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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.
Racing on home turf in California, Lauren Lonsdale had a sensational performance in the final of the women’s 200 IM on the opening night of action at the Pro Swim Series stop in Sacramento, entering rarefied air in the girls’ 13-14 age group.
After qualifying for the final in 5th, posting a time of 2:16.38 in the prelims, the 14-year-old unleashed a blistering 2:14.27 in the final, earning her 3rd place in a veteran field that included four swimmers 20 and over.
The victory went to 23-year-old Olympic gold medalist Torri Huske in 2:11.34, while Katie Christopherson, 20, was the runner-up in 2:13.15.
The swim improved on Lonsdale’s previous best time of 2:15.79, set at last summer’s Bill Rose Classic. She has now been under 2:16 three times, having also gone 2:15.96 at the 2025 Futures Championships in Sacramento.
Lonsdale, who previously swam for the Sacramento Aquatics Club but now represents DART Swimming, made her improvements over the middle 100, splitting sub-34 on backstroke for the first time and sub-40 on breaststroke for just the second time. This comes as no surprise, as she reset her lifetime bests in the 100 and 200 back and breast during the 2025-26 short course season.
Split Comparison
| 2025 Bill Rose Classic | 2025 Futures – Sacramento | 2026 PSS – Sacramento, Prelims | 2026 PSS – Sacramento, Final |
| 29.87 | 29.47 | 29.22 | 29.15 |
| 1:04.72 (34.85) | 1:04.19 (34.72) | 1:03.69 (34.47) | 1:02.81 (33.66) |
| 1:44.66 (39.94) | 1:44.33 (40.14) | 1:44.19 (40.50) | 1:42.61 (39.80) |
| 2:15.79 (31.13) | 2:15.96 (31.63) | 2:16.38 (32.19) | 2:14.27 (31.66) |
Previously ranked 9th, Lonsdale’s swim rockets her up to 4th all-time in the girls’ 13-14 age group, pulling her within two seconds of Teagan O’Dell‘s National Age Group Record of 2:12.53 set in 2021.
All-Time U.S. Performers, Girls’ 13-14 200 IM (LCM)
- Teagan O’Dell (Irvine Novaquatics), 2:12.53 – 2021
- Missy Franklin (Colorado Stars), 2:12.73 – 2009
- Leah Hayes (Fox Valley Park District Riptides), 2:13.06 – 2019
- Lauren Lonsdale (DART Swimming), 2:14.27 – 2026
- Claire Tuggle (Clovis Swim Club), 2:15.02 – 2018
- Audrey Derivaux (Jersey Wahoos), 2:15.14 – 2024
- Katie Hoff (North Baltimore Aquatic Club), 2:15.26 – 2004
- Rylee Erisman (Laker Swim), 2:15.29 – 2024
- Gabi Brito (Beach Cities Swimming), 2:15.61 – 2025
- Alex Walsh (Nashville Aquatic Club), 2:15.84 – 2015
In addition to the 200 IM, Lonsdale also raced the 200 free on Wednesday, taking 8th in the semis to land a spot in Thursday’s final, where she placed 7th in 2:01.45, a new best time that ranks her 20th all-time in the 13-14 age group.
She also placed 18th in the 200 breast (2:38.41), and was 5th in the prelims of the 400 IM (4:54.99) before scratching the final. Over the rest of the meet, she’s scheduled to swim the 200 back, which will have semi-finals on Friday and the final on Saturday, along with the 400 free on Friday and the 100 free on Saturday.
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