Chris Guiliano is an American sprint freestyler. In college at Notre Dame, he is an ACC champion and NCAA Championship Finalist. In 2023, Guiliano stunned the world as he earned an individual spot on the American World Championship team.
High School/Junior Swimming
In 2020, Guiliano won the 200 free at the 2020 Pennsylvania High School 3A State Championships with a 1:35.81. That was a huge drop for Guiliano, who had never broken 1:39 before. His big improvement in the 200 as well as dropping to 44.29 in the 100 free and 20.27 in the 50 free earned Guiliano the #17 ren in SwimSwams class of 2021 Junior Year Re-rank. He announced his verbal commitment to Notre Dame’s class of 2025 in May 2020.
Guilano put up an impressive 22.93/50.54/1:55.95 50/100/200 LCM free at the Richmond site of the 2020 U.S. Open. He dropped his 50 free down to 20.15 at the 2020 Pennsylvania Winter 18 & Under Championships. At his high school conference championships, Guiliano dipped under 44 seconds in his 100 free for the first time with a 43.91. At the 2021 Pennsylvania 3A Championbsips, he dropped further to a 43.40 50 free and posted a solid 1:36.53 200 free.
At the ISCA International Senior Cup, which had SCY prelims and LCM finals, Guiliano posted solid times. He was 20.20 (SCY)/23.10 (LCM) in the 50 free and 43.72/50.72 in the 100 free.
At the 1st wave of the 2020(1) Olympic Team Trials, Guiliano placed 4th with as 22.65 in the 50 free. He also did a personal best of 50.53 in a 100 free time trial.
College (Notre Dame)
2021-22
Guiliano was pretty quiet for the first bit of his first college season but came alive at the Ohio State Invite. In the 50 free he dropped from 20.17 to 19.62 in his 50 free. He also dropped from 43.40 to 42.99 in the 100 free. In the 200 free he was 1:35.95. Guiliano also created some major value on relays. He led off the 200 free relay in 19.65, led of the 400 free relay in 42.84, anchored the 800 free relay in 1:35.84, anchored the 200 medley relay in 19.04, and anchored the 400 medley relay in 42.50.
At the Tim Welsh Classic, Guiliano broke the Notre Dame pool record with a 19.60 leading off the 200 free relay; it was also a best time.
At ACC Championships, Guiliano just kept dropping. He was 19.28 in the 50 free prelims, 19.35 in the finals, and 19.17 leading off the 200 free relay. He also anchored the 200 medley relay in 18.45. He was 42.82 in 100 free prelims, 42.0 in the finals, and 42.34 in leading off the 400 free relay. He also anchored the 400 medley relay with a 41.55. His individual times netted him 11th in the prelims and finals of both events.
Guiliano wrapped up his 1st season at the NCAA championships as one of three individual qualifiers from ND. While he was off his bests in the 50 and 100 free with times of 19.25 and 42.55 respectively, Guiliano had a big best time in the 200 free with a 1:34.03. He wasn’t able to score in any of his events but he did play a big role on all three of Notre Dame’s relays. He anchored the 18th place 200 medley relay in 18.62, led the 20th place 200 free relay in 19.44, and anchored the 21st place 400 medley relay in 41.61.
2022-23
Guilano kept his head somewhat low until mid-season invites where he scored a 19.30 in the 50 free, a 42.50 in the 100 free, and a 1:35.37 in the 200 free a the Ohio State Invite. At the Tim Welsh Classic, Guiliano only swam relays but still posted a 42.32 in the 100 free: a new best time. He also had great relay splits: 18.68/41.90/1:34.16 in the 50/100/200 free.
Guilano broke through in a big way at the 2023 ACC Championships. On night one, Notre Dame took 5th in 1:24.36, with Guiliano anchoring in 18.41, the fastest in the field. He then turned around and posted a new personal best of 1:33.43 leading NDU’s 4th place 800 free relay. The next morning, he put up a best time of 19.07 in the 50 free. While Guiliano dropped from 2nd in prelims to 3rd in finals with an 18.93, this was only after he broke the crucial 19-second barrier with an 18.95 leadoff on the 6th place 200 free relay.
