Four-time Olympic medalist Taylor Ruck has announced that she will not be competing at the 2023 Canadian Swimming Trials this week in order to rest. The meet will be used to select the team for the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan this summer and Ruck was entered in the 100 free (ranked first), 200 free (ranked second), and 100 back (ranked third.)

“I need to put myself in the best position to perform to my goals at the Olympics next year,” Ruck told Swimming Canada about her decision. “Right now that means I need to unplug for a little while, so I can come back refreshed and ready to be at my best in the pool.”

The Stanford senior just finished a busy NCAA season where she defended her NCAA Championship title in the 200 free at the women’s NCAA Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee. Ruck also swam on Stanford’s 800 free, 200 free, and 400 free relays, all of which placed second, and she helped Stanford to a third-place finish overall. In December, she represented Canada at the 2022 FINA World Swimming Championships in Melbourne.

After NCAAs, Ruck joined a training group at the High Performance Centre in Ontario in order to prepare for Trials. But, she was feeling exhausted and ultimately decided to take a break. After discussing her long-term swimming plans with Stanford head coach Greg Meehan, HPC-Ontario head coach Ryan Mallette, and Swimming Canada High Performance Director and Swimming Canada National Coach John Atkinson, they supported her decision to withdraw from the Canadian Trials.

“We need to keep the long-term best interests of each individual athlete at the forefront,” Atkinson said in Swimming Canada’s press release. “With so many events on the calendar last year, and between now and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, not every swimmer is going to be able to swim them all.

Olympic champion Penny Oleksiak also withdrew from the Canadian Trials in order to continue recovering and rehabilitating from the knee injury she suffered in the summer of 2022.

“Everybody’s got to do what they need to do on their path, based on where they are physically and mentally. Everybody’s on their own path to Paris, and those paths are going to converge next year.”

It appears that her break will not be too long, though, as both Atkinson and Ruck plan on her training at the Swimming Canada camp in Mallorca in May and then racing at Mare Nostrum.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Taylor Ruck Opts Out of Canadian Trials

In the history of the summer Olympic Games, there have only been three occasions where the American men did not win an individual Olympic gold medal in swimming: 1896, 1900, and 1980.

In 1896 and 1900, the US sent only one athlete in swimming. In 1896, Gardner Williams swam two races and won no medals. In 1900, Fred Hendschel swam the 200 free and 200 metre obstacle event, and didn’t advance to the final in either.

In 1980, the US didn’t send a team.

And that’s it. That’s the totality of years in which the US didn’t win a gold medal in men’s swimming at the Olympic Games.

Now, just-over a year away from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, there is a very real possibility that we see this again.

At the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, the American men won five individual gold medals. Three of those were in the stroke 50s (50 breast, 50 back, 50 fly) which are not events at the Olympic Games.

The other two were Bobby Finke, who swam 7:39.36 in the 800 free to win by less than three tenths of a second; and Ryan Murphy, who swam 1:54.52 in the 200 back to win by about half-a-second. Those two are probably the best chances, based on what we know right now, to win individual Olympic golds in Paris.

Murphy was the Olympic silver medalist in the 200 back, finishing almost a second behind the winner. The winner was Russian Evgeny Rylov, who is a focal point of the conflict over whether to allow Russian athletes to compete in the Paris 2024 Olympics after he made an appearance on stage at a rally in Moscow in support of the Russian government’s war in Ukraine.

While Murphy has seen a resurgence in his career coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rylov is a year younger than Murphy. If Russia is allowed into the Olympics, and if Rylov maintains his motivation during that time, he probably reattains his status as favorite.

If that doesn’t happen, however, there’s not an obvious challenger to Murphy – if he can continue his form through Paris. Among the swimmers who have been faster than Murphy’s 1:54.52 from the World Championships last year, most are retired. A few others are on the tail-end of their careers, or focusing on other events, and haven’t been those times in years (Radoslaw Kawecki, Ryosuke Irie, Mitch Larkin, and Xu Jiayu, for example).

Great Britain’s Luke Greenbank seems like the biggest international threat on paper right now, outside of the Russians. He took silver at last year’s World Championships, has been consistently in the 1:54 range since coming out of the pandemic, and is two years younger than Murphy (meaning he’ll be sort of at a prime age of 26 as the Paris Olympics come around).

Murphy’s other biggest challengers might be domestic: Shaine Casas, the Worlds bronze medalist, was 1:55.35, seems to have a deep pool of talent, and will hit Paris a few years into his earnest pro-level training; and the young teenager Daniel Diehl, who ranks 3rd in the world this season at just 17-years-old, .03 seconds faster than Murphy.

But overall, there might be some clean water there for Murphy. That’s probably the Americans’ best bet based on what we know right now.

As for Finke, the other World Champion, he faces a very good field in both of the distance freestyles from the likes of Florian Wellbrock, Mykhailo Romanchuk, Gregorio Paltrinieri, Guilherme Costa, and Daniel Wiffen, among many others.

Given his age (23), Finke still has as good of a chance as any of those swimmers at gold in Paris, but with so much talent in the events — arguably the most talent we’ve had in men’s distance freestyles in decades — there’s very little margin of error there for the double Tokyo Olympic Champion.

When looking across the board otherwise, though, it’s hard to see where the Americans might have great medal chances otherwise.

If it’s still not clear to anyone why American swimming fans are so interested in the return of Caeleb Dressel, this is why. Before he left the 2022 World Championships early, Dressel felt like the American mens’ surest bet to keep the gold medal well from running dry in Paris. With rumors that he’s back in training and will join an American training camp in Colorado Springs in a few weeks flying, an athlete of his caliber isn’t going to just disappear after a 6 month break, but we also don’t know where, exactly, he’ll be when he returns, if he’ll be that same ‘overwhelming favorite’ that he’s been.

David Popovici is way ahead of the world in the 100 and 200 freestyles; Kristof Milak has the 200 fly locked down; Leon Marchand, after his performances at the NCAA Championships, doesn’t look likely to give up any titles in the IM races; and there are active World Record holders in both breaststrokes (Adam Peaty and Zac Stubblety-Cook) without Americans as the most likely to pick up those wins even if either guy stumbles.

