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Elite swimmer Elsa Bergh balances studies with European goal

SportsSports
Key Points
  • Elsa Bergh combines elite swimming with university studies through the RIU program
  • Bergh is targeting qualification for the European Championships in Paris this summer
  • Mid Sweden University's RIU status has been proposed to continue through 2030

Bergh is one of 110 RIU students at Mid Sweden University active across 15 sports, with two students in Sundsvall focusing on swimming. She is preparing for Swim Open Stockholm in April, followed by a competition in Norway and the Swedish Championships in the summer. According to SVT Mittnytt, Bergh described the European Championships in Paris in August as her big goal, contingent on performing well enough in the spring before the Swedish Championships, though the specific qualifying results required remain unclear.

Bergh will graduate in just a few months but is considering continuing to study for at least one more year because she does not feel completely finished with swimming. According to SVT Mittnytt, Bergh described having significantly more potential in her body that she wants to extract before being satisfied. Her long-term goal is development, with competitions and sub-goals seen as a bonus.

Mid Sweden University has been a Riksidrottsuniversitet since 2018 and has been proposed to continue as such for the contract period 2026–2030. A RIU works to develop Swedish sports on behalf of the Swedish Sports Confederation with special educational initiatives, dual careers, and practice-oriented elite sports research. According to the Swedish Sports Confederation, Mid Sweden University meets the basic required criteria and is also assessed to offer strong educational environments, elite sports environments, and relevant initiatives in practice-oriented elite sports research.

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SVT Mittnytt
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