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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.
Ryan Erisman hit the ground running for the 2026 long course season, though that should’ve come as no surprise after his breakout summer of 2025 was followed by a standout freshman year at Cal.
The 19-year-old was on fire at last week’s AP Race London International, shattering his personal best times in the men’s 400, 800 and 1500 free and climbing the all-time U.S. rankings.
In the 400 free, Erisman went head-to-head with Germany’s Oliver Klemet, nearly pulling off the upset victory in a time of 3:44.03, with Klemet claiming the win in 3:44.01.
The swim for Erisman knocked nearly two seconds off his personal time of 3:46.01, set at last summer’s U.S. National Championships, which also previously stood as the boys’ 17-18 National Age Group Record.
Split Comparison
| Erisman, 2025 U.S. Nats | Erisman, 2026 AP Race London International |
| 26.40 | 26.15 |
| 54.64 (28.24) | 54.30 (28.15) |
| 1:23.30 (28.66) | 1:22.51 (28.21) |
| 1:52.07 (28.77) | 1:51.25 (28.74) |
| 2:21.03 (28.96) | 2:19.71 (28.46) |
| 2:49.75 (28.72) | 2:47.91 (28.20) |
| 3:18.27 (28.52) | 3:16.02 (28.11) |
| 3:46.01 (27.74) | 3:44.03 (28.01) |
He catapults up into #8 all-time among American men in the 400 free after his previous PB had him ranked 19th. He also moves to 5th in the world this season.
All-Time U.S. Performers, Men’s 400 Freestyle (LCM)
- Larsen Jensen, 3:42.78 – 2008
- Peter Vanderkaay, 3:43.11 – 2008
- Rex Maurer, 3:43.33 – 2025
- Conor Dwyer, 3:43.42 – 2016
- Connor Jaeger, 3:43.79 – 2016
- Erik Vendt, 3:43.92 – 2008
- Kieran Smith, 3:43.94 – 2021
- Ryan Erisman, 3:44.03 – 2026
- Klete Keller, 3:44.11 – 2004
- Zane Grothe, 3:44.43 – 2017
In addition to his 400 free swim, Erisman also reached new heights in the 800 and 1500 free.
In the 800, he clocked a blazing-fast 7:45.42, doing so with a big negative split (3:54.57/3:50.85), to drop more than six seconds off his best time of 7:51.74 and climb to #7 all-time among Americans.
He also broke 15 minutes for the first time in the 1500, clocking 14:59.30 to rank 18th all-time among Americans. His previous best time, set in January, sat at 15:06.94.
These swims came after he had a trio of top-three finishes at his debut ACC Championships in February, and followed up with three top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships in March.
Prior to that, he also had a strong showing in January at the Pro Swim Series stop in Austin, setting best times in the 100, 200 and 1500 free, and the 200 fly.
Although Erisman won’t be representing this summer at the Pan Pacific Championships, his performances in London establish him as a frontrunner to be a big part of the 2027 World Championship and 2028 Olympic teams.
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Congratulations, Ryan! These swims did seem overlooked until this article came out. US men’s mid distance/distance swimming has a bright future, though they still have to contend with a lot of fast international swimmers raising the bar as well.
LUKA got all the hype but erisman is the real deal
They’re good friendly rivals, and both are real deals in their own rights.
wonder how tall is Erisman, he was towering over other medalists on the podium in London
at only 19 years old he may gain another 2 or 3 inches
sister Rylee too, may grow very tall
Cal lists him at 6’4.
Really curious to see who is gonna make the 2027 Worlds Team and the 2028 LA Olympic Team. Maurer, Mijatovic, Erisman…
Also intrigued by Erisman´s 200 and 800…
In March 2025, Erisman’s 200 PB was 1’48’2. January of 2026 he went 1’46”6. He keeps improving. If he manages to go 1’45” mid/low, maybe a relay spot in the future… idk
For the 800, he dropped 15s since last year, sooo… lets see
Maybe they have learned to coach distance guys at Cal, very impressive swims
You’ve seen recent NCAA results right? Cal nearly always has top 400 I’m, 500 & 1650 swimmers.
2008 was a sweet year.
It was, all suited though.
Glad to see the American men are no longer irrelevant in the 400 free.
I wouldn’t say they are consistent though.
A 3.43 ia mosy irrelevant in 2026
You must be from Timbuktu
Erisman for the AR
Going to be a horse race between him and Luka…
People keep forgetting Mauer.
It’s the “what have you done for me lately” syndrome. Gonna be curious to see how he does at that home meet next week coming off of altitude