This is not to say that the Americans don’t have good young talent. Daniel Diehl and Maximus Williamson and Thomas Heilman and Rex Maurer and Will Modglin and a pile of other current high school swimmers will all be in their primes for LA 2028 and Brisbane 2032.

But 2024 looks like it could be a lull in the wave of American swimming.

There are chances, and the American men have gold medal opportunities (as laid out above) that aren’t too far-fetched. But 2024 also feels like the closest the American men have ever been to that edge. At a minimum, we can say that among the world’s peak male superstars, none are American right now – and that’s unusual.

But this lull brings about a pathway for young swimmers to stake their claims, to wrest spots away from established members of Team USA, and to see a clear pathway to podiums of their own – maybe now, and maybe in the future. That comes with a lot of excitement for the future and the possibility of the next great generation rising to the challenge, just in time to impress in front of a lucrative home Olympics.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Could the American Men Strike Out on Olympic Gold Medals at Paris 2024 Olympics?

2023 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 22-25, 2023
• Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center | Minneapolis, MN
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Invited Swimmers By Team
• Alternates List
• Live Results
• Eligible Relays
• Live Stream
• Heat Sheets

Cal took home their 8th NCAA title last night and their 6th under head coach Dave Durden. Durden has lead the Bears to top-4 finishes every year since he took over the program in the 2007-2008 season, and they haven’t placed out of top-2 since 2010. Durden accredits alum support, Cal’s aquatic tradition and world-class academics for their unmatched success year in and year out.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Dave Durden Accredits Cal’s Consistency to “our families, our fabric, our community”

2023 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 22-25, 2023
• Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center | Minneapolis, MN
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• SwimSwam Pick ’em Contest
• Live Results
• Women’s Swammys

After an epic week of racing that saw eight NCAA records go down in Minneapolis, here are the 2022-23 NCAA Swammy Award winners for the men.

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS

1. Cal — 482
2. Arizona State — 430
3. Texas — 384
4. Indiana — 379
5. NC State — 373.5
6. Florida — 367.5
7. Tennessee — 216.5
8. Stanford — 143.5
9. Virginia Tech — 133
10. Auburn — 127
11. Ohio State — 112
12. Georgia — 96
13. Louisville — 92
14. Texas A&M — 80
15. Virginia — 78
16. LSU/Missouri — 62.5
17. (tie)
18. Notre Dame — 62
19. Alabama — 57
20. Michigan — 37
21. Minnesota — 36
22. USC — 31
23. Miami (FL)/UNC/Wisconsin — 27
24. (tie)
25. (tie)
26. South Carolina — 15
27. Utah — 14
28. Princeton/Southern Illinois/Kentucky — 13
29. (tie)
30. (tie)
31. Columbia — 12
32. Arizona — 11
33. Penn St/Pitt — 4
34. (tie)
35. Georgia Tech — 3
36. Air Force/Towson — 2
37. (tie)
38. Purdue — 1

SWIMMER OF THE MEET – LEON MARCHAND, SOPHOMORE, ARIZONA STATE

The reigning Swimmer of the Meet dazzled at his second NCAAs, somehow surpassing sky-high expectations by clocking the fastest times ever in six different events within the span of 72 hours.

Marchand sent warning shots on Wednesday night when he followed up the fastest 50 breaststroke split in history (22.27) on Arizona State’s 200 medley relay with a 1:28.42 anchor on the Sun Devils’ 800 free relay, becoming the first ever under 1:29 while nearly chasing down Texas standout Carson Foster in the process. His time would have won the 200 free individual event by more than two seconds.

Over the next two days on Thursday and Friday, Marchand broke his own NCAA and U.S. Open records in both the 200 IM (1:36.34) and 400 IM (3:28.82), annihilating the latter mark by nearly three seconds. On Friday night, he added the fastest 100 breast relay split (49.23) on ASU’s 400 medley relay, helping the Sun Devils finish under the previous NCAA record even though they placed third in the final.

By the time Saturday rolled around, it was understandable how Marchand “only” went 1:46.91, still lowering his previous NCAA and U.S. Open record of 1:47.67 that he set earlier this month at the Pac-12 Championships. With his fifth individual NCAA title He capped his meet by helping ASU place third in the 400 free relay with the second-fastest split in the field (40.55). The 20-year-old Frenchman is simply in another stratosphere right now, and he proved it again this week in Minneapolis.

Honorable Mentions

• Josh Liendo, freshman, Florida – The Canadian Olympian only seemed to grow stronger throughout the meet. After earning runner-up finishes in the 50 free (18.40) and 100 fly (43.40) behind Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks and Virginia Tech’s Youssef Ramadan, respectively, Liendo bounced back on Saturday with his first individual NCAA title in the 100 free. His winning time of 40.28 made him the second-fastest man in history behind former Gator Caeleb Dressel (39.90). Liendo was also a force to be reckoned with on Florida’s relays, throwing down the first sub-43 100 fly split in history during the Gators’ record-breaking 400 medley relay victory on Friday night.
• Destin Lasco, junior, Cal – He couldn’t quite take down former Bear Ryan Murphy‘s seven-year-old NCAA, American, and U.S. Open record of 1:35.73 from 2016, but Lasco defended his 200 back title with a personal-best 1:35.87. That time ranks as the third-fastest ever behind only Texas A&M’s Shaine Casas (1:35.75) and Murphy. Lasco added podium finishes in the 200 IM (1:38.10 for second place) and 100 back (43.94 for third place), totaling 53 points — more than Cal’s 52-point margin of victory over second-place ASU.

COACH OF THE YEAR: BOB BOWMAN, ARIZONA STATE

ASU’s rapid rise makes it easy to forget where the program was less than a decade ago. When Bowman first took over the Sun Devils in 2016, they placed 44th at NCAAs. Before this year, they had never finished higher than 6th, a feat they accomplished in both 1982 and 2022. Last year’s result was historic, and they cleared their 2022 point total after just the 10th event this week en route to a 2nd-place showing behind Cal.

