200 Free Relay American Record Holder August Lamb Will Return To Virginia For Fifth Year

On Monday afternoon, sources confirmed to SwimSwam that current Virginia senior August Lamb will be using his fifth year of eligibility to compete during the 2023-24 NCAA season. He will be attending UVA’s school of data science to pursue a masters’ degree. This news comes after his women’s teammates Maddie Donohoe and Ella Nelson also confirmed that they would be taking advantage of the extra years given to all swimmers that competed during the 202o-21 NCAA season.

Cat’s out of the bag. One more year with @uvaswimdive!

Lamb is one of Virginia’s two NCAA All-Americans who are currently seniors, with the other being Josh Fong. Fong, a ‘B’ finalist in the 200 fly at 2023 NCAAs, announced his retirement via Instagram earlier this month.

Lamb’s Best Times:

• 50 free: 19.21
• 100 free: 43.16
• 200 free: 1:37.60
• 100 breast: 52.91

At the 2023 NCAA Championships, Lamb placed 34th overall in the 50 free (19.34) and 44th in the 100 breast (42.32). However, his value to Virginia comes primarily from his relay contributions, as he split 18.65/42.32 on Virginia’s 200/400 free relays that placed 6th and 10th respectively. He also anchored the 200 medley relay with a 18.50 split to help Virginia finish 8th and break a school record.

Virginia’s sprint crew depth was hurt this NCAA season with the absence of Matt King at ACCs and NCAAs, as well as the sidelining of Connor Boyle for two months due to an injury. However, assuming that King doesn’t take an Olympic redshirt year (he said three weeks ago that he was contemplating one), Lamb’s return means that Virginia will have all of their star sprinters from 2022 back—in addition to transfers Tim Connery and Anthony Grimm.

Virginia 50 Free Depth Chart, 2023-24 NCAA Season (assuming King will swim):

1. Matt Brownstead, 18.60
2. Matt King, 18.96
3. Jack Aikins, 19.12
4. Connor Boyle, 19.18
5. August Lamb, 19.21
6. Anthony Grimm, 19.37
7. Tim Connery, 20.26 (18.91 split)

At 2022 ACC Championships, Matt Brownstead (18.87), King (18.49), Boyle (18.63), and Lamb (18.48) broke the American record in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:14.47.