CHARLOTTE, N.C. — We are exactly 22 days away from the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials taking place in Indianapolis, Ind. on June 15. For our european swimmers, the European Championships take place just two days later in Belgrade, Serbia — June 17. As for the Queens swimming program, five current Royals made the cut — Matej Dusa (Slovakia), Frantisek Jablcnik (Slovakia), Daniel Meszaros (Hungary), Danielle Melilli (USA), and Nien Levy (USA) — and have been preparing during the offseason for the biggest tests of their careers.

"We continue to benefit from the Olympians and Paralympian Made Here designation [at Queens]," Director of Swimming and Associate Athletic Director of Creative Services Jeff Dugdale said. "We are excited to have athletes in position once again to represent their countries in Paris. We have a great mix of both collegiate and professional swimmers at Queens preparing for the opportunity to qualify. Thank you to our sponsors and to our university for an unwavering and steadfast support of our student-athletes and their drive to represent their country, their school and their family on the world stage in front of millions and millions of people."

Matej Dusa, Slovakia - Matej Dusa, senior Queens swimmer from Bratislava, Slovakia, is no stranger to success at the international and collegiate level. The decorated swimmer holds the fastest Slovakian time in the 50-meter freestyle with a 22.11 — over a full second and a half faster than the second-fastest Slovakian swimmer in the event. Additionally, Dusa also holds the Slovakian record for the 100-meter freestyle with a 49.12 time. Dusa will look to make the NCAA A-cut in the 50-meter freestyle event at the European Championships in June. Dusa has been preparing since the end of the Royals' 2023-24 season.

"I have been continuing my training with the team, as well as getting some help from outside," Dusa explained. "Whether it was from the pro team training at the Queens pool led by Elliot Ptasnik or preparing for the transition to training in Slovakia with the national team at a variety of training camps."

Dusa thanks his Queens coaches for their support and collaboration while on his Olympic journey. "My [Queens] coaches are very supportive. They allow me to change the training plan to maximize the effect. We have constant discussions about the training process, and we make it our goal to try and find the most progressive way going into the Olympic Games. We all know there is a lot we still need to work on, but we take small steps and with analytical thinking precision I'm getting where I need to be."

Frantisek Jablcnik, Slovakia - Another Olympic hopeful from Slovakia is a rising sophomore on the Queens squad — Frantisek Jablcnik. After a wildly successful freshman season in the Queen City, the Trnova native will be headed to the European Championships in hopes of making the Slovakian team en route to Paris. Along with Dusa, Jablcnik represented Slovakia at the World Aquatics Championships this past February in Doha, Qatar. Most recently, Jablcnik broke a long-standing 200-meter freestyle record (1:50.06) held by Marcel Géry from August 1986 with a time of 1:49.53 at the Vienna International Meet.

The support from his Queens team and coaches was a key contributor to his success. "The team did an amazing job at cheering me on [this season], and supporting me with encouragement through the year," Jablcnik said. "The coaches know what they are doing, and I think that their guidance greatly helped me with getting better and faster throughout the year."

Jablcnik adds that he hopes his training will aid in swimming more personal bests in his upcoming events and qualifying meets.

"I have kept training after the college season was over with those who are either getting ready for the US Olympic Trials, long course meets, or international competitions in Europe. I believe that once I am fully rested and tapered, I can be even quicker when I come to Europe for the final qualifying meets for the Olympics. Even if I don't make it to the Olympics, I just hope to swim my personal bests."

Daniel Meszaros, Hungary - Daniel Meszaros is another swimmer that looks to represent Queens at the international level on his Olympic journey. The rising junior from Budapest, Hungary was named to the Hungarian team to compete at the European Championships on May 12. The freestyle swimmer finished out his sophomore season as a Royal with many accolades — as a three-time CSCAA National Invitational Championship finalist and a two-time Hungarian National Championship finalist.

"2024 is an Olympic year and I've been working hard to make my dream come true," Meszaros said. "It's incredible to be back on the Hungarian team, especially with the European Championships on the horizon. After winning a silver medal in Rome in 2022, I am eager to continue building on that success. This championship is more than just another meet for me - it's a huge step towards making the Olympic team.  I'm super excited to show what I'm capable of. The next weeks are critical, with preparations including a three-week intensive training camp in Fuerteventura."

Nien Levy, USA - Nien Levy, the most recent Olympic Trials qualifier from the Queens program, looks to represent the USA after snagging a 22.77 time in the 50-meter freestyle this past week at the Eastern Zone Speedo Super Sectional Meet. The Bronx, N.Y. native had just recently completed his first season as a Royal highlighted by a third-place finish in the 50-yard freestyle event at the CSCAA National Invitational Championship.

"Coming off a successful first season with Queens swim team, I immediately pivoted to training for the Olympic Trials by focusing more on sprint training, technique, race rehearsals increasing practice time and making sure I kept myself healthy and rested," Levy said. "The team and coaches support through this whole journey provided me with the extra confidence and emotional support to get through the daily training grind and achieving my goal of punching the Olympic Trials ticket."

Danielle Melilli, USA - USA swimmer Danielle Melilli, a standout on the Queens women's team, is on the docket to represent Queens in the trek to the 2024 Olympics. Melilli qualified for the 2024 US Olympic Trials after swimming a 25.55 in the 50-meter freestyle at the Toyota U.S. Open in late 2023. The Douglasville, Ga. product recently concluded a remarkable five-year career at Queens in May, most recently including two first-place finishes at the CSCAA National Invitational Championships. This will be her second appearance at the US Olympic Trials, with her last appearance in 2021.

"It was extremely exciting to see that I qualified and even more exciting knowing that I qualified when I did!" Melilli said. "When I attended the Trials in 2021, I made the qualifying cut with little time left before the meet. I was very happy this time around knowing that I secured a spot and that I had the chance to already start working towards what I want to achieve while I'm at Trials. The coaches and my teammates were very proud of me!"

Melilli has her coach, Nic Eriksson, to thank for the ultimate support she needed to get to this point in her career. "Nic [Eriksson] has had my back throughout this process and throughout my entire college career. He has always believed in me and gives me the extra push I need to reach my goals. His support, along with many of my teammates, have helped me accomplish what I have in this sport during my time at Queens. I couldn't have done it without that support."

Along with Queens' five current swimmers vying at their chance for a 2024 Olympic Games ticket, other Queens athletes and alumni will also compete at Games-qualifying meets — including previous Queens swimmer and Charlotte native Matt Josa, Jan Delkeskamp '23, and Paralympian Hannah Aspden '22. For a full list of Queens alumni as well as current and former student-athletes currently competing for an Olympic spot, see our Olympians Made Here and Paralympians Made Here campaign page.

"We [Queens] have a long tradition with sending swimmers to the highest level in our sport: The Olympic and Paralympic Games," Senior Associate Head Coach Jon Lau added. "Our qualifying athletes are looking forward to a Games that has normal spectator attendance post-pandemic."

Coverage for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials may be found on NBC (Finals sessions), Peacock, and NBCOlympics.com. Coverage for the 2024 European Championships may be found at the European Aquatics homepage, linked here.

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