Eva Okaro Brings Long-Awaited Speed to Texas in First College Season
For five consecutive seasons, the University of Texas women have finished among the top-three teams at the NCAA Championships, the program’s best run in decades. But in an unusual twist for top college teams, the Longhorns have achieved their success with virtually zero success in the sprint freestyle races. Over the past five years, Texas had exactly one swimmer score points at the NCAA Championships in the 50 or 100 free, when Grace Cooper placed ninth in 2024. Moreover, Texas has frequently faced deficits in the relay events compared to rival schools with stroke and mid-distance specialists frequently called into duty.
That pattern should change this season as Texas welcomes the fastest swimmer to ever call Austin her collegiate home, Eva Okaro. The 18-year-old from Great Britain is already an Olympian, world-junior-record holder and international medalist, and her blazing start to the college year raises the ceiling for her Texas team.
Okaro raced in her first Olympic final in Paris, handling a leg of the British women’s 400 free relay alongside decorated teammates Anna Hopkin and Freya Anderson. Months later, Okaro would race in the 50 free final at the Short Course World Championships and finish fourth, her time of 23.66 establishing a world junior record. Okaro would finish one spot ahead of Meg Harris, the Australian who had already won Olympic silver in 2024 and would go on to win the long course world title in the 50 free in 2025.
At the conclusion of the 2024 short course meet, Okaro swam the butterfly leg in the final of the women’s 400 medley relay and earned silver alongside her British teammates.
“It did take me a long time to process that world junior record, and I think it only sunk in once I got the certificate,” Okaro told Swimming World this summer. “It’s one of the best meets I’ve been to and that medal in the relay was really unexpected. It was fun, I think that is the main thing – I went into it really confident; I enjoyed it a lot more and had a lot more fun with it and it wasn’t too serious so I got the best results out of it.”
During the 2025 long course season, Okaro won the British national title in the 50 free in 24.48, a time that would end the summer ranked No. 13 in the world, and she would end up in 11th place in the event at the World Championships.
Now comes the college circuit, and based on the early returns, Okaro has done quite well in her introduction to short course yards competition. In the Longhorns’ dual meet against Alabama last month, Okaro blasted a 20.94 split for the 50 free that made her the first Texas swimmer ever to go under 21 seconds. She was even better when her team faced Tennessee: Okaro clocked 47.06 in the 100 free, a team record and good for No.3 in the early-season national rankings, and 21.54 in the 50 free, which sits fifth in the country.
Expect Okaro to bring some much-needed firepower for Texas this championship season as the team rebuilds following the graduation of a strong fifth-year class led by Emma Sticklen, the three-time national champion in the 200 butterfly. Winning individual titles in the sprint events will be a big challenge for any swimmer not named Torri Huske, but top-three finishes are within reach. Short course and long course are very different formats, but Okaro did finish the summer two world-ranking spots ahead of Louisville’s Julia Dennis, who took third in the 50-yard race at last year’s NCAAs.
Even with swimmers such as Sticklen, Cooper and Abby Arens gone from last year’s team, Texas should field improved relays this season thanks to the presence of Okaro and Nikolett Padar, another freshman freestyler who helped Hungary to silver in the 800 free relay at last year’s Short Course Worlds. Okaro will certainly contest the maximum four relays at the SEC and NCAA Championships, and head coach Carol Capitani could also deploy her on the butterfly leg of the medley relays.
Okaro, the first black woman to represent Great Britain in pool swimming at the Olympics, has cited Simone Manuel winning Olympic gold in the 100 free as an inspiration for her own swimming. In Paris, Okaro had the opportunity to race next to Manuel as both swimmers contested the 400 free relay prelims. At Texas, Okaro can simply look across the pool to find Manuel still training under men’s coach Bob Bowman.
Okaro now occupies a similar position to the one Manuel did for Stanford a decade ago, as an already-established international sprinter on a contending team. Alongside Sara Curtis, an Italian sprinter who Okaro befriended during their time competing in junior-level meets in Europe, Okaro is poised to be one of the highest-impact freshman competing in college swimming this season.
