Marthe Willumsen, a Norwegian swimming champion, reflects on her
accomplishments, daily routine, and future aspirations in this exclusive
interview sponsored by SwimEye
Q: “It’s been one year since our partnership began. Can you share some highlights from the
past year?”
A: “In the month after we agreed to our partnership (October 2023), I competed in the
Norwegian Short course Championship. At this event, I swam all the butterfly events (50,
100, and 200 meters) and the 50m freestyle. For the first time in Norwegian history, I did a
full sweep of the three butterfly events at the same Norwegian championship, a so called
“Tripple-crown”. This has never been done by a woman at the national championship.
Although I did the same at the youth championships in 2018 (UM), the fact that I managed to
do it at the senior championships reflects my ambition, determination and the improvement
I’ve had the last couple of years. In addition to these three gold medals, I won the silver in
the 50m freestyle, swimming the sixth fastest time by a Norwegian. All in all, a very good
start to our partnership.
Thanks to our partnership over the last year, I was given the opportunity to compete at
international competitions in cities like Rotterdam, Barcelona, and Cannet, attending some of
the most recognised swimming meets. At these competitions, I have been in finals,
competing against the best in the world. This has given me important international
experience and the motivation to take the next step in my career.
In addition to his, I competed a Norwegian Long course championships this summer. Sadly,
my spring was turbulent, and I struggled with illness, so my performance at the nationals
were not to my expectations. However, I still became Vice-Norwegian champion three times,
but I wanted more.”
Q: “What does your typical day look like as an athlete balancing training and studies?”
A: “In swimming, the early bird gets the worm—I wake up at 5:20 a.m. from Monday to
Friday but get to sleep in on Saturdays (I sleep to 6:20 a.m, hehe). My training week is made
up of 8-10 swim sessions, each lasting about two hours, and roughly 6 hours of strength
training, yoga, and running. On top of this, I am studying for my bachelor’s degree in
psychology, juggling between resting in between workouts and attending lectures. It is a fine
balance between doing too much and getting enough rest, thanks to our partnership, I can
focus on optimizing this balance.”
Q: “You organized an all-girls swim weekend in August. How was that experience?”
A: “At the Olympics in Paris, Norway had three competing swimmers, all men. I wanted to
gather the best girls in Norway to foster a culture of mutual support where we can learn from
each other and support each other. I organized the first gathering in August this year, and it
was very successful to say the least. We gathered 25 of Norway’s best female swimmers
(based on Fina-points), to an all-girls weekend in Bergen. The feedback was overwhelmingly
positive—here’s a glimpse of what participants shared on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/C_YFaEro_HI/?img_index=1. Hopefully, this is something that
become an annual gathering, and several swimming clubs have expressed their interest to
help organize it for the coming year.”
Q: “What are your key goals and focus areas for the upcoming season?”
A: “My main goal is to qualify for the European U23 Championship in July 2025, and the
senior European Championship in December 2025. To achieve this, I must minimize
absence due to illness and become better at managing my training load. In 2024, I learned
that it’s rarely smart to push through and important to listen to my body. My focus will be on
training smarter, not necessarily harder. This was an important lesson I’ll keep in mind going
into next season. In terms of training, I’m going to focus on building a larger aerobic base
and building strength. I believe this approach will be key to achieving my goals.
Once again, I’d like to thank you for our partnership, it is very important for me and an
important support I as strive to take the next big step in my career.”