Olympian Jordan Wilimovsky Inducted to Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame
Olympic swimmer Jordan Wilimovsky was announced last week as a member of the 2026 Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame Class.
The class will be inducted on Oct. 23, with an on-field recognition during the Oct. 24 football game at Ryan Field between Northwestern and Rutgers.
Wilimovsky swam for the Wildcats from 2012-17, with an Olympic redshirt in 2015-16. He was a three-time All-American. He was the first Wildcat to break 15 minutes in the mile, setting the school record as a freshman. He finished fourth in the mile at NCAAs in 2014, then won the Big Ten title in the event the next year. He returned from his redshirt year to finish fourth at NCAAs in the mile with a program record of 14:23.45 that still stands (and would’ve still been fifth at NCAAs last year a decade after his career ended).
Wilimovsky was the first American to qualify for an Olympics in both the pool and open water. He finished fourth in the 1,500 free at the Olympics in Rio in 2016 and was fifth in the 10-kilometer marathon swim. He won the 10K national title again in 2017 and qualified for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, where he finished 10th in the marathon swim.
Wilimovsky had one of the early breakthroughs for the U.S. open water team when he won gold in the 10K at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan. He added a silver medal in the 10K at Worlds in 2017 in Hungary, then finished fifth at Worlds in 2019.
His international accolades include silver and bronze in the team event in 2017 and 2019, respectively, as well as gold in both the 10K and 1,500 free and silver in the 800 free at the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.
Wilimovsky joins soccer player Lauren Clem, basketball player Drew Crawford, softball coach Sharon Drysdale, football player Justin Jackson, golfers Hannah Kim and David Lipsky and honorary inductee Pat Ryan Jr.
“It’s truly an honor to welcome this exceptional class into the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame,” Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Mark Jackson said in a press release. “Our selection committee did remarkable work recognizing what sets this group apart. They represent the very best of what it means to be a Wildcat — not just as athletes, but as scholars, leaders, and ambassadors for our university. This class embodies a lifelong connection to Northwestern and to each other.”
