Bruno Blaskovic
Bruno Blaskovic
QUICK STATS
- Birthdate: August 2, 1998
- Hometown: Vodnjan, Croatia
- College: Indiana University
- Coaches: Ray Looze
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
- Eight-Time All-American
- Three-Time First Team All-Big Ten
- Nine-Time Big Ten Champion
- Represented Croatia in the 2019 World Aquatic Championships
EXPERIENCE
Bruno Blaskovic has enjoyed success at the collegiate level and on the international stage. Growing up in Croatia, Bruno established strong stroke technique but admits that he underestimated the power of underwaters, breakouts, and turns. He gained those skills swimming for Indiana University where he specialized in freestyle and butterfly, and was an eight-time All-American, three-time First Team All-Big Ten, and nine-time Big Ten Champion. He says, “When I was in college, I focused on starts, a tight streamline, powerful underwaters, and fast breakouts. When everything came together my swimming improved and I was able to represent my country at the 2019 World Aquatic Championship.” Bruno says that while freestyle and butterfly are his favorite to watch, he doesn’t have a favorite stroke to swim. He acknowledges that competence in each stroke brings something to the other strokes; maintaining high hips in breaststroke can translate to a strong kick in butterfly, shoulder position is crucial in both backstroke and breaststroke, a strong underwater dolphin kick is impactful in butterfly but can also result in faster breakouts in freestyle.
Not only is Bruno an introspective swimmer, but a thoughtful clinician. He says, “Something I noticed in clinics is that swimmers start to slow down after the flags and raise their head. This isn’t surprising considering how they often swim in practice, checking the wall to make sure they don’t run into a teammate. I try to make swimmers aware of this so they don’t do that in a race, losing time on the turn and finish.” The goal of creating awareness in young athletes is preventing bad habits from becoming ingrained in their technique.
Bruno also likes to talk to clinic participants about their commitment to swimming outside the pool. He says, “At the end of the day, the thing that will set you apart in swimming is what you do outside the pool. Talent will take you so far, but proper nutrition and targeted dryland training will make you a better athlete.” Bruno shares with participants the importance of a varied diet rich in nutrients, as well as dryland training aimed at providing athletes with a functional base and that helps prevent injury.
