Four minutes, seven seconds — that’s the time on the clock that turned last year’s goals into this season’s determination for Luke Hobson.
Hobson, a junior, has made a name for himself as the newest holder of two program records for Texas men’s swimming and diving. He holds the 500-yard freestyle record with a time of 4:07.37 and the 800-yard freestyle relay at 6:03.42.
Hobson’s decision to commit to Texas was a simple one.
“All the guys that you see in practice, they’re throwing down crazy times and the coaches are coming up with good sets for us to do,” Hobson said. “It was really a pretty easy decision for me to make.”
Committing to Texas was just a stepping stone to his success. Since arriving at the University, Hobson garnered attention for cutting down his times over the years in the 100, 200 and 500-yard freestyles as well as differing relay teams. His time drops carry notable differences, such as the difference between his pre-collegiate time of 1:38.63 in the 200-yard freestyle to a new personal record of 1:29.63. He credits his motivation to the encouragement from his teammates.
“You go into practice every day and they really push you to be the best,” Hobson said. “We kind of have an environment where we all thrive off each other, pushing each other to be the best.”
It’s an environment that constantly pushes the limits of what Texas athletes can do. For Hobson, those limits came in the form of two broken records and the hope to break even more.
“I feel like with swimming there’s always something you’re chasing, trying to get to that next level,” he said. “I find that super motivating because, personally, I want to be the best that I can be and, ideally, that’s the best ever.”
Both Hobson’s mother and father swam for USC, where their experiences provided them with valuable advice to share.
“My parents have always told me there’s always going to be someone out there that’s better than you,” Hobson said. “I feel like that motivates me a lot too, just knowing that people are doing more than I am right now.”
As the team looks ahead to this season, Hobson isn’t the only member turning past goals into new motives. The team’s Big 12 Championship title from the spring sets a high bar for this season. When it comes to setting new objectives, everyone seems to be on the same page.
“We had a whole team goal meeting earlier this year,” Hobson said. “I just want to be better than I was in all aspects.”
Even with the season approaching, Hobson is already thinking about his life after college. As Hobson continues to beat his own times, his drive will prove useful in his goal to take his sport professionally.
“It’s definitely within my means, I think,” Hobson said. “We’ll see, going into this spring and the NCAAs and the Olympic trials and hopefully the Olympics.”
With a new season just around the corner and a promising record to back him up, Hobson’s determination keeps his sights on his goal to consistently be better than he was before.
