. Ruta Meilutyte, Lithuania, 101.8
6. Louise Hansson, Sweden, 94.2
7. Hali Flickinger, USA, 91.9
8. Madison Wilson, Australia, 91.5
9. Ingrid Wilm, Canada, 91
10. Anastasia Gorbenko, Israel, 85.2