Gena Jorgenson is leaving the Nebraska swimming and diving program as one of the most decorated athletes in school history. She capped her career with an impressive finish at the NCAA Championships in Atlanta, Ga., to add to her extensive list of accolades.
The senior distance swimmer finished fourth in the 1,650-meter freestyle with a time of 15:42.94 and 14th in the 500-meter free with a time of 4:38.77.
“It absolutely means the world to me,” Jorgenson told Hail Varsity of her fourth-place finish. “I couldn’t have asked for a better swim that night. I think it just showed that all the hard work and all the effort and all the days that I put in really paid off. So, I was really, really happy with everything that I swam at that meet, especially that mile.”
Jorgenson discussed her approach in the pool and how it helped her come out on top in her heat.
“There’s not a lot that you really think about during the swim, but you definitely have to rely on and trust your race plan, which mine is just splitting it up into threes,” Jorgenson said. “You can’t worry about the other competitors, because they all have different race plans, and anything could happen …
“I trusted my race plan and stuck to it, and I was able to catch some of the girls in the heat and ended with the best time.”
Jorgenson concluded her Husker career with first-team All-America honors in the 1,650 free and second-team All-America honors in the 500 free, pushing her All-America accolades career total to four. Her strong showing helped the Huskers finish 27th as a team, earning Nebraska’s first top-30 finish since 2021.
“It means a lot to me, and I know it means a lot for our program, because it just shows that we are one of the top programs even though we are in Nebraska,” Jorgenson said. “I think it really means a lot to me, and it shows all the hard work and time put into the pool and out of the pool. It also shows the work ethic of our team, and hopefully in the future it can help bring more and more girls to Nebraska for swim and dive.”
In 2024, Jorgenson competed in the USA swim trials but fell short of qualifying for the Olympic team. The following summer, she attended the 2025 Toyota USA National Championships in Indianapolis, Ind., where she came in fifth place in the 1500-meter free. That finish earned her a spot in the World University Games in Germany, where she claimed a silver medal with a time of 16:15.44.
“It was in Germany last year, and you compete as Team USA with a whole bunch of other college swimmers,” Jorgenson said. “Obviously, I swim against a lot of them, so it was nice to be on the same team for once and cheering them on instead of competing against them. It was super interesting to see all the different countries there, and it was my first international experience, so I had a blast.”
The Aberdeen, S.D., native said that she learned a lot from that experience, which she carried into her senior year.
“I think it gave me just a bigger perspective, and the meet last year was very similar to the NCAAs,” Jorgenson said. “I swam against many of the same people there, so I think it kind of just gave me a little bit more confidence and allowed me to calm down during bigger meets this season and know I have the experience from that and other meets in the past that can help me in the NCAAs or Big Ten swim meets.”
That experience proved valuable in the Big Ten championships in 2026 as Jorgenson took third in the 500 free with a time of 4:39.15 and first in the 1,650 free with a time of 15:45.36.
“I was so excited,” Jorgenson said. “I remember all of my team lined up on the side of the pool cheering for me, other teams in the Big Ten cheering for me, and it just meant so much to me. To share that with my teammates meant even more. When I looked and saw that I was first, it was kind of shocking. I really didn’t know, but it was truly one of the best moments I’ve had in my swimming career.”
Jorgenson competed in freestyle, backstroke and individual medley events throughout her career and holds 11 different school records.
As a freshman, she broke the program 1,650-meter freestyle record twice, first at the Big Ten Championships (16:13.54) for a sixth-place and then again at the NCAA Championships (16:13:34) to finish 28th.
In her sophomore season, Jorgenson rose to new heights by breaking four school records, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in three events and becoming the first Husker to earn first-team All-America honors since 2001.
She took fifth place in the 1,650 free at the Big Ten Championships, then improved on that 16:01.72 time to finish in eighth place at nationals, setting a new school record with a time of 15:55.71.
As a junior, Jorgenson continued her record-breaking, again qualifying for the NCAAs in three events. In the Big Ten Championships, she finished in fourth place in the 1,650 free with a time of 15:56.70 while setting a program record in the 500 free with a mark of 4:39.31, good for a sixth-place finish. She was also part of the 800-meter freestyle relay team that set a school record and finished in eighth place with a 7:07.35 mark.
In the NCAA Championships, she again shattered her own record with a 15:49.99 finish in the 1,650 free, earning a sixth-place finish and her second straight first-team All-America nod.
She built on all of her previous success to cap her career with two more All-America honors and the top-30 team finish in 2026.
“My coaches push me so hard in the pool and out of the pool to become better and believe in me more than I probably believed in myself,” Jorgenson said. “They knew that I could do sets that, at the time, I didn’t think I was ever going to complete during practice. And then my teammates have really helped me, they push me every single day in practice. There like my family, and I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Jorgenson has left her mark on Nebraska swimming, but she’s hoping Husker fans will remember her for her contributions outside of the pool.
“I definitely want them to think not really of my times, nothing like that,” Jorgenson said. “I’d rather them think of me as a person, being a good teammate, being a leader, being dedicated, showing my support for Nebraska and just knowing that I love the team and that I love the sport.”