Disclaimer: BlueSeventy 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 BlueSeventy Swim 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.
There’s not a team in the nation (or in recent history) with as bright a future as the Stanford Cardinal. And while star sprinter Simone Manuel hasn’t yet competed this year, somehow things just keep getting brighter for the Card.
The latest swimmer to sizzle is sophomore Katie Drabot, who put up an off-event time so good it makes the 200 fly suddenly an on-event.
An NCAA qualifier last year in the 200 free, 500 free and 1650 free (and scorer in the 200), Drabot was already penciled in as a sophomore contributor. But at the Art Adamson Invite this weekend, Drabot blasted the nation’s fastest 200 fly time – and not only that, a time that would have earned second place at last year’s NCAA Championships.
Drabot went 1:51.74, going out in 54.0 and coming back in a blistering 57.7 over the final 100 yards. She beat her own teammate and defending NCAA champ Ella Eastin (1:52.03) head-to-head, and suddenly looks poised to demolish the 3 NCAA points she put up in her rookie season. An NCAA runner-up spot in that event would be worth 17, plus whatever she earns in her other two entries.
Stanford now has the potential to go 1-2 or better in four different NCAA races: 200 fly (Drabot, Eastin), 200 free (Ledecky, Manuel), 1650 free (Ledecky, Byrnes, Stevens) and 400 IM (Ledecky, Eastin), depending on who swims what.
Drabot was also 4:39.64 in the 500 free, 1:56.67 in the 200 IM, 1:44.76 in the 200 free at the Art Adamson Invite, and had previously been 4:37.51 in the 500 and 1:44.26 in the 200 free at the College Challenge. She ranks 4th nationally in the 500 free, 5th in the 200 free and 1st in the 200 fly, setting up what could be a 35+ point performance individually at the NCAA Championships.
Even when Stanford hits adversity in Manuel’s absence, things somehow keep looking brighter and brighter.
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Not trying to take anything away from Drabot’s impressive swim, but is anyone else amazed by Eastin’s last wall?! She made up a lot of ground on that last turn
This reminds me a bit of Sarah Gibson–a talented mid-distance freestyler turned butterflyer. Quite impressive!
Sarah Gibson was not nearly as fast as Drabot coming out of high school. In fact, not many D1 schools would have given her a spot on the team except for her academics!! And that was coming from Gibson herself.
All credit to Drabot, amazing swim and certainly very useful to Standford!
But am I the only one that’s not terribly surprised by her doing well in the 2 fly? The 100 fly was typically part of her arsenal throughout her high school years and I believe at some meets last year. She’s always had talent in butterfly is basically what I’m saying.
Still, 1:51 is a spectacular time so maybe it’ll replace the 1650 in her lineup.
I’m not surprised about her fly talent but I was a little surprised about her branching out into the longer fly distance since she focused more on sprint fly in high school.
Drabot rarely swam the fly in high school (other than in her IMs), never swam the fly at the state high school meets (again, IMs excepted), and rarely swam it as an event at state, national or international-level club events — she was much more focused on freestyle (e.g., she holds Wisconsin state high school records in every freestyle event, from the 50 to 500) and IMs. Her secondary stroke during her high school years, after freestyle, arguably was breaststroke.
Having said that, I’ve long thought 200 yard/meter events are her bread and butter — it seems to be her ideal length, given her combination of top-tier speed and tremendous endurance. So I’m not surprised, either, that she’s finding success… Read more »
I feel like it’s been a long time I’ve been excited about a women’s 200 fly. The event is so open on every level right now. The world needs a star! Will it be Drabot??
How long has it been since USA women won a medal in that event at the olympics?
The last time was in 2000 when Misty Hyman won gold (2:05.88), breaking Mary Meagher’s American record.
One of my favorite races all time. I thought she’d fade that last 50 like Misty normally did up to that point. But not this time. An amazing 2:05.8!!!!
17 years right now. Misty Hyman, Sydney 2000.
Howe, Hu 1,2 in the 100 back? it’s a stretch but no different than Manuel, Ledