Courtesy: Tennessee Athletics
AUBURN, Ala. – Voted on by league coaches, Tennessee sophomore Martin Espernberger has been named the 2024 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for men’s swimming & diving, the conference announced Friday.
Majoring in Electrical Engineering, the Linz, Austria, native has excelled in the classroom and in the pool throughout his career. He boasts an impressive 3.93 GPA, and he entered the SEC Championships with the top time in the conference in the 200 fly.
During the 200 fly prelims earlier in the day, Espernberger posted a mark of 1:41.88 to head into finals with the No. 2 seed in the event. Last week, he competed at the 2024 Doha World Championships, winning a bronze medal in the event. It was his first medal won at a major championship event on the international stage.
A 2024 Olympic qualifier, Espernberger was a second team All-American last season in the 200 fly and was tabbed to the All-SEC Freshman Team. In the classroom, he was a member of the 2023 SEC Academic First Year Honor Roll last June.
Espernberger is the third Vol to be named SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining Geoff Sanders in 2010 and Ryan Helms in 2012.
So is this the swimmer that said “Oh F*** during an interview with Elizabeth Beisel at the SEC swim championship after his win in the 200 Fly? The Scholar-Athlete of the year?
You’ll find that Europeans don’t have the same prudeness about curse words as Americans do, especially English curse words.