Destin Lasco is an American swimmer who swims for the University of California, Berkeley. He is a multi-time NCAA Champion and All-American.
High School
During his high school campaign, Lasco was a 3-time New Jersey Swim Athlete of the Year. He was a 23-time high school All-American and 8-time national high school record holder (scm). He was a member of the USA National Jr Team and competed at the 2018 Jr Pan Pacific Championships, where he placed 1st in the 100 back and 4×100 free relay and 9th in the 50 and 100 free.
Lasco was ranked #3 in SwimSwam’s Top 20 NCAA Ranks for the class of 2020 and #5 in the Re-rank of that class. On January 19, 2019, Lasco announced his verbal commitment to swim for Cal.
College (California)
2020-2021
At his first Pac-12 championships, Lasco made his presence in the NCAA known. He swam the 200 free-100 back double on day 3 of the meet, placing 6th in the 200 free (1:33.73) and winning the 100 back (45.30) just minutes later. He really turned heads when led a historic 1-2-3-4-5-6 finish for Cal in the 200 back in the final night, taking the win in 1:38.13. Lasco also swam on the winning 800 and 400 free relays.
At his first NCAA championships, he was a huge contributor for the bears, finishing 2nd in the 200 back (1:35.99) as well as 3rd in the 200 IM (1:40.01) and 100 back (44.49). He also contributed to Cal’s winning 400 free relay and 2nd place 800 free and 400 medley relays.
2021-2022
Lasco continued to improve during his sophomore year. At the Pac-12 Championships, he finished 4th in the 200 IM (1:41.70), 2nd in the 100 back (45.11), and successfully defended his title in the 200 back (1:38.81).
At the NCAA Championships, Lasco finished 2nd in the 200 IM (1:38.21), 4th in the 100 back (44.36), and won his first NCAA title in the 200 back, taking the win in 1:37.71. He contributed key legs on Cal’s winning 400 medley relay, 2nd place 200 free relay, 3rd place 400 free relay, and 4th place 800 free relay. This led to Cal winning their first team title since 2019, and Lasco’s first with the team.
2022-2023
At the 2023 Pac-12 Championships, Lasco finished 4th in the 200 IM (1:40.60), won his first conference title in the 100 back (44.57), and 3-peated in the 200 back, narrowly defeating his teammate Hugo Gonzalez 1:36.91 to 1:37.19.
At the 2023 NCAA Championships, Lasco was on fire. In the 200 IM, he finished 2nd once again behind Leon Marchand, clocking 1:38.10 to break Caeleb Dressel’s 5-year American record. He finished 3rd in the 100 back final in 43.94, his 43.93 prelim swim marking his first time under the 44-second barrier. He defended his title in the 200 back, clocking his first PR in the event in 2 seasons (1:35.87). He also swam on Cal’s 2nd place 200 and 400 free relays, 3rd place 800 free relay, and 5th place 400 medley relay. Cal repeated as NCAA Champions, Lasco’s 2nd team title with the Bears.
2023-24
Lasco kicked things off at the King of the Pool dual meet against Cal Poly. Lasco won the 100 back (46.96) and 100 IM (48.60) while adding runner-up finishes in the 100 free (43.99) and 100 breast (55.63) to total 4:03.91. He was 48.73 in his 100 fly. Lasco’s winning time last year was a 4:04.23.
Lasco swept the 100/200/400 IMs in a triple-distance meet against Stanford in times of 51.13/1:49.44/3:55.26. That might have given signs to worry but Lasco showed up well at the Minnesota Invite. On night one, Lasco fired off a 50 back PB of 20.53 leading off the “B” 200 medley relay. He followed that up with a solid 1:33.06 800 free relay split. The next night saw Lasco top the 200 IM with a 1:40.16. That was nearly 1.5 seconds faster than Lasco was at this meet in 2022, thanks in part to a blistering 23.01 final 50. He kept it rolling with an 18.94 50 free split at the end of night 2.
Day 3 saw Lasco crush a 44.91 100 back in prelims. He was even faster in the final with a 44.59 to clear the field by 1.5 seconds but was DQed for a 15-meter violation. That clearly lit a fire under Lasco as he popped off a 44.28 just a bit later leading off in the 400 medley relay.
On the last day, Lasco cruised through the 200 back prelims as the top seed with a 1:39.41. That might not sound like cruising but Lasco actually negatively split his race, going 49.78 on the first 100, then coming home in 49.63. He took it out a lot stronger in the finals, splitting 48.31, then came home in 50.03 for a 1:38.34, the #2 time in the nation. He rounded out the meet with a 41.26 100 free split.
Lasco returned to dual meet racing in mid-January against Arizona and clocked a couple of best times. Lasco won both the 200 free (1:32.68) and 100 fly (45.73) in personal best times. He also had a notable 20.93 50 back leadoff in the 200 medley relay.
