Texas’ Anna Elendt Unleashes Scorching 56.42 BR Split on Big 12 Record 400 MR

2022 BIG 12 SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Wednesday, February 23-Saturday, February 26, 2022
• The Aquatic Center at Mylan Park – Morgantown, WV
• SCY (25 yards)
• Defending Champions:
  • Women: Texas (9x)
  • Men: Texas (25x)
• Women’s Big 12 Record Book
• Men’s Big 12 Record Book
• 2021 Big 12 Champs Results
• Championship Central
• Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Streaming: Big 12 Now On ESPN+

WOMEN’S 400 MEDLEY RELAY – FINALS

• NCAA ‘A’ Cut – 3:31.66
• NCAA ‘B’ Cut – 3:33.78
• Meet Record – 3:28.26, Texas, 2021
• Conference Record – 3:28.26, Texas, 2021

Top 3:

1. Texas – 3:26.32
2. Kansas – 3:37.59
3. TCU – 3:39.26

The Texas women shattered their own year-old meet record in the 400 medley relay tonight at the Big 12 Championships in Morgantown. The Longhorn’s had great splits all-around, except perhaps from Kelly Pash, who anchored in 48.39 and has been considerably faster before. The time also broke the pool record, the Texas program record, and the Big 12 conference record.

The most eye-popping split from tonight’s relay came on the breast leg, where Anna Elendt swam a blistering 56.42. Relay splits are notoriously difficult to keep records of, but as far as we can tell, only Lilly King has split faster on the medley relay.

King, the NCAA record holder in the event, is the only woman to have gone 55 flat-start in the SCY 100 breast, and has done so several times on relays as well. King split 55.67 on IU’s relay at finals of the 400 medley relay at the 2019 NCAA Championships. That was the same meet where King would go on to establish her NCAA Record of 55.73 in the individual 100 breast.

Elendt’s split tonight, although off a relay start of course, would make her the 2nd-fastest swimmer in history if it were flat-start. Molly Hannis is the #2 performer all-time in the event with a 56.64, which she swam in 2017. Hannis never split under 57 on a relay during her time competing collegiately for Tennessee, however.

Two other swimmers, UVA’s Alexis Wenger and NC State’s Sophie Hansson have split 56’s on the medley relay this season, though both splits were slower than Elendt’s. At the ACC Championships last week, Wenger provided a 56.74 split on UVA’s 400 medley, which would go on to shatter the NCAA record in the event. Hansson was on NC State’s 2nd-place-finishing relay, splitting 56.96 for her team.

We’ll get to see Elendt in the individual 100 breast tomorrow, where it appears she has some chance of dipping under 57 seconds for the first time.