Yes, Marchand’s once-in-a-generation talent was crucial in carrying ASU to a runner-up finish this season — the program’s best showing ever at NCAAs by four places — but the Sun Devils were far from a one-man show. Bowman and his coaching staff deserve credit for developing a deep Sun Devils squad featuring freshmen Hubert Kos (37 points) and Owen McDonald (27 points) along with veterans Grant House (30 points) and Jack Dolan (25 points). Kos, McDonald, and Dolan all made multiple A-finals, highlighted by a third-place finish in the 200 back by Kos (1:37.96).

Honorable Mentions

• Dave Durden, Cal – During his first year guiding both the men’s and women’s programs in Berkeley, Durden managed to lead the Bears to its second consecutive national title. With 482 points, Cal became the first back-to-back champion since Texas won four straight from 2015-18. The Bears dominated despite having only one individual champion (Destin Lasco), showing off their depth with a trio of swimmers making three A-finals: Lasco (53 points), Hugo Gonzalez (50), and Gabriel Jett (46).
• Ryan Wochomurka, Auburn – The second-year Tigers coach brought his group back into the top 10 for the first time since 2016. Last season in his first year at the helm, Wochomurka led Auburn to a 25th-place finish, the team’s best showing in four years. This time around, he helped the Tigers jump 15 spots in the standings, tally 28 All-America honors from 12 different athletes, and break three school records. Most impressively, Wochomurka achieved significant improvement without a star on his roster, instead relying on a team effort powered by senior Aidan Stoffle (14 points), Nate Stoffle (11 points), and Reid Mikuta (7 points).

NEW-HIRE COACH OF THE YEAR: CHRIS LINDAUER, NOTRE DAME

Longtime Louisville assistant Chris Lindauer engineered a quick turnaround in his first year as head coach of the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame totaled 62 points en route to an 18th-place finish, the best result in program history, jumping up 15 spots from last year. Lindauer’s crew scored 47 more points than projected, breaking seven school records with only three individual qualifiers.

Under Lindauer’s leadership, Jack Hoagland capped off his senior season with a 5th-place finish in the 1650 free (14:38.64) along with B-final appearances in the 500 free (4:12.49 for 10th place) and 400 IM (3:40.82 for 12th place). The future of the Fighting Irish program appears bright with sophomore Chris Guiliano (9th place in 200 free, 10th in 100 free) and freshman Tommy Janton (14th in 100 back, 10th in 200 back) putting up breakout performances.

BREAKOUT SWIMMER OF THE YEAR: VAN MATHIAS, FIFTH YEAR, INDIANA

The 100 breast was a late addition to Mathias’ event lineup at his final NCAAs for the Hoosiers, but it turned out to be a great decision. Traditionally a butterfly and IM specialist, Mathias switched to training for the 50/100 free this season while also adding the 100 breast to his slate to fill a team need.

“I just told Ray and John and Cory, I just want to go fast,” Mathias said, describing a preseason with Indiana’s coaches. “I wanted to help the team as much as I could point-wise, and that happened to be 100 breast. “We kind of took a gamble coming in — didn’t know if it was going to work this well.”

The gamble paid off as Mathias dropped over four seconds in the 100 breast this season, culminating in a runner-up finish in 50.60 behind three-time champion Max McHugh (50.00). Mathias was just a blink slower in the final compared to his personal-best 50.57 from prelims. Making the accomplishment all the more remarkable is the fact that he didn’t swim the 100 breast for an official time from 2018-22.

Mathias wasn’t done helping the Hoosiers, placing 7th in the 100 free (41.39) on Saturday night, shaving more than two seconds off his best time coming into this season. Overall, he contributed 35 individual points, tied for third-most on Indiana’s 4th-place squad.

Honorable Mention

• Jack Alexy, sophomore, Cal – After serving as a valuable piece of the Bears’ freestyle relays last season, Alexy took a huge step forward as a sophomore. The 6-foot-7 New Jersey native placed 6th in the 50 free (18.87) and 2nd in the 100 free (40.92) just a year after placing 23rd in both events. One of only 11 swimmers to have ever broken the 41-second barrier in the 100 free, Alexy dropped more than half a second off his lifetime best to move up to No. 7 in the all-time rankings.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: JOSH LIENDO, FLORIDA

Liendo’s first NCAAs was nothing short of spectacular, racking up more points than any other swimmer besides Marchand. On Thursday night, Liendo became the fastest freshman ever in the 50 free with an 18.22 leadoff on the Gators’ record-breaking 200 free relay (1:13.35), just a few events after missing out on the individual title (18.40) less than a tenth behind Jordan Crooks (18.32).

After another runner-up finish in Friday’s 100 fly (43.40), he once again shined on the relay at the end of the session, recording the first sub-43 split in history on the 100 fly leg of Florida’s 400 medley relay. Then on Saturday, Liendo pieced together his finest performance of the meet, capturing his first individual NCAA crown in a time of 40.28. The victory made him the second-fastest performer ever behind only Caeleb Dressel. At 20 years old, it’s worth noting that Liendo is a year older than the typical college freshman.

Honorable Mentions

• Hubert Kos, Arizona State – A mid-year arrival from Hungary, Kos was responsible for the second-most points on the Sun Devils (37) thanks to his 11th-place finish in the 200 IM (1:41.61), 4th-place finish in the 400 IM (3:37.00), and 3rd-place finish in the 200 back (1:37.96).
• Owen McDonald, Arizona State – McDonald was close behind Kos with 27 points, also making multiple A-finals in the 100 back and 200 back. He has now dropped over two seconds this season in the 100 back and more than three seconds in the 200 back after placing 6th and 5th, respectively, with times of 44.85 and 1:39.34 in the finals.
• Baylor Nelson, Texas A&M – The top high school class of 2022 recruit led the Aggies with 19 points to cap his rookie campaign, highlighted by an A-final appearance in the 200 IM. Nelson placed 7th with a time of 1:40.88, taking over a second off his previous best from 2021. He added a 10th-place finish in the 400 IM (3:38.11), shaving more than three seconds off his previous best from last March.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2023 Swammy Awards: NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships

2023 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 22-25, 2023
• Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center | Minneapolis, MN
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• SwimSwam Pick ’em Contest
• Live Results

Leon Marchand had a historic weekend, capping it off with a 1:46.91 in the 200 Breast to become the first man to swim under the 1:47 barrier. It’s important to remember that while this may not have been *as* sensational as Leon’s other swims, this is still an incredible swim and the fastest performance in history.

