Magnus Poulsen is a junior psychology major from Copenhagen, Denmark. After transferring to Nova Southeastern University as a sophomore, he placed seventh in the 100 fly at the 2018 NCAA Div. II Championship. That same year, he was named an NCAA All-American in the 100 fly and received an Honorable Mention All-American in the 200 free relay, 400 medley relay and 400 free relay. He earned the title of Sunshine State Conference champion in the 100 fly and the 200 fly. His time in the 100 fly was an SSC record, meet record and a school record.
How and why did you get into swimming?
“My parents have been swimming their whole lives, so it was natural for me to start swimming. They threw me in [the water] as a baby, so to speak, and then I just started to get the catch of it from them. [My parents] supported me and I enjoyed [swimming] very much. I got better and better as I grew up.
What is your favorite thing about swimming?
“The way we are as a team. I really like the way we compete together— we are family and we share success. I’m a water animal, so I love being in the water. I’m terrible at land sports.”
Why did you come to NSU?
“The swim team, obviously. I was at a school up in Chicago my freshman year so I transferred down here my sophomore year. I really like the coach — Coach Ben — and all of the resources we have here at Nova. The staff is so supportive and understanding. Also, the academics. I’m starting Psychology and [the school] has a very good Psychology Program.”
How is swimming here different than in Copenhagen, Denmark?
“The biggest difference about swimming here in Florida compared to Denmark is, of course, the temperature. [In Florida] we practice outside every day. I never practice outside in Denmark because the weather isn’t so good for [swimming]. In Denmark, we don’t have the whole college experience. It’s either you do your sport or you do your school after high school. The mentality over here [is different]. You do your best every time. Back home, you do your best every time, but there’s still sometimes where it’s okay not to do [your best].
What are your goals for swimming in the future?
“I’m 23 now, and I’ve been swimming all my life. I feel like when I’m done with college, then I’ll have had enough at this level. I don’t want to go pro, I think, just because I want to have a working life. I don’t want to be defined as ‘the swimmer.’ [Swimming] is a big part of my life but I don’t want [swimming] to be the only thing I can do.”
Do you have any pre-meet rituals?
“I don’t have a specific one. I’m sure if you observe me, I’ll do [rituals] that I don’t even know I do before. I tend to go into meets with the mentality to have fun and to not think too much about the meet. [I try to] take it as it comes and have fun with my teammates. If they’re nervous, that gets me fired up, kind of. I know [getting fired up from other people’s nervousness] may sound a little weird, but I can take some off their pressure of with me being so relaxed around them.
What is your favorite thing to do after a big meet?
“Hopefully, let’s say [the meet] went well, then I like to go out and have a nice dinner with my teammates. We just decide [where to go] at the moment, kind of. We talk about the meet afterward. I might also be extremely tired and just want to go home and watch Netflix. It depends.”
What does your downtime look like?
“I like to travel a lot. I would say my favorite place that I’ve ever been was Thailand. We went to Phuket— Asia is such a different part of the world than the rest. [Phuket, Thailand] was just so incredibly beautiful and everything there was awesome. I also enjoy doing other kinds of sports and activities— wakeboarding and surfing, for example. I try to do that in the off-season. In the summer, when I’m home in Denmark, I work as an ocean rescue lifeguard.”
Do you have any hobbies?
“I love cooking food and trying new recipes. [Cooking] is a stress reliever for me. I like to chill out with my friends and have them come over and taste whatever I cooked.”
Who do you consider your biggest role model?
“Steve Jobs. I consider him a huge role model. He built [Apple] up from a garage, literally, and made [his business] what it is today.”
What is advice you would give to other student-athletes?
“Hang in there. Don’t get behind in school, keep up with it so you can keep on [doing your sport]. That’s why I came to America, I wanted to do school as well as swimming. There’s a lot of temptations down here in South Florida, so just make sure you are doing the right things.”
How have you managed to balance sports and academics?
“I’m very organized. We have practice from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. three times a week and then every afternoon. I know exactly when I have to be in the pool, and I manage my time outside of the pool: now I know I have time for a nap, now I know I have time to do homework, now I have to go swim, have dinner, do more homework as needed.”
What do you plan to do after graduation?
“After graduation, I want to get a master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. I’m not sure if I’ll [go to school] in the U.S. or go back home. [That program] isn’t offered at Nova, so I have to find another school if I want to stay here. [Staying in the U.S.] also depends if I get into that school. Or if I say ‘okay, those were my four years in America, now I want to go back home.’ But I definitely want to get a master’s degree.”
