Big Ten Goes Sub-46 for 100 Fly A-Final for Only Second Time

Northwestern’s Feder Burdisso swam a 100 fly time of 45.83 in the prelims of the Big Ten Championships, earning the eighth seed in the final. This marks only the second time that the 100 fly requires a sub-46 for the A-Final at the Big Ten Championship. 

The last time the A-final was sub 46 was in 2019, when IU’s Van Mathias swam a 45.91 to earn the eighth seed. This year’s meet marks the first time that going sub-46 did not guarantee a spot in the A-final, as Chac Gustafson from Ohio State earned the top spot in the B-final with a 45.92 prelims swim. 

The Big Ten has seen steady improvement in the 100 fly over the last decade. In 2012, Michigan’s Daniel Madwed won the A-final in 46.02, a time slower than Gustafson’s ninth seed swim at this year’s edition of the meet. 

Big 10 100 Fly A-Final Eighth Seed Times

The slowest time on the list, a 47.67 from 2014, would fail to qualify for the C-Final this year. That time, which was ranked eighth after prelims in 2014, would only place 26th this year, showing improvement in the overall depth of the Big 10 in the 100 fly. 

IU has three swimmers in the top eight this season: Bruno Blaskovic, Tomer Frankel, and Gabriel Fantoni, who rank 1-2-4 going into finals. The final also features four freshmen in Ohio State’s Alex Quach, Penn State’s Victor Baganha, Michigan’s Gal Cohen Groumi, and Purdue’s Brady Samuels, which may indicate that the event will only get faster in the near future. 

IU’s Frankel is the defending champion in the event, winning in a time of 44.91 last year. He swam a 45.28 in prelims, coming in only .04 behind teammate Blaskovic. Quach and Fantoni are also within .15 of Blaskovic after prelims.