Leon swam the fastest performance ever in 6 different events over the course of 72 hours, which makes some people (everyone) tired. So as he moved through the meet, I’m sure he was feeling not quite as fresh as he was one day 1 or 2 (or 3, especially after swimming a 3:28 400 IM).

So hats off to Leon for making history and here’s to what is hopefully many more historic swims.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Why Leon Marchand “ONLY” Went 1:46.91 in the 200 Breast Final

2023 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 22-25, 2023
• Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center | Minneapolis, MN
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• SwimSwam Pick ’em Contest
• Live Results

The Cal Bears came through on the final day as expected, piling up 167 points on Saturday to secure their second consecutive Men’s NCAA Championship title.

With notable strong showings in the 200 back, 100 free and 200 fly, followed by a narrow runner-up finish in the epic 400 free relay finale, the Bears finished the meet with 482 points to handily outpace runner-up Arizona State.

Cal ultimately outscored their projected psych sheet points by 25.5, while the Sun Devils also outperformed at +3.5.

Moving up from seventh on the psych sheet into third, Texas outscored its projection by a massive 170.5-point margin, scoring 384 points to hold off Indiana (379), NC State (373.5) and Florida (367.5) in what was a wild battle for spots 3-6 that went down to the wire.

This finish, albeit impressive for the group, marks the end of Texas’ nine-year run of first or second-place finishes.

Below, find day-by-day scores for each team and that number compared to their seeded points, plus the Day 4 events relative to seed.

DAY-BY-DAY SCORES VERSUS SEED

DAY 4 SCORES VERSUS SEED

1650 FREESTYLE

200 BACKSTROKE

100 FREESTYLE

200 BREASTSTROKE

200 BUTTERFLY

PLATFORM DIVING

400 FREE RELAY

DAY 4 TOTALS

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2023 Men’s NCAA Championships: Final Score Analysis

2023 CANADIAN SWIMMING TRIALS

• March 28 – April 2, 2023
• Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre
• TPASC
• Long Course Meters
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets

The 2023 Canadian Trials begin on March 28, 2023, at 9:30 am EST and will run until April 2. The six-day meet will be used to select Canada’s teams for the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka and the 2023 World Para Championships in Manchester later this year.

Prelims will begin every day at 9:30 am EST and will take between 1.5 – 3 hours, depending on the lineup. Finals will start at 6 pm EST daily. The event lineup can be found at this link.

The majority of Canada’s biggest stars will be in attendance at the meet, including Summer McIntosh, Kylie Masse, Josh Liendo, Maggie MacNeil, Taylor Ruck, Finlay Knox, and many more. To qualify automatically for Fukuoka 2023, swimmers will need to swim under the FINA A cut in their event and place within the top two. If they are in the top two but don’t hit the FINA A, they can still be selected but will be given lower priority. Additionally, the top 3rd and 4th place swimmers in the women’s 4×100 and 4×200 freestyles and the men’s 4×100 freestyle will qualify. You can read the full selection criteria here.

CBC will be live-streaming the entire meet, both prelims, and finals. You can find those live streams here:

2023 Canadian Trials – Live Stream Links

• Day 1 Prelims
• Day 1 Finals
• Day 2 Prelims
• Day 2 Finals
• Day 3 Prelims
• Day 3 Finals
• Day 4 Prelims
• Day 4 Finals
• Day 5 Prelims
• Day 5 Finals
• Day 6 Prelims
• Day 6 Finals

Make sure you check back in SwimSwam throughout the meet as we provide live recap and analysis of all 12 sessions of the 2023 Canadian Swimming Trials.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: How And When To Watch The 2023 Canadian Swimming Trials

2023 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 22-25, 2023
• Jean K. Freeman Aquatic Center | Minneapolis, MN
• SCY (25 yards)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• SwimSwam Preview Index
• SwimSwam Pick ’em Contest
• Live Results
• Day 1 Finals Live Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap | Day 2 Finals Live Recap
• Day 3 Prelims Live Recap | Day 3 Finals Live Recap
• Day 4 Prelims Live Recap

Top 15 Team Scores Thru Day 3

1. Cal – 315
2. Arizona State – 302
3. Texas – 292
4. Indiana – 259
5. Florida – 251
6. NC State – 246.5
7. Tennessee -144
8. Stanford — 112.5
9. Auburn/Virginia Tech — 96
10. (tie)
11. Louisville — 71
12. Virginia — 67
13. Texas A&M — 65
14. Ohio State — 54.5
15. Georgia — 53

Day 4 Finals Heat Sheets

It’s been a spectacular week of racing at the 2023 Division I Men’s NCAA Championships and there’s just one more session before the meet is wrapped up. On tap for the final session are finals of the 1650 free, 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly, platform diving, and the 400 free relay.

Things start off with the fastest heat of the mile. Out of the early heats, NC State’s Ross Dant threw down a lifetime best 14:30.22, which will be the time to beat. It’s faster than anyone in the last heat has been this season, as Kentucky freshman Levi Sandidge comes in as the top seed with a 14:31.47. Also in the hunt for the title is Dant’s teammate Will Gallant and David Johnston, the runner up in the 500 free.

In the 200 backstroke, Destin Lasco looks to repeat as national champion. Lasco turned the jets on in the back half of his prelims race en route to season best 1:36.68. Tonight, he takes aim at Ryan Murphy‘s American record. His teammate Hugo Gonzalez, the 400 IM runner-up, joins him in the ‘A’ final as the second seed, while ASU also has two in the ‘A’ final: Hubert Kos and Owen McDonald.

Cal had their trademark strong Day 4 prelims, as they earned the top seed not only in the 200 back, but also in the 100 free (Jack Alexy, 40.88) and 200 fly (Gabriel Jett, 1:39.71). It puts them in line to repeat as NCAA champions, but the points race is far from over. Even outside of the overall title, the race for second through fourth is exceedingly tight and could very well come down to the final relay.

