By Curtis Akey
LSU Sports Information
When Miko Malberg talked about the most important thing he has yet to accomplish at LSU, his top priority is quite surprising.
Initially, he did not mention capturing a spot on his fourth straight SEC Academic Honor Roll. He overlooked breaking records in his events. He passed up talking about the possibility of making it to the NCAA Championships during his senior season. What he feels will be his most meaningful accomplishment will not come for another 10 years.
“I think in a decade from now, LSU will be a top 10 team,” said Malberg. “I’ll look back on what I’ve done to help the team, and it will feel good.”
Malberg, a sprinter for the LSU swim team, is from a small country in Eastern Europe called Estonia. In the country that just re-declared its independency from Russia in 1991, track and field and cross country are the most popular sports. But in the swimming circles, Malberg is a national icon.
Since his arrival in Baton Rouge before the 2004-05 season, LSU’s swimming and diving team has been peppered with European talent. Currently, there are three other Estonian swimmers on the squad, as well as a slew of Germans and one Dutch freshman. Head coach Adam Schmitt describes Malberg as a “figurehead” in the European swimming world.
“It just so happened that when I signed here, we had Miko signed already,” said Schmitt. “Miko knew some people, and it kind of started a flow of Europeans in here.”
Opening the floodgates to other foreign swimmers is something Schmitt wants his athletes to do.
“Those players need to know that when they go home to Europe, they should talk about LSU,” added Schmitt.
“Everyone here is a recruiter in some sense,” said Malberg.
To him, every athlete on LSU’s squad has the potential to pull in top swimmers from their high schools and home towns. While other swimmers have aided in shaping LSU’s roster, Malberg has definitely done his share of helping to add fresh talent.
“When I was considering schools, I talked to him,” mentioned Berit Aljand, a fellow Estonian swimmer. “He was the biggest influence. He came here the year before me, so he knew all of the coaches and he liked it a lot.”
Along with Aljand, Malberg played a role in getting the Trepps, Jane and Nele, to commit to LSU.
In addition to his “recruiting” work, Malberg has accomplished great things in the water too. Last season, he swam the fourth-fastest 50 freestyle (19.69) in LSU history. He also ranks ninth in school history in the 100 freestyle (44.15). The latter record has significant meaning to him, considering who holds the top spot.
“That’s coach’s record,” said Malberg, in reference to Schmitt, who has held the record since 1988. “I’m going to break his record some day.”
Schmitt has no problem with his record falling.
“As a coach, there is nothing more I’d like to see than my record go down,” said Schmitt. “That means we are getting to the place we need to be to compete.”
Competing in the SEC is a cakewalk to Malberg. The 22-year-old recently qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a member of the Estonian National Team.
“Making the Olympics means a lot to me,” expressed Malberg. “It’s been my goal for my whole swimming career.”
He doesn’t want to settle with just qualifying.
“Now that I’m getting faster, I don’t want to only participate. I want to achieve something there. I want to be in the top 16.”
Schmitt believes Malberg’s ambitions and confidence he has for the Olympics will translate to the smaller levels.
“If he is focusing on national teams and the Olympics, the conference matches and the NCAA finals will happen,” voiced Schmitt.
While Malberg was successful in the Estonian swimming ranks before his time at LSU began, he credits a lot of his success to his current coaches.
“They are very important to me,” said Malberg. “I don’t know where I would be without them. They have helped me in a lot of ways athletically. They are great coaches for sprinting. I have cut off about one second from my 50 freestyle. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but it really is.”
Schmitt has enjoyed coaching Malberg the last four years.
“It’s going to be hard to replace him,” explained Schmitt.
This is Malberg’s last season as a direct contributor to the LSU swimming and diving team. But hopefully his accomplishments in the pool will make a statement to swimmers all over the world who may consider attending LSU.
Check back in a decade to see if Malberg made his mark.