Swim of the Week is brought to you by arena, a SwimSwam partner.
Disclaimer: Swim of the Week is not meant to be a conclusive selection of the best overall swim of the week, but rather one Featured Swim to be explored in deeper detail. The Swim of the Week is an opportunity to take a closer look at the context of one of the many fast swims this week, perhaps a swim that slipped through the cracks as others grabbed the headlines, or a race we didn’t get to examine as closely in the flood of weekly meets.
Perhaps the biggest breakout performer of the 2022-23 NCAA season, Jonny Kulow has carried his momentum into the long course campaign.
Kulow entered his first collegiate season at Arizona State flying under the radar last fall. Having never broken 20 seconds in the 50 free or 43.5 in the 100 free (SCY) coming out of high school, the Wyoming state champion was an afterthought in SwimSwam’s re-rank of the boys’ high school class of 2022 in August, only featuring in the “Best of the Rest” section.
However, what Kulow has managed to do since arriving in Tempe has been nothing short of spectacular. He reset his personal best times on numerous occasions throughout the college season, with things culminating at the NCAA Championships.
The 18-year-old fired off some blistering relay splits for the Sun Devils—18.31 in the 200 free relay, 18.45 in the 200 medley relay, and 40.78 in the 400 medley relay—and also took 11th individually in the 100 free (41.66) and 17th in the 50 free (19.05).
That progress developed under the ASU coaching staff led by Bob Bowman and head sprint coach Herbie Behm has continued into long course, with things being put on display this week in Mission Viejo.
On Day 2 of the Pro Swim Series event on Thursday, Kulow dropped a time of 49.35 in the prelims of the men’s 100 free, knocking more than a second from his previous best of 50.39, set nearly two years ago in a time trial at Wave I of the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials.
That swim from Trials in June 2021 ranked Kulow 18th all-time in the boys’ 15-16 age group, but since aging up, he hadn’t cracked the top 100 in the 17-18 rankings—until Thursday.
Kulow’s prelim swim launched him into a tie for 11th all-time in the age group, and in the final, he got down to 49.29, tying for sixth overall while breaking the deadlock with Danny Krueger and taking over sole possession of #11 in the 17-18 rankings.
All-Time Performers, U.S. Boys’ 17-18 Rankings – 100 Freestyle (LCM)
- Jack Alexy, 48.69 – 2021
- Caeleb Dressel, 48.78 – 2015
- Maxime Rooney, 48.87 – 2015
- Arsenio Bustos, 49.03 – 2021
- Michael Phelps, 49.05 – 2004
- Jake Magahey, 49.20 – 2019
- Henry McFadden, 49.23 – 2022
- Matt Ellis, 49.24 – 2012
- Adam Chaney, 49.27 – 2019
- Drew Kibler, 49.28 – 2018
- Jonny Kulow, 49.29 – 2023
- Danny Krueger, 49.35 – 2017
- Tim Connery, 49.36 – 2021
- Santo Condorelli, 49.38 – 2013
- Cameron Craig, 49.41 – 2016
Comparing his splits across his previous PB and his two swims from Mission Viejo, Kulow was significantly faster over the first 50 on Thursday relative to where he was in Omaha.
Split Comparison
| Kulow, June 2021 | Kulow, May 2023 (prelims) | Kulow, May 2023 (final) |
| 24.08 | 23.25 | 23.34 |
| 50.39 (26.31) | 49.35 (26.10) | 49.29 (25.95) |
Given that he’ll be aiming to peak for the U.S. National Championships in just under six weeks, we could very well see that second 50 get quicker with some rest, which could potentially put him in the conversation for a spot on the U.S. 400 free relay this summer, especially with the men’s 100 free being relatively wide open this year.
Kulow is entered to swim the 50 free, 200 free, 50 fly and 100 fly over the rest of the meet. On Friday morning, he swam to a time of 1:52.08 in the 200 free, another new best time.
Follow arena USA on Instagram here.
About arena
arena has revolutionized the world of aquatic sport through insightful collaboration with world class athletes and the development of cutting edge competitive swimwear since 1973. Today, this spirit of collaboration and innovation lives on through a continuous evolution of advanced materials and Italian design that improves the performance, style and expression of all those who chose arena. From leading the lanes to living in style, arena is dedicated to providing all swimmers with the tools they need to express themselves, feel confident, win and achieve more. Because in arena, you can.
I swam with him as a kid since we’re both from Wyoming he’s definitely super nice and his brother Benny is the best.
I knew Kulow was legit after almost running Miroslaw down in 4 med at NCs in a 40.9 split, a LC 1 free drop was long overdue, props to him
Looks like he doesn’t age up until after Nationals…wonder if he could get that NAG record.
How come Herbie’s sprinters aren’t at altitude with rest of team?
Maybe the thought is that middle distance and endurance athletes benefit more from altitude cycles, whereas sprinters benefit more from racing? Probably need to ask Bob and Herbie that question for a credible answer.
Dude is still really underrated
What’s Cameron Craig up to now? Hope he’s ok.