Guiliano made some more noise in the 200 free. He was 6th with a 1:33.85 in prelims. All the top 8 swimmers were 1:33. In the finals, Guiliano led at the 50 but was overtaken by GT’s Baturalp Unlu by the 100. He was able to hold on a little better than Unlu down the stretch as he held off a charge from Bartosz Piszczorowicz. Despite there being 3 former ACC 200 free Champions in the heat, Guiliano took the win with 1:32.43 the swim was a massive best.
Coming off his 200 free, Guiliano went a best time of 41.94 in the 100 free prelims for lane 5 in the finals. In the finals, he fell to 3rd but dropped .09 seconds to go 41.85. He also led off the 400 free relay in 41.99.
Notre Dame time trialed a 200 free relay and Guiliano led off in 18.88.
With his name made, Guiliano headed to NCAA Championships. Guiliano pulled off a strong double. He anchored the NDU’s 200 medley relay in 18.28, stopping the clock at 1:23.35 to earn 17th. Then, he led off the 800 free relay in 1:32.08. That’s a lifetime best for him. The next day in the 50 free, Guiliano found himself out of the 50 free final by a mere .13 seconds. His 19.17 was good for 23rd. He bounced back that night, leading off the 22nd place NDU 200 free relay with a 19.02.
In the 200 free, was out of the A final by just .08 seconds. His 1:32.36 earned him the 10th seed in the finals. There, he placed 9th with a 1:32.31. In the 100 free, Guiliano was again out of the A final, this time by .14 seconds. The swim of 41.48 was still the best time for him. In the final, he added a hair and placed 10th with a 41.64 behind Gui Caribe’s 41.54.
He wrapped his meet leading of the Fighting Irish’s 18th place 400 free free relay in 41.71. Thanks to Guiliano and his teammates, Notre Dame finished 18th, the highest finish in program history.
National/International Competition
2022 Summer National Championships (Irvine, California)
Guiliano improved in all three of his events. He went 22.62 in the 50 free prelims and placed 15th in finals with a 22.70. In the 100 free he went 50.28. He dropped over 3 seconds to go 1:52.46 in the 200 free.
2022 U.S. Open Championships (Greensboro, North Carolina)
Guiliano continued to make strides in the long pool. He dropped nearly 2 seconds in his 200 free with a 1:50.78 for 15th. He fell to a 22.46 in the 50 free, good enough for 9th, but his highlight of the meet came in the 100 free where he swam a 49.17 personal best for 4th.
2023 Indy Spring Cup (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Guiliano returned to the long pool for the first time since his SCY breakout. He put up a new best time of 22.44 in the 50 free as well as a solid 49.25 in the 100 free. Guiliano was announced as part of the U.S. Contingent heading to World University games alongside teammates Jack Hoagland and Tommy Janton.
2023 International Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Heading into trials, Guiliano was a relative unknown in the swimming world. Guiliano dropped a second off his personal best to sneak into the A final of the 100 free with a 48.17. While this raised some eyebrows, what Guiliano did next surprised everyone: Guiliano placed 2nd in the 100 free final. His 47.98 shocked many as not only did he drop from a 49.17 to a sub 48 second 100 free in a day, but he also qualified for both an individual and relay berth at the World Championships from the 22nd seed.
Just as he had in the 100, Guiliano dropped significantly in the 50 free. He was the 22nd seed with a 22.44, shaved off .36 to go 22.08 for 6th in prelims, and dropped a further .12 seconds with a 21.96 for 7th. Guiliano also went 1:49.59 in the 200 free. Guiliano dropped WUGs from his summer schedule after his qualification became apparent.
–This biography was originally developed by Lucas Caswell