In the 100 free, the Golden Bears also have 2022 runner-up Bjorn Seeliger, who tied with the defending champion Brooks Curry for fourth seed heading into finals. It’s a stacked field, with 50 free champion Jordan Crooks, who was the only swimmer other than Alexy to break 41 seconds this morning. Both Youssef Ramadan and Josh Liendo have had great meets so far and will be in them ix as well.

Then, Leon Marchand will be back in the water for his final individual event: the 200 breaststroke. Marchand comes in as the top seed after setting a pool record this morning. At PAC-12s, he set a new NCAA record of 1:47.67, and after the exceptional meet he’s had we’ll all be back on record watch as he looks to go 3-for-3 in his individual events this week.

Behind Marchand, Caspar Corbeau qualified second in a personal best 1:49.98, becoming the first person not named Marchand to break 1:50 this season. He’ll have to fend off Max McHugh, who looks to close out his individual collegiate career in front of a home crowd in style.

The final individual swimming event is the 200 fly, where Jett and Dare Rose earned the top two seeds in 1:39.71 and 1:40.00. They’ll be flanked by ASU’s Alex Colson and Indiana’s Brendan Burns. Burns is the defending champion in this event and he also won the 100 backstroke earlier in the meet. After taking on the 200 back/200 fly double at Big Tens, Burns just has the 200 fly to focus on today, so he and his underwaters are sure to be as sharp as ever.

1650 Yard Freestyle — Timed Finals

• NCAA Record: 14:12.08 — Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
• Meet Record: 14:12.52 — Bobby Finke, Florida (2021)
• American Record: 14:12.08 — Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
• U.S. Open Record: 14:12.08 — Bobby Finke, Florida (2020)
• Pool Record: 14:24.43 — Anton Ipsen, NC State (2018)
• 2022 Champion: Bobby Finke, Florida — 14:22.28

Top 8:

1. Will Gallant, NC State — 14:28.94
2. Ross Dant, NC State — 14:30.32
3. Jake Magahey, Georgia — 14:33.82
4. David Johnston, Texas — 14:35.51
5. Jack Hoagland, Notre Dame — 14:38.64
6. Levi Sandidge, Kentucky — 14:40.05
7. Charlie Clark, Ohio State — 14:41.43
8. Zalan Sarkany, Arizona State — 14:42.80

Last year, Will Gallant and Ross Dant went 2-3 in this event. In their post-race interview, they said it had been a season long goal for them to move up to the top two spots on the podium. They checked that goal off tonight, as Will Gallant won in a lifetime best 14:28.94, becoming the 20th person in history to break 14:30. Earlier this season, Gallant became the first man to qualify for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials in the 1500 free at the U.S. Open.

There was no one on deck happier for Gallant than his teammate Dant. He was jumping up and down during the race as Gallant gained on and eventually passed David Johnston, then was the first to congratulate the new champion and pull him out of the water. Dant, a senior, was sick at ACCs and thus swam in the early heats of the mile. There, he swam a lifetime best 14:30.32, nearly beating his teammate Gallant to the 14:30 barrier.

Magahey also moved up on the back half of the race and passed Johnston. He touched in 14:33.82, a new season best which improves on his fourth place finish last year. Johnston held on to grab fourth in a season best of 14:35.51, which also moves him up one step on the podium from 2022. Johnston’s lifetime best stands at 14:32.40.

Also getting onto the podium from the early heats was Notre Dame’s Jack Hoagland. Hoagland has had a strong NCAA meet after missing last season due to injury and caps it off with his highest finish of the meet and All-America honors.

The top seed, freshman Levi Sandidge, ended up sixth in 14:40.05, adding 8.5 seconds from his sensational SEC swim. There’s a long tradition of freshman not doing so well in the mile at NCAAs. Last year, only two of nine freshmen in the race dropped time and this year it’s one out of six. The one this year? Florida’s Gio Linscheer, who dropped five seconds to finish 16th.

200 YARD BACKSTROKE – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal (2016)
• Meet Record: 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal (2016)
• American Record: 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal (2016)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:35.73 – Ryan Murphy, Cal (2016)
• Pool Record: 1:36.68 — Destin Lasco, Cal (2023)
• 2022 Champion: Destin Lasco, Cal – 1:37.71

Top 8:

1. Destin Lasco, Cal — 1:35.87 (Pool Record)
2. Hugo Gonzalez, Cal — 1:36.72
3. Hubert Kos, Arizona State — 1:37.96
4. Ian Grum, Georgia — 1:38.47
5. Owen McDonald, Arizona State — 1:39.34
6. Kacper Stokowski, NC State — 1:39.35
7. Jack Dahlgren, Missouri — 1:39.45
8. Carson Foster, Texas — 1:39.48

It’s another 1-2 finish, this time for the Cal Golden Bears, as Destin Lasco and Hugo Gonzalez earned the top two spots in the 200 backstroke. Lasco earned his second straight title in this event with a lifetime best 1:35.87, the third fastest performance all-time. It undercuts the 1:35.99 he swam for second at this meet in 2021.

Gonzalez put an exclamation mark on his meet in his last individual collegiate race. Not only did he earn his second runner-up finish of the meet, but he did so in a lifetime best of 1:36.72. He lowered the lifetime best 1:37.19 that he swam at PAC-12s. Before conferences, he hadn’t swum a PB in this event since he was at Auburn.

Hubert Kos held his seed and finished third. He dropped about another three-tenths from the program record 1:38.25 he swam in prelims, going sub-1:38 with a 1:37.96. His teammate Owen McDonald moved up from his eighth place seed, finishing fifth in 1:39.34.

After finishing second in this race last year, Carson Foster added over a second and finished eighth.

