Freshmen Spotlight: James Freeman & Indy Jongman

QUICK SPRINTS

James Freeman

Expected Major: Architecture
Favorite Music Genre: 80's & 90s
Favorite Place You've Visited: Buenos Aires, Argentina
French Toast, Pancakes, or Waffles: Pancakes
Favorite Book: The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Favorite Color: Black
Favorite TV Series: Game of Thrones
Favorite Race to Swim: 200 Free
Game Show you'd be Best at: Who wants to be a Millionaire
Favorite Restaurant: Nandos
Qdoba or Chipotle: Qdoba
Netflix or Hulu: Netflix
Ideal Superpower: Flying

Indy Jongman

Expected Major: International Business
Favorite Book: Divergent by Veronica Roth
French Toast, Pancakes, or Waffles: Waffles
Favorite Place You've Visited: Minnesota
Netflix or Hulu: Netflix
Favorite Race to Swim: 100 Free or 100 Back
Dogs or Cats: Dogs
Favorite Music Artist: The Weeknd or Post Malone
Favorite Dinkytown Restaurant: Five Guys
Favorite Animal: Llama
Qdoba or Chipotle: Qdoba
Greatest Fear: Not Being Successful
Ideal Superpower: Read Minds

With 26 incoming swimmers and divers eagerly awaiting their collegiate debuts, there are plenty of new faces to Minnesota's historic program. In an effort to better get to know these incoming student-athletes, Gopher Sports sat down with each to learn more about them prior to and throughout the 2020-21 season.

In this week's edition we're featuring international newcomers James Freeman and Indy Jongman. Hailing from Palapye, Botswana, Freeman is inarguably one of the fastest swimmers to ever come out of his home country, as he currently holds 12 LCM national records spanning from the 50m freestyle to the 400 individual medley. With a number of national accomplishments under his belt already, Freeman plans to translate that success onto the collegiate stage over his time as a Gopher.

Jongman's hometown lies a few thousand miles north in Schijndel, Netherlands, where the multi-time Dutch champion competed for PSV Swimming, winning a number of accolades in the process. Jongman wasted no time carrying that success to the collegiate level as was evident by her spectacular performance on Jan. 23, where the freshman speedster finished top-two in all three of her races (first - 50 free - 22.98 | first - 400 free relay | second - 100 free - 49.78). She will look to continue on that same route as the Gophers prepare to host the Iowa and Nebraska (W) this coming weekend.

GopherSports: Why did you choose Minnesota?
Jongman: "I chose Minnesota because they offered the best swimming program, but also because they do really well academically. I wanted to go to a business school, and Carlson is really good. I have a friend who competes here as well, so that made it a little easier. Having someone to go to if I needed help with anything or even if I just wanted to know how things work made it a lot easier."

Freeman: "When I first decided that I wanted to come to America, I looked around and Minnesota had the best balance. They offered the best of swimming and the best of academics, and that's really what I'm after. I want to swim as well as I can, but at the same time get the best possible education out of it as well, so it struck me as a school that balanced them the best."

GS: When did you first start swimming, and how did you get started?
Jongman: "I started swimming when I was about nine years old. I took some swimming lessons and I really enjoyed being in the water. I was a very energetic child, so I could put all my energy into it. My mom told me that since I liked it so much, I should just start swimming a few times a week, so I did. I started getting more serious about it when I was 13. That was the first time I was selected for the Dutch national team, and was when it really hit me that things were getting more serious."

Freeman: "I started in the first grade, so I was about seven or eight years old. My mom actually started coaching me, and I swam with her for three or four years until we eventually moved cities and I joined a club. I swam for a club in Botswana at first that I actually still represent whenever I compete there, but I moved to South Africa for high school and had to switch clubs for that."

GS: Who has been your biggest influence/inspiration throughout your career?
Jongman: "It's kind of cliche, but my parents. Back home, the pool was a 30 minute drive away, and they would bring me there and pick me up every single day. They went to every single meet, they supported me, and they never complained about me getting home and being so hungry that I just wouldn't talk until I had some food in my stomach. They have never pushed me into anything, they just want me to be happy, and that's another way they've inspired me. That's all they care about, is me being happy."

Freeman: "Probably my mother. She was the first person who believed in me and knew that I could go far in swimming. She's definitely my biggest inspiration, and she has always motivated me when my swimming is not going according to plan. She's just always been there for me over my swimming career."

GS: What is your most memorable moment of your swimming career?
Jongman: "In 2018, when I qualified for my second European Juniors. I had had a pretty rough season, but it was during one of our first long course meets of the year. I didn't really expect anything out of it, but I just thought I'd try and do my best and see where things go. I ended up swimming about a second under the qualification time in the 100 backstroke, and it was such a surprise. That was really awesome."

Freeman: "Definitely sometime when I've competed somewhere for Botswana. Winning a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas was quite a big moment. Or, becoming an African Youth Games champ in 2018, and winning the gold medal there for Botswana as well. Just generally being able to represent the country."

GS: As an international student-athlete, what are the biggest changes you have noticed from competing overseas to here at the 'U'?
Jongman: "Here, you really compete as a team and represent the school, rather than just being there for yourself. I really like the whole vibe of cheering each other on and supporting each other. It's a really proud feeling you get from swimming for your school, and that's a feeling that you don't really have back home where it's much more of an individual sport."

Freeman: "Back home, we swim long course meters almost exclusively, so coming here where everything is short course yards has been a big adjustment for me. It's a much more power orientated dynamic to the competition here, so I'm adjusting to that for sure."

GS: Out of the pool, what do you do for fun?
Jongman: "Normally, I would hang out with friends, but now that's a little more difficult to do. I like watching Netflix. I like to draw too, even though I don't spend as much time with that as I'd like to. When the weather is nice, I really like to be outside too."

Freeman: "I like to get around and explore a lot. When I'm in Botswana, I like to get out into nature. I really enjoy camping and those kinds of things. I like traveling as well. I'm a big traveler, both internationally and just within the city too, so trying to get around and explore is always fun. Whenever I have time off of swimming, I like to get out somewhere that I've never been before."

GS: Now that you have experienced a collegiate meet, how did it vary from what you were expecting?
Jongman: "I thought it would be harder to follow all of our COVID protocols, but it really wasn't that hard. Now that it's been around for a year, it's kind of something you just do automatically. What I didn't really expect was how much of a team event it was. I had a feeling it would be like that, but not as extreme as it really was. That was really different than back home, but I like it more this way."

Freeman: "I was a bit inexperienced in the events I swam, so it definitely woke me up to the learning curve that I'm going to have to adapt to. It was a lot of fun, but I definitely found some things that I have to work on. What I really liked was the whole spirit of the team. Like I've said, back home it's definitely more of an individual sport, so it's nice that everyone gets behind each other and tries to motivate each other to do as well as possible for the team."

GS: What is something you are looking forward to in your time as a Gopher?
Jongman: "I'm looking forward to just competing, meeting new people and having new experiences. I've kind of missed out on a lot of those things so far because of the pandemic. I just had my first meet last week which was awesome, so I can't wait to compete more and just get the chance to be around people on campus since I don't know what that's like yet."

Freeman: "Definitely the team atmosphere. Back home, swimming is definitely more of an individual sport, so it's refreshing to have it as more of a team environment where you're competing not only for yourself, but for points for your team as well. I'm really looking forward to that aspect of it."

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Players Mentioned

James Freeman

Indy Jongman