Oliver Blanchard of Pointe Claire, Quebec, Canada will be heading south after handing his verbal commitment to the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Blanchard posted his commitment to Instagram.
“I am honoured to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Georgia. I want to thank my family and coaches for all their support and help to get me to this point. Lastly I’d like to thank the coaches at Georgia for giving me this amazing opportunity. GO DAWGS!!”
Blanchard, a member of the high school class of 2028 competes for Pointe-Claire Swim Club in Quebec. A young star for his home country, he has represented Canada on the international stage on a few occasions. Most recently, Blanchard was a finalist at the 2026 Jr. Pan Pacific Championships where he delivered strong performances across the distance freestyle events, highlighted by a personal best of 8:06.59 in the 800m freestyle to earn 6th place. Blanchard also finished 8th in the 1500m freestyle and 9th in the 400m freestyle final at that competition, while contributing a 1:51.88 split on Canada’s 800m freestyle relay team.
Best Times LCM (with SCY conversions):
- 200 Freestyle – 1:52.58 (1:38.54)
- 400 Freestyle – 3:56.11 (4:24.54/500 Freestyle)
- 800 Freestyle – 8:06.59 (9:05.19/1000 Freestyle)
- 1500 Freestyle – 15:25.02 (15:06.88/1650 Freestyle)
With his strongest events coming in the 800 and 1500 freestyle, Blanchard is a strong pick-up for a Georgia team that lacks depth in the distance freestyle events. While he doesn’t have official SCY times, the SwimSwam Time Converter can give a solid picture of his potential. Last season, Georgia was led by Sean Green in both the non-NCAA 1000 freestyle and the 1650 freestyle, as well as the 500 freestyle. However, behind Green there is a clear path for Blanchard to be a contributor for the Bulldogs.
At the 2026 NCAA Championships, Georgia finished 15th overall with 64.5 points. The aforementioned Green was a major player in that total, grabbing 15 points individually as a freshman.
With his commitment, Blanchard is set to join Coyle Moore, Eli Sweet, Will Bridges, and Luke Sullivan on Georgia’s campus in the fall of 2028.