100 YARD FREESTYLE – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida – 2018
• Meet Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida – 2018
• American Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida – 2018
• U.S. Open Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida – 2018
• Pool Record: 39.90 – Caeleb Dressel, Florida – 2018
• 2022 Champion: Brooks Curry, LSU – 40.84

Top 8:

1. Josh Liendo, Florida — 40.28
2. Jack Alexy, Cal — 40.92
3. Bjorn Seeliger, Cal — 40.93
4. Ruslan Gaziev, Ohio State — 40.98
5. Jordan Crooks/Brooks Curry — 41.03
6. (tie)
7. Van Mathias, Indiana — 41.39
8. Youssef Ramadan, Virginia Tech — 41.61

Josh Liendo has been the national runner up in two events at this meet, and now he is finally at the top of the podium, earning the title in the 100 freestyle. He took the win in spectacular fashion, getting out to a blazing start and flipping at the 50-yard mark in 19.14, out way in front of the field. He didn’t take his foot off the gas at all, coming home in a field best 21.14. Liendo touched in a blistering 40.28; it’s a new lifetime best for him by almost a second and makes him the second fastest performer all-time. The only person who’s been faster than him is Caeleb Dressel, who Liendo now ties for third fastest performance all-time.

Behind him, Cal’s Jack Alexy and Bjorn Seeliger went 2-3 and were separated by just .01. Alexy got the touch over his teammate Seeliger, who finished second in this race last year.

Ohio State junior Ruslan Gaziev had a big swim, moving up from eighth seed to fourth in a personal best 40.98. That’s his first time sub-41, and makes him just the 12th swimmer to break that barrier.

Defending champion Brooks Curry tied for fifth with this year’s 50 freestyle champion Jordan Crooks, both clocking 41.03.

200 YARD BREASTSTROKE – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:47.67 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• Meet Record: 1:47.91 – Will Licon, Texas (2017)
• American Record: 1:47.91 – Will Licon, Texas (2017)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:47.67 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• Pool Record: 1:49.64 – Leon Marchand, Arizona State (2023)
• 2022 Champion: Leon Marchand, ASU – 1:48.20

Top 8:

1. Leon Marchand, Arizona State — 1:46.91 (NCAA Record)
2. Caspar Corbeau, Texas — 1:49.15
3. Max McHugh, Minnesota — 1:49.91
4. Josh Matheny, Indiana — 1:50.12
5. Aleksas Savickas, Florida — 1:50.48
6. Jason Louser, Cal — 1:50.90
7. Carles Coll Marti, Virginia Tech — 1:51.20
8. Andres Puente Bustamante, Texas A&M — 1:51.66

What is there left to say, really? Leon Marchand continues his week of Marchand Madness, keeping his streak of posting the fastest swim or split all-time each time he’s dived in. This time, he lowered the 200 breaststroke NCAA record he set earlier this month.

He blazed a 1:46.91, becoming the first to break 1:47 in this event. He was out in 50.65, which would have finished third in the individual 100 breast. And oh yeah, that split is also a new ASU record, lowering his own mark of 51.01, which he swam at ASU’s dual versus Cal.

Behind him, Caspar Corbeau continued to drop more time, touching in 1:49.15 to take another eight-tenths off his personal best. Before today, he’d never broken 1:50. Not only did he drop time, but he also moved up four places from his sixth place finish in 2022.

Max McHugh closed out his individual collegiate career with a third place finish and season best 1:49.91. He finished just ahead of Indiana sophomore Josh Matheny, who swam a lifetime best of 1:50.12.

200 YARD BUTTERFLY – FINALS

• NCAA Record: 1:37.35 – Jack Conger, Texas (2017)
• Meet Record: 1:37.35 – Jack Conger, Texas (2017)
• American Record: 1:37.35 – Jack Conger, Texas (2017)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:37.35 – Jack Conger, Texas (2017)
• Pool Record: 1:38.60 – Andreas Vazaios, NC State (2018)
• 2022 Champion: Brendan Burns, Indiana – 1:38.71

Top 8:

1. Aiden Hayes, NC State — 1:38.79
2. Brendan Burns, Indiana — 1:38.97
3. Gabriel Jett, Cal — 1:39.40
4. Dare Rose, Cal — 1:39.89
5. Tomer Frankel, Indiana — 1:40.34
6. Noah Bowers, NC State — 1:40.85
7. Alex Colson, Arizona State — 1:41.38
8. Gal Cohen Groumi, Michigan — 1:42.37

“The only chance I had was to take it out fast,” said national champion Aiden Hayes. He certainly did that, getting out first at the 50 in 21.90, the only one in the field to take it out under 22 seconds. He came back to the field in the middle 100 though, as defending champion Brendan Burns took over the lead.

It was still Burns with just 50 yards to go, though both Hayes and top seed Gabriel Jett were still in the hunt for the title. After taking it out, Hayes showed he still had something left in the tank with a monster 26.07. That split gave just enough to power ahead of Burns and deny the Hoosier the repeat, touching in a lifetime best 1:38.79. He dropped 1.42 seconds from his previous mark, which stood at 1:40.21 from ACCs. He also scared the pool record of 1:38.60, which was set by Andreas Vazaios, who won this event for NC State the last time the meet was held in Minneapolis.

Burns took second in 1:38.97, just .18 seconds behind Hayes. It’s a season best for Burns but slightly off his personal best 1:38.71, which is what he won the title in last year.

Jett took third in 1:39.40, improving slightly on his time from prelims but just off the personal best he set at PAC-12s. His teammate Dare Rose rounds out the swimmers who were sub-1:40 in the event, grabbing fourth in 1:39.89. That lowers his personal best by another .11 seconds; he’d set a new best time in prelims at 1:40.00. Over the day, the New Jersey native has taken 1.12 seconds off his best, as his previous mark stood at 1:41.01 from the Minnesota Invite.

PLATFORM DIVING — FINALS

• Meet Record: 548.90 — Nick McCrory, Duke (2011)
• 2022 Champion: Tyler Downs, Purdue — 447.20

Top 8:

1. Carson Tyler, Indiana — 476.30
2. Bryden Hattie, Tennessee — 455.10
3. Quentin Henninger, Indiana — 408.60
4. Emanuel Vazquez, South Carolina — 402.20
5. Clayton Chaplin, Ohio State — 393.55
6. Lyle Yost, Ohio State/Leonardo Garcia, Florida — 366.35
7. (tie)
8. Mohamed Farouk, Miami (FL) — 339.70

Indiana diving has gotten its second title of the meet, as sophomore Carson Tyler earned the NCAA title on the platform with 476.30 points. The championship flight couldn’t have gone much better for the Hoosiers, as they went 1-3 in the event.

