Oliver Morgan Scorches 52.71 100 Back At BUCS, Just .01 Outside British Record

2025 BUCS LONG COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Friday, February 14th – Sunday, February 16th
• Ponds Forge International Swimming Centre, Sheffield, England
• LCM (50m)
• SwimSwam Preview
• Meet Central
• Draft Entries
• Live Results
• Livestream

The 2025 British Universities & Colleges (BUCS) Long Course Championships kicked off today with plenty of star power competing at the Ponds Forge International Swimming Centre. Athletes representing Loughborough, Stirling, Edinburgh and beyond are diving in over the course of the 3-day affair, vying for team points.

Birmingham’s Oliver Morgan commanded attention in the men’s 100m backstroke event, getting to the wall over 2 seconds ahead of the field.

Morgan split 25.64/27.07 to turn in a final time of 52.71 for the gold, a mark only .01 off his own lifetime best and British national record of 52.70. That slightly quicker result was registered at last year’s British Championships to qualify him for the 2024 Olympic Games.

In Paris, Morgan placed 8th overall in the men’s 100m back final, with tonight’s performance beating the 52.84 he produced there. His 52.71 from tonight would have rendered him the 6th-place finisher.

The next-closest competitor in this evening’s final was Bath’s Jack Skerry who logged 55.10 for silver while teammate Hendrik Van Der Leest rounded out the podium in 56.15.

Morgan’s outing now renders him atop the worldwide rankings early in the season, setting him head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the pack at the moment.

As a point of reference, we introduced Morgan as a major British threat after his head-turning performances at this BUCS competition in 2024. A year ago, Morgan topped the men’s 100m back podium in 53.31, just off his then-personal best of 53.26 scored at the 2023 World Championships.

Tonight’s effort represents the record holder’s 6th outing under the 53-second barrier.