George Washington University Athletics
Matic to Represent Serbia at World Aquatics Championships Next Week
2/8/2024 5:00:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
WASHINGTON - GW men's swimming star Djurdje Matic has been selected to represent Serbia in three events at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, being held now through Feb. 18 in Doha, Qatar. Matic will make the journey to Qatar this week to compete in the 50-meter butterfly, the 100-meter butterfly and the 400-meter medley relay, with the goal of recording Olympic qualifying times.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how I compare to the world's top athletes," said Matic. "This is the biggest international competition I've ever been to. Representing your country is the highest achievement you can get, and outside of swimming in college, this is as big as it gets. This is what I've prepared for all my life."
Matic's time at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships will begin on Sunday, Feb. 11 with the 50-meter butterfly heats, where he will attempt to qualify for Sunday's semifinals and eventually Monday's finals. Matic then has a break in his schedule and will not compete again until Friday, Feb. 16, when he takes on the 100-meter butterfly heats, trying to reach Friday's semifinals and Saturday's finals. The heat and finals for Matic's final event, the 4x100-meter medley relay, will take place on Sunday, Feb. 18.
Matic said that his selection to the Serbian National Team is something that has been being considered since this past summer. "If me and three other guys swim well during the winter, they [the national team coaches] will take us and try to qualify for the Olympics," he said. Matic's performance at the Princeton LCM Time Trials, where he set a personal-best time in the 100-meter butterfly (52.67) this past November, was all the Serbian coaches needed to see, and Matic's spot on the team was confirmed.
Matic's jounrey to the World Aquatics Championships comes as GW swimming and diving is preparing for another run at the Atlantic 10 Championships, where Matic hopes to lead the men's team to its fourth-straight conference title. The star GW swimmer will return to Foggy Bottom just days before the conference championships. Matic, though, says the trip will not impact his upcoming performance at A-10s, citing his ability and history swimming more races in a shorter period of time than what he will do in Doha.
"At the World Championships, I'll swim three races over the course of seven or eight days, so it's a lot less intensive, but I'll have to put in high-quality work as I do here [at GW]," Matic explained. "[At A-10s], it's closer to eight races in three days."
Matic's selection means a brief absence from his teammates in Foggy Bottom, but he gets the chance to compete side-by-side with members of the Serbian National Team that he grew up with. "Swimming in Serbia is not very big. I know all of my teammates, we are good friends who have been on training trips together and have known each other for years, so I'm looking forward to spending some time with them and to race with them."
GW swimming and diving Head Coach Brian Thomas made it clear what having an athlete like Matic means to the program. "It's easy to point to the most obvious stuff: being an NCAA qualifier, and pretty consistently competing at some of the biggest international competitions. It's tremendous growth for our team, and of course in the recruiting realm, we let them know that you can come to GW and accomplish these things, and it makes it a lot easier for me when we've actually done it."
"The biggest thing I've noticed out of Djurdje is his personal growth," said Thomas. "Getting acclimated here in D.C., being a leader within our team and being committed to everything it takes to compete at a high level, that's something I've noticed."
Matic's performances at the 2024 World Aquatics Championship can be tracked on the results tab of worldaquatics.com.
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