Tyler separated himself from the group with a dive that scored six 10s, earning him almost 100 points off that single dive. It didn’t totally decide the meet though, as he neeeded to do well on his final dive in order to stay ahead of Tennessee’s Bryden Hattie, who outdid his 2022 third place finish by earning second with 455.10 points.

Quentin Henninger, another Hoosier sophomore, earned third in 408.60 points, just over six points ahead of South Carolina’s Emanuel Vazquez. Neither of these two Hoosiers were in the ‘A’ final last year.

Lyle Yost, the 1-meter champion, has been in the championship flight of all three diving events. He tied for sixth with Florida’s Leonardo Garcia.

400 YARD FREESTYLE RELAY — TIMED FINALS

• NCAA Record: 2:44.31 — NC State (R. Held, J. Ress, J. Molacek, C. Stewart), 2018
• Meet Record: 2:44.31 — NC State (R. Held, J. Ress, J. Molacek, C. Stewart), 2018
• American Record: 2:44.31 — NC State (R. Held, J. Ress, J. Molacek, C. Stewart), 2018
• U.S. Open Record: 2:44.31 — NC State (R. Held, J. Ress, J. Molacek, C. Stewart), 2018
• Pool Record: 2:44.31 — NC State (R. Held, J. Ress, J. Molacek, C. Stewart), 2018
• 2022 Champion: Texas (D. Kibler, C. Auchinachie, C. Corbeau, D. Krueger) — 2:46.03

Top 8:

1. Florida (J. Liendo, A. Chaney, J. Smith, M. McDuff) — 2:44.07 (NCAA Record)
2. Cal (B. Seeliger, J. Alexy, M. Jensen, D. Lasco) — 2:44.08
3. Arizona State (J. Kulow, L. Marchand, G. House, J. Dolan) — 2:45.12
4. NC State — 2:47.09
5. Texas — 2:47.15
6. Indiana — 2:47.17
7. Tennessee — 2:47.19
8. Stanford — 2:47.61

It came down to the touch between Florida and Cal both for the national title in the 400 free relay and the NCAA record. That race capped off an electric week of relays, which saw all five NCAA records go down. In the end, it was Florida winning their third relay title of the week.

The new 100 free NCAA champion who led the Gators off in 40.66, handing over to Adam Chaney, who split 41.10 to maintain the Gators lead. They actually led for the whole race, as Julian Smith clocked 41.26 and Macguire McDuff anchored in 41.05, just holding off a charging Destin Lasco and touching in 2:44.07. Chaney and McDuff both swam in the 100 free ‘B’ final and they along with Liendo have been on all of Florida’s record-breaking relays.

Bjorn Seeliger led off in 41.50, over a half-second slower than he was in the individual 100 free. Cal began to make up ground on the second leg, as sophomore Jack Alexy split 40.51. Matthew Jensen handled the third leg in 41.12, before Lasco roared home in 40.95. Cal’s final time of 2:44.08 was also under the old NCAA record, set by NC State in 2018.

ASU finished third in a school record time of 2:45.12, securing second place overall–the highest finish in program history. Freshman Jonny Kulow opened in 41.89, then Leon Marchand split 40.55 to move the Sun Devils up into third. That’s where they stayed for the rest of the race, with Grant House splitting 41.13 in his final collegiate swim and Jack Dolan bringing them home in 41.55.

NC State’s squad of Noah Henderson (42.31), Bartosz Piszczorowicz (41.05), Nyls Korstanje (42.03), and Giovanni Izzo (41.70) combined for 2:47.09, just beating out the 2:47.15 Texas had put up in the previous heat.

Texas was one of several teams fighting to secure their spot in the standings in this event. To maintain third, they needed to beat Indiana or only finish one place below them. They ended up going with the first option, with Danny Krueger (42.19), Luke Hobson (41.43), Caspar Corbeau (41.72), and Peter Larson (41.81) dropping two seconds from their season best and winning their heat in 2:47.15.

Indiana finished sixth, just two-hundredths behind Texas in 2:47.17. But as Tennessee was just two-hundredths back of them, it turns out that Texas’ did exactly what they needed to do; had they been just .05 seconds slower, they would be fourth in the team standings.

Final Team Standings

1. Cal — 482
2. Arizona State — 430
3. Texas — 384
4. Indiana — 379
5. NC State — 373.5
6. Florida — 367.5
7. Tennessee — 216.5
8. Stanford — 143.5
9. Virginia Tech — 133
10. Auburn — 127
11. Ohio State — 112
12. Georgia — 96
13. Louisville — 92
14. Texas A&M — 80
15. Virginia — 78
16. LSU/Missouri — 62.5
17. (tie)
18. Notre Dame — 62
19. Alabama — 57
20. Michigan — 37
21. Minnesota — 36
22. USC — 31
23. Miami (FL)/UNC/Wisconsin — 27
24. (tie)
25. (tie)
26. South Carolina — 15
27. Utah — 14
28. Princeton/Southern Illinois/Kentucky — 13
29. (tie)
30. (tie)
31. Columbia — 12
32. Arizona — 11
33. Penn St/Pitt — 4
34. (tie)
35. Georgia Tech — 3
36. Air Force/Towson — 2
37. (tie)
38. Purdue — 1

Read the full story on SwimSwam: 2023 Division I Men’s NCAA Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

The Cal Golden Bears won their 8th all-time NCAA team title on Saturday, including their 6th since 2011, and continued an incredible 13-meet streak of placing in the top 2. That team title moves them into a tie with Auburn and Stanford for the 5th most official titles in NCAA Men’s Swimming & Diving history

• See also: 2023 Men’s NCAA D1 Swimming & Diving Championships Box Score

All-Time Team Championships (Official), Men’s Division I NCAA Swimming & Diving

* – Michigan (7), Northwestern (4), and Navy (2) won team championships from 1924 through 1936. While those were NCAA Championship meets, and the NCAA recognizes official event titles, no official team titles were awarded, and instead newspapers awarded the championships.