In the highly anticipated Cal/ASU dual meet, Lasco, suited, showed up well despite a challenging schedule and cold/wet weather. He started off with a 21.12 50 back to help the Cal “B” 200 medley relay take 3rd. Then Lasco and Hubert Kos went head-to-head the whole way in the 100 back, with Lasco getting the better of Kos at the touch. Lasco touched in 44.80 to secure a win, while Kos was 2nd in 44.97.
Kos struck back in the 200 back. Heading into the final 25, Hubert Kos and Destin Lasco were nearly completely even. Lasco had a slightly better turn, but Kos increased the tempo to maintain his lead at the finish. Kos touched in 1:39.07 to Lasco’s 1:39.29. The two met again in the 200 IM but both were crushed by Leon Marchand (1:38.93). Lasco still picked up good points, rallying past Kos on the free leg to touch in 1:41.72 to Kos’ 1:41.97. When all was said and done, Cal and ASU tied on the men’s side.
Against Stanford, Lasco won the 100 back (45.26) and 200 IM (1:41.28) while clocking a PB of 42.40 in the 100 free for 3rd.
Lasco, along with several other Cal stars, opted to swim at the TYR Pro Swim Series stop in Westmont instead of racing at Pac-12 Championships. At Pac-12s, Kos threw down the gauntlet in the 100 and 200 back, setting a championship record in the 100 back in 43.75 and an NCAA record in the 200 back with a 1:35.69, setting him and Lasco up for a major showdown at NCAAs.
Lasco did not disappoint at NCAAs. On the first night, Lasco clocked a 1:29.60 200 free split in the 800 free relay as Gabriel Jett (1:30.32), Lasco, Jack Alexy (1:30.50), and Robin Hanson (1:31.84) combined for a 6:02.26, breaking the NCAA record by over a second.
Off that high, Lasco returned the next morning and crushed a season-best 1:39.34 200 IM to lead the prelims. With Marchand opting for the 500 free, Lasco’s path to a title was clear. After Marchand’s mind-boggling 4:02 500, Lasco made history of his own, breaking his own American Record en route to winning the 200 IM. Lasco finished in 1:37.91, bettering his own AR of 1:38.10 In addition to the American Record, Lasco’s swim also marks a pool record at the legendary IUPUI Natatorium. Compared to last year, Lasco was a tick faster on fly, back, and breast, and a quarter-of-a-second slower on freestyle. Kos ended up 3rd. Lasco swam again at the end of the session, clocking an 18.46 50 free split as Cal took 2nd in the 200 free relay.
Lasco popped off again the next morning, with a 44.00 100 back, just .07 off his PB. That led prelims. Lasco ended up 5th in the final, right behind Kos. It wasn’t that he had a bad swim, he went a 44.22, it was just that he was in a historically fast 100 back final, with three men breaking 44 seconds. Lasco was a hair faster leading off in the 400 medley relay, going 44.13 as Cal took 2nd to ASU.
His off evening did not seem to phase Lasco as he posted the sixth-fastest time in 200-yard backstroke history in prelims. He hit the wall in 1:36.05, just 0.18 outside of his personal best. His time also represented the fastest prelim time in history. In the final, Kos was 2nd at the 50 with a 22.5, while Lasco sat back in 5th. Lasco stayed in 5th at the 100 but made his move on the 3rd 50, splitting a huge 23.89, the only split under 24 seconds, to move to 2nd behind Jonny Marshall. Lasco made one final push down the stretch to touch in first in a new NCAA record of 1:35.37. Kos was 2nd in 1:35.90, a bit off his previous record of 1:35.69. Lasco followed that up with a 41.91 100 free split to help Cal to 3rd in the 400 free relay and 2nd overall behind ASU
National/International Meets
2023 U.S. International Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Lasco started his meet with a bang. More known for his backstroke, Lasco was 3rd in the speedy prelims of the 100 free with a 47.87. The time took almost a second off his best: a 48.75 at 2022 U.S. Nationals. Lasco added a bit after the speedy prelims but still found himself in 4th with a 48.00 to earn a relay spot at his first World Championships.
Finally fulfilling the promise he has shown in the short pool, Lasco qualified to swim the 200 back at worlds alongside training partner Ryan Murphy. Lasco was 3rd in prelims with a 1:56.80 before dropping to a 1:55.63 in the final for 2nd. The swim was the 4th fastest in the world and a best for Lasco.
2023 World Aquatics Championships (Fukuoka, Japan)
On the prelims 400 free relay, Lasco split a 47.95. The finals squad took bronze, netting Lasco a medal. In his sole event: the 200 back, Lasco was solid in prelims with a 1:57.84 for 8th. In semis, he was well off his best form with a 1:59.18 to finish last in semis. His best time would have gotten 4th in the final.
