Julian Rides Improved Closing Speed to PB 1:54.34 200 Fly, #5 American All-Time

2022 U.S. WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TRIALS

Despite missing out on qualifying for the Olympic Team in several events last year, Cal’s Trenton Julian had a great summer, swimming lifetime bests in 5 LCM events.  Julian has historically raced aggressively, taking races out fast, and holding on as best he can. That strategy has gotten Julian to very fast times, however, as was the case at the Olympic Trials last summer, it often yields to him getting run down on the final lap of a race.

It appears as though the 23-year-old may be turning over leaf, however. This morning, he stormed to the top time in the men’s 200 fly, clearing his previous best with a 1:54.34. It’s not just the time, which makes him the #5 American all-time in the event, that’s so impressive about the swim. Instead, it’s how he swam it. Julian was still out fast, splitting 25.47 and 28.59 on the first two 50s for a 54.06 on the first 100. He then kept it under 30 seconds on the 3rd 50, splitting 29.60, then managed a 30.68 on the final 50, resulting in a 1:00.28 on the final 100. His final 50 split of 30.68 marked the 4th-fastest final split in the field this morning, in a field that included the likes of Nicolas Albiero, Luca Urlando, and Zach Harting.

We’ll see how Julian is able to back up the performance tonight, however, if he’s able to go another 1:54-low, regardless of how he gets there, it will likely be enough for him to qualify for the World Championships team.

Let’s take a moment to examine how Julian’s splits in the 200 fly this morning stack up against his previous 200 fly splits in his fastest performances.

Splits 2022 U.S. World Champs Trials – Prelims 2021 Speedo Summer Championships – Finals 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials – Finals 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials – Semifinals 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials – Prelims
1st 50 25.47 25.41 25.46 25.11 25.77
2nd 50 28.59 28.44 29.02 28.54 29.48
3rd 50 29.60 29.51 29.85 29.60 29.77
4th 50 30.68 31.35 32.02 32.10 31.40
3rd to 4th 50 Diff. +1.08 +1.84 +2.17 +2.50 +0.63
FINAL TIME 1:54.34 1:54.71 1:56.35 1:55.35 1:56.42

As the splits show, not only was this Julian’s personal best performance, his final 50 splits was his fastest yet by nearly a second, and the margin between his 3rd and 4th 50 was significantly smaller than in previous swims. He also managed that without compromising his front end speed, splitting just 0.21 seconds slower on the first 100 than he did on his previous personal best swim from last summer.

Here is the new all-time top 5 American in the LCM men’s 200 fly:

Rank Time Swimmer Meet
1 1:51.51 Michael Phelps 2009 World Champs
2 1:53.64 Tyler Clary 2009 Summer Nationals
3 1:53.84 Luca Urlando 2019 Pro Series – Clovis
4 1:53.86 Gil Stovall 2008 Olympic Trials
5 1:54.34 Trenton Julian 2022 U.S. World Champs Trials – Prelims

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CalBearFan
2 years ago

Come on Teej…..all of us alums will send you good vibes through that last 50 tonight. Let’s get it!

daeleb cressel
2 years ago

LETS GO TJ100FLY (old Xbox gamer tag)

Ghost
2 years ago

I am puzzled on why Luca hasn’t improved from that time he did 3 years ago. He was 17 to 20 and usually this is when guys improve the most…. He has been going the wrong way!

Meow
Reply to  Ghost
2 years ago

Didn’t he have a shoulder injury?

Fean Darris
2 years ago

Always knew this kid was a beast

Last edited 2 years ago by Fean Darris
BadShoulder
2 years ago

Given how stagnant the men’s 200 fly has been behind Milak and Honda, this swim puts Julian in strong contention for bronze at worlds.

Samuel Huntington
Reply to  BadShoulder
2 years ago

Probably why le Clos still swimming it, knows he can get a medal.

Fish
2 years ago

1. Julian 1:54.1
2. Urlando 1:54.2
3. Harting 1:54.9
4. Kalisz 1:55.5

Heilman is 1:57.7 in B final

Swimming
Reply to  Fish
2 years ago

this the order I’m praying for

Fish
Reply to  Swimming
2 years ago

The predictions weren’t to far off
Got The times right for 1 and 2 just swap the swimmers