In spite of their team title, the Cal men this year won only a single event title on the final day of competition when Destin Lasco won the 200 back. That was their 99th event title in program history and Lasco’s second-consecutive win in that event.

Cal has won that event 8 times since it was added to the NCAA schedule in 1951. They’ve only won two events more frequently: the 100 free (12 times) and the 400 free relay (9 times).

Five different schools won at least 3 events each: Texas (3), Indiana (3), Florida (4), NC State (3), and Arizona State (3). Of those schools, only Arizona State improved its all-time ranking in the category, jumping Purdue and Rutgers to move into 23rd-place all-time.

The Florida Gators did, however, break a tie with Yale for the 8th-most titles of all-time, though they were only able to get 1 event win closer to the next-best team, Indiana. The Hoosiers still have a 29-win margin over the Gators.

Tennessee (Jordan Crooks in the 50 free), Minnesota (Max McHugh’s third-straight 100 breast title), and Ohio State (Lyle Yost on 1-meter) all added an individual title to their tallies. Virginia Tech got its first-ever program victory at the NCAA Championships when Youssef Ramadan won the 100 fly.

DAY 1 & 2 FINALS EVENT WINNERS

• 200 medley relay – NC State (1:20.67) – NCAA Record
• 800 free relay – Texas (6:03.42) – NCAA Record
• 500 free – Luke Hobson, Texas (4:07.37)
• 200 IM – Leon Marchand, ASU (1:36.34) – NCAA Record
• 50 free – Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (18.32)
• 1-meter diving – Lyle Yost, Ohio State (443.95)
• 200 free relay – Florida (1:13.35)

DAY 3 FINALS EVENT WINNERS

• 400 IM – Leon Marchand, Arizona State — 3:28.82 (NCAA Record)
• 100 fly – Youssef Ramadan, Virginia Tech — 43.15
• 200 free – Luke Hobson, Texas — 1:30.43
• 100 breast – Max McHugh, Minnesota — 50.00
• 100 back – Brendan Burns, Indiana — 43.61 (Pool Record)
• 400 medley relay – Florida — 2:58.32 (NCAA Record)

DAY 4 FINALS EVENT WINNERS

• 1650 free – Will Gallant, NC State — 14:28.94
• 200 back – Destin Lasco, Cal — 1:35.87 (Pool Record)
• 100 free – Josh Liendo, Florida — 40.28
• 200 breast – Leon Marchand, Arizona State — 1:46.91 (NCAA Record)
• 200 fly – Aiden Hayes, NC State — 1:38.79
• 400 free relay – Florida — 2:44.07 (NCAA Record)

All-Time Individual Event Title Rankings – NCAA Division I Men’s Swimming & Diving Championships

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Cal’s 8th NCAA D1 Swimming & Diving Title Ties Auburn and Yale for 5th-Most

American Christie Raleigh-Crossley cracked the women’s S9 50 back world record at the Italy stop of the 2023 Citi Para Swimming World Series on March 12.

Raleigh-Crossley, a former NCAA DIII National Champion at Rowan University, won the United States’ only gold medal of the meet in that race. The 36-year-old para-swimmer also earned silver in the S9 100 back (1:12.60) and the S9 50 free (29.40).

𝔻𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕟𝕔𝕖 @RaleighCrossley made a statement at the Italian Para Swimming World Series this weekend with a WORLD RECORD in the women's 50m backstroke s9!#ShowTheWorld // #TeamUSA

*record pending official verification pic.twitter.com/TzuDdly81R

— U.S. Paralympics Swimming (@USParaSwimming) March 13, 2023

The excitement was high in Lignano when two Italian para-swimmers broke world records on home soil. Four-time Tokyo Paralympic medalist Simone Barlaam won gold in the S9 200 free (1:58.34) and S9 50 fly (26.05) with world record times while his teammate Stefano Raimondi, who took home a total of seven medals at the Tokyo Paralympics, crushed the S10 200 fly record with a time of 2:06.66.

Nine total world records fell in Italy:

• David Kratochvil (CZE) – men’s 200m back S11 (2:28.24), 50 back S11 (31.58)
• Maria Carolina Gomes (BRA) – women’s 50m free S12 (26.68)
• Simone Barlaam (ITA) – men’s 200m free S9 (1:58.34), S9 50m fly (26.05)
• Stefano Raimondi (ITA) – men’s 200m fly S10 (2:06.66)
• Chantalle Zijderveld (NED) – women’s 200m breast SB9 (2:45.07)
• Christie Raleigh-Crossley (USA) – women’s 50m back S9 (32.01)
• Gabriel Araujo (BRA) – men’s 50m fly S2 (55.49)

Italy was the second of nine stops of the 2023 Citi Para Swimming World Series. The following weekend, from March 16-19, a total of 311 para-athletes from 36 nations competed at the Sheffield meet in Great Britain. 

Another nine world records were crushed in Sheffield:

• Gabriel Araujo (BRA) – men’s 150m medley S2 (3:23.83), 50m butterfly S2 (53.80)
• Maria Carolina Gomes (BRA) – women’s 50m breast SB12 (33.60), 50m butterfly (29.19)
• Tomomi Ishura (JPN) – women’s 50m back (35.53)
• Marco Meneses (PRT) – men’s 50m back S11 (31.47)
• Josia Topf (GER) – men’s 50m fly S3 (49.20)
• Inaki Basiloff (ARG) – men’s 100m fly S7 (1:06.04)
• Samuel Oliveira (BRA) – men’s 100m fly S5 (1:16.44)

Next up for the Para Swimming World Series is the competition in Indianapolis on April 20.

2023 Citi Para Swimming World Series Schedule

Athletes will have a break to prepare for the Para Swimming World Championships in Manchester from July 31-August 6 before springing back into the World Series and racing in Mexico for the final stop in October.

Read the full story on SwimSwam: Christie Raleigh-Crossley Breaks S9 50 Back World Record at Italy World Series