All Of The Exciting Swims From This Weekend You Might’ve Missed

If you weren’t tuned into what was going on in the swimming universe this weekend, you missed a lot.

From the FINA World Cup in Indianapolis, to the highly-anticipated Virginia/Texas dual meet and plenty of other marquee matchups in the NCAA, there’s been a lot of fast swims recorded over the last few days. Here are some of the highlights.

Katie Ledecky Breaks Another World Record

After what she did the week prior in Toronto, nearly breaking the world record in the 800 free on the way to annihilating the 1500 free mark, it felt like almost a forgone conclusion that Katie Ledecky would take hold of the 800 free record in Indianapolis.

She did just that, putting up a time of 7:57.42 to knock nearly two seconds off Mireia Belmonte‘s 2013 record of 7:59.34. That was Ledecky’s second win of the meet, also claiming the 400 free with a new U.S. Open Record of 3:54.04.

Ledecky also set a new best time in the 200 free (1:52.10) to take second behind Siobhan Haughey, who set a new U.S. Open Record in 1:51.19.

Sims Lead Sandpipers In Record-Breaking Weekend

It’s no secret that the Sandpipers of Nevada have become one of the top clubs in the country, and that was put on display at the Indy World Cup as three of their swimmers went on a record-breaking spree.

Perhaps the standout of the entire meet was 17-year-old Bella Sims, who set two World Junior Records within 12 minutes on Friday in the women’s 200 free (1:52.59) and 100 back (55.75), earning gold in the latter.

16-year-old Katie Grimes set a World Junior Record of her own, taking more than three seconds off the mark in the 1500 free in a time of 15:42.05 in a time trial.

Ilya Kharun made a serious impact in his first competition representing Canada, setting a trio of new National Records in the men’s 50 fly (22.47), 100 fly (49.93) and 200 fly (1:51.70).

Gretchen Walsh Does It Again

After an incredible dual meet performance against Florida a few weeks ago, UVA sophomore Gretchen Walsh one-upped herself on Friday against Texas.

Walsh swam the fastest time ever recorded in the women’s 100 IM (52.09), the top time in the nation in the 50 free (21.16), split 46.20 in the 400 free relay and led off with a 23.13 50 back swim in the 200 medley relay.

Gretchen Walsh today:
-23.13 50 back split (#11 all-time)
-21.13 50 free (#1 time this year)
-52.09 100 IM (fastest-ever)
-46.20 relay split

Yeah, missing that World Championship team by 0.01 of a second DEFINITELY lit a fire in her, and it’s scary. https://t.co/STtu44WAXd

— Yanyan Li (@yyli35) November 5, 2022

She carried that momentum forward on Saturday, taking over the top time in the country in the 100 free (47.11), leading off the 200 free relay in 21.34 and clocking 50.60 in the 100 back on the 400 medley relay, though the team was ultimately DQed.

KAYLA HAN CRUSHES 13-14 NAG IN 400 IM

La Mirada Armada’s Kayla Han had an incredible showing in the 400 IM at the Kevin B. Perry Senior Meet over the weekend, clocking 4:06.95 to down the girls’ 13-14 National Age Group Record that had stood for 18 years.

That old record belonged to three-time Olympic medalist Katie Hoff (now Katie Anderson), who clocked 4:08.44 in 2004—the same year in which she made the U.S. Olympic team. Hoff was also a two-time LC World Champion in the 400 IM in 2005 and 2007.

Coming into the meet, Han’s best time stood at 4:12.27.

CARTER CONTINUES SPRINT DOMINANCE

Dylan Carter has been on an absolute tear throughout the three-stop FINA World Cup series, and kept things rolling by winning the men’s 50 free (20.72), 50 back (22.72) and 50 fly (21.99) In Indianapolis, having gone undefeated in all three over the circuit—earning him $30,000 for three triple crown victories.

He saved his best for last, too, as the 50 free and 50 back swims both marked new Trinidad & Tobago National Records, while the 50 fly was his fastest of the series and .01 off his record from last year’s World Championships.

U.S. OPEN RECORDS SET IN INDY

14 new U.S. Open Records were set during the Indy World Cup. See them all below:

• Kasia Wasick – women’s 50 free (23.10)
• Siobhan Haughey – women’s 100 free (51.00)
• Siobhan Haughey – women’s 200 free (1:51.19)
• Katie Ledecky – women’s 400 free (3:54.04)
• Katie Ledecky – women’s 800 free (7:57.42)
• Katie Grimes – women’s 1500 free (15:42.05)
• Ruta Meilutyte – women’s 50 breast (28.70)
• Ruta Meilutyte – women’s 100 breast (1:02.77)
• Beata Nelson – women’s 100 IM (57.81)
• Kieran Smith – men’s 400 free (3:35.99)
• Dylan Carter – men’s 50 back (22.72)
• Shaine Casas – men’s 200 back (1:48.40)
• Dylan Carter – men’s 50 fly (21.99)
• Shaine Casas – men’s 100 IM (51.04)

TEXAS WOMEN UPSET VIRGINIA

The Friday dual between Texas and UVA was scored combined, with the Longhorns coming out on top, and the women’s team defied the odds by picking up another win on Saturday.

The Longhorn women were led by a 1-2 finish in the 200 fly from Dakota Luther (1:53.83) and Kelly Pash (1:54.38), and Lydia Jacoby prevailed with a big victory in the 200 breast (2:09.19).

The Cavaliers, who had two relays disqualified, lost a dual meet for the first time in three years.

MCKENDREE MEN UPSET UINDY IN DIVISION II ACTION

In an absolute thriller that came down to the meet-ending 400 free relay, the McKendree University men earned a six-point win over UIndy on Friday.

The McKendree team of Alireza Yavari, Caleb Law, Arthur Souza, and Gregg Lichinsky out-touched UIndy’s team by .35 to secure the win and improve the Bearcats to 5-0 on the season.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

• Lorenzo Mora broke a pair of SCM Italian Records at the Nico Sapio Trophy in Genova, clocking 49.37 in the men’s 100 back and negative-splitting his way to a 1:48.72 in the 200 back.
• In a marquee Division III matchup, the Kenyon men and women picked up a big sweep over Dension.
• 14-year-old Canadian swimmer Laon Kim set three NAG records in the boys’ 13-14 age group (SCM) at the Odlum Brown Colleges Cup in Vancouver, including resetting a 32-year-old record in the 400 free by more than four seconds.
• Arkansas freshman Betsy Wizard set a new school record in the 200 fly (1:54.33) in the Razorbacks’ victory over Liberty.
• Alabama’s Kensey McMahon, known primarily for her distance prowess, swam a best time of 1:56.97 in the 200 fly as the Crimson Tide swept LSU.
• Cal’s Gabriel Jett went on a backstroke tear at the Bear’s tri-distance meet with Stanford.
• Charlotte Bonnet, who’s known for her freestyle abilities, set a pair of French Records in the breaststroke events at the French Elite SC Championships in Chartres, clocking 1:05.03 in the 100 breast and 2:21.34 in the 200 breast.