2026 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Dates: Wednesday, March 25–Saturday, March 28
- Location: McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
- Defending Champions: Texas (1x)
- SwimSwam Preview Index
- Psych Sheets
- Preview Index
- Live Stream
- Live Results
- Live Recaps:
After no NCAA records were set in the 2026 NCAA women’s swimming championships, the men’s meet kicked off with one in the very first finals event.
In the fastest heat of the men’s 1650-yard freestyle, Florida freshman Ahmed Jaouadi shattered the NCAA record with a time of 14:10.03 to win the meet’s first title. He broke former Gator Bobby Finke‘s record time of 14:12.08, which was set at the 2020 SEC Championships.
Split Comparison:
| Split | Bobby Finke, 2020 SECs – 14:12.08 | Ahmed Jaouadi, 2026 NCAAs – 14:10.03 | Zalan Sarkany, 2026 NCAAs – 14:12.20 |
| 100 | 49.17 | 47.84 | 47.46 |
| 200 | 51.27 (1:40.44) | 50.63 (1:38.47) | 50.75 (1:38.21) |
| 300 | 51.60 (2:32.04) | 51.14 (2.29.61) | 51.45 (2:39.66) |
| 400 | 51.64 (3.23.68) | 51.74 (3:21.35) | 51.46 (3:21.12) |
| 500 | 51.60 (4:15.28) | 51.82 (4:13.13) | 51.73 (4:12.86) |
| 600 | 51.81 (5:07.19) | 51.69 (5:04.82) | 51.80 (5:04.66) |
| 700 | 51.72 (5:58.91) | 52.26 (5:57.08) | 51.97 (5:56.63) |
| 800 | 51.94 (6:50.85) | 51.89 (6:48.97) | 52.07 (6:48.70) |
| 900 | 52.03 (7:42.88) | 51.93 (7:40.90) | 52.10 (7:40.80) |
| 1000 | 51.75 (8:34.63) | 52.55 (8:33.45) | 52.30 (8:33.10) |
| 1100 | 52.24 (9:26.87) | 52.38 (9:25.83) | 52.42 (9:25.52) |
| 1200 | 51.93 (10:18.80) | 52.31 (10:18.14) | 52.25 (10:17.77) |
| 1300 | 52.08 (11:10.88) | 52.54 (11:10.58) | 52.62 (11:10.39) |
| 1400 | 52.12 (12:03.00) | 52.25 (12:02.93) | 52.66 (12:03.05) |
| 1500 | 52.07 (12:55.07) | 52.86 (12:55.79) | 52.47 (12:55.52) |
| 1600 | 51.92 (13:46.99) | 51.51 (13:47.30) | 51.75 (13:47.27) |
| 1650 | 25.09 (14:12.08) | 22.73 (14:10.03) | 24.93 (14:12.20) |
Jaouadi spent most of the race right on the tail of Indiana’s Zalán Sarkany, the 2024 and 2025 NCAA champion in the mile — before the final lap, Jaouadi was 0.03 seconds behind Sarkany. However, Jaouadi split a blistering 22.73 on his final 50 compared to Sarkany’s 24.93.
That said, Sarkany did swim a best time of 14:12.20, which ranks him third all-time. Florida’s Ahmed Hafnaoui placed third with a 14:22.64, ranking sixth all-time. Jaouadi and Sarkany are the first swimmers to break the 14:20 barrier since Finke did so in March 2021.
All-Time Top Performers, Mens’ 1650-Yard Freestyle
- Ahmed Jaouadi, Florida — 14:10.03 (2026)
- Bobby Finke, Florida — 14:12.08 (2020)
- Zalan Sarkany, Indiana — 14:12.20 (2026)
- Zane Grothe, Unattached — 14:18.25 (2017)
- Clark Smith, Texas — 14:22.41 (2017)
- Levi Sandidge, Kentucky — 14:22.26 (2026)
- Ahmed Hafnaoui, Florida — 14:22.64 (2026)
In total, four of the top seven performers in history came from this race.
The NCAA record in the 1000 free was set by Sarkany, who touched first at the 1000-yard mark in a time of 8:33.10. He breaks Clark Smith‘s record of 8:33.93, but still trails 16-year-old Luka Mijatovic‘s (8:32.83) U.S. Open record mark.
Both Jaouadi and Sarkany dropped significant amounts of time off their personal bests. Sarkany came in with a best time of 14:21.29 (the time he went to win 2025 NCAAs) and went over nine seconds faster than mark. Meanwhile, Jaouadi came in with an entry time of 14:25.14, which he set to win the 2026 SEC Championships last month.
This 1650 was one of the greatest sports battles of all time. Ahmed and Zalan should be interviewed together at NCAA Basketball finals to promote swimming. UnReal Performances!!!
What is his major long course meet this year? Could SwimSwam help us ask?
Bro came home in the last 50 on the mile faster than my PB… (not like I was a sprinter but jeez!)
But Rowdy said there is no way he can be faster than Bobby…
Is he American?
Call me old fashioned but in no universe should you have the ability to come home in 22 on the last 50 of a 1650. He has more in the tank.
Fair assumption and he’s a freshman so still figuring out yards. Feels like someone could come in and absolutely smash the 14 minute barrier here, Jaouadi was getting destroyed on the walls by zalan. Bodes well Jaouadi’s LCM season…
He’s a 21 year old freshman! They are recruiting them “more mature” nowadays.
Seems like his goal was to win the race rather than go a beat time… seems counter-intuitive, but if he knows he can beat the other guy in the last 50, this is a solid strategy.
Reminds me of someone….
Maybe a certain gator who’s revolutionized this typa current era race strategy
I wanna see him swim against Ledecky in practice. Must be insane
Is that accurate that he beat Finke’s last 50’by 2.4 seconds? Maybe I’m anchoring on Finke’s Olympic mile.
Think Bobby’s been 23.2 in yards
Yeah, Finke’s 14:12.08 was well before he realized his late-kick strength in Tokyo. In the 1500 that year, his LCM last 50 was 25.7, almost equal to his 25.09 in the SCY event earlier.
When Finke swam the record swim in 2020, he was out like a shot and didn’t have the same closing speed. The following year, he went 14:12 twice (SECs and NCAAs) by being more patient and closing well.