2026 Men’s Big Ten Championships
- Dates: Wednesday, February 25–Saturday, February 28
- Location: Soderholm Family Aquatic Center, Madison, WI
- Defending champions: Indiana men (4x)
- Live Results (also available on Meet Mobile: “2026 Men’s B1G Championship”)
- Live Video ($): B1G+
- Championship Central – Big Ten
- Championship Central – Wisconsin
- SwimSwam’s Meet Preview
- Teams: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, USC, Wisconsin
- SwimSwam Live Recaps
- Prelims: Day 2 | Day 3
- Finals: Day 1 Relays | Day 2 | Day 3
MEN’S 200-YARD BREASTSTROKE – Finals
- NCAA Record: 1:46.35, Leon Marchand (Arizona State) – 2024
- Big Ten Record: 1:48.76, Max McHugh (Minnesota) – 2022
Big Ten Meet Record: 1:49.45, Max McHugh (Minnesota) – 2022- Pool Record: 1:50.59, Josh Bey (Indiana) — 2026
- 2026 NCAA Qualifying Time: 1:54.95
- 2025 NCAA Invite Time: 1:52.89
Final:
- Luka Mladenovic (Michigan) — 1:49.34 *Meet Record, Pool Record*
- Josh Bey (Indiana) — 1:50.03
- Noah Cakir (Indiana) — 1:50.47
- Toby Barnett (Indiana) — 1:50.75
- Mariano Lazzerini (Penn State) — 1:50.76
- Joe Polyak (Minnesota) — 1:53.05
- Dominik Mark Torok (Wisconsin) — 1:53.10
- Joshua Staples (Northwestern) — 1:54.11
Thanks to a monster drop in the 200 breast on Friday night of Big Tens, Austrian native Luka Mladenovic established himself as a title contender for the NCAA Championships next month. Coming into the meet, the Michigan freshman’s best time stood at 1:51.99, a time he set at the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge back in November when the Wolverines took down the Virginia Cavaliers. With his performance, Mladenovic also broke the Michigan team record.
He now ranks at third in the nation this season, behind only Yamato Okadome and Nate Germonprez, the respective ACC and SEC Champions. Mladenovic, who won the 100 breast earlier in the week with a time of 50.69, led the race from start to finish, splitting 52.39/56.95.
Spit Comparison
| Distance | Max McHugh, Previous Big Ten Meet Record (2022) | Luka Mladenovic, Previous PB (2025) | Luka Mladenovic, New Meet Record (2026) |
| 50 | 24.78 | 24.98 | 24.71 |
| 100 | 52.32 (27.54) | 53.03 (28.05) | 52.39 (27.68) |
| 150 | 1:20.59 (28.27) | 1:22.14 (29.11) | 1:20.77 (28.38) |
| 200 | 1:49.45 (28.86) | 1:51.99 (29.85) | 1:49.34 (28.57) |
Compared to his previous best, the majority of Mladenovic’s improvement came from his final 100, as he didn’t breach the 29 barrier a single time. However, he was also able to shave over half a second off of his opening 100, displaying an overall development of his speed. Although Mladenovic’s final 50 out-split McHugh’s previous meet record by nearly three tenths, he didn’t have the fastest closing 50 of the field. That accolade goes to Indiana’s Josh Bey, who finished in 2nd and closed in 28.41. Bey, who has been on a roll this week, becomes the 6th fastest performer in the nation this season with his time of 1:50.03.
In fact, the top 4 finishers in this event here at Big Tens are now all in the 10 this season for the 200 breast.
Top 10 Times – Men’s 200 Breast 2025-2026
- Yamato Okadome (Cal): 1:48.87 – 2026 ACCs
- Nate Germonprez (Texas): 1:48.94 – 2026 SECs
- Luka Mladenovic (Mich): 1:49.34 — 2026 B1Gs
- Will Scholtz (Texas): 1:49.59 – Texas Invite
- Ben Delmar (UNC): 1:49.76 – Gamecock Invite
- Josh Bey (Indiana): 1:50.03 – 2026 B1Gs
- Noah Cakir (Indiana): 1:50.47 — 2026 B1Gs
- Gabe Nunziata (Tennessee): 1:50.59 – 2026 SECs
- Baylor Nelson (Texas): 1:50.71 – Texas Invite
- Toby Barnett (Indiana): 1:50.75 — 2026 B1Gs
Mladenovic has just the 400 medley relay later tonight and the 200 IM left on his schedule for the week, where he is the #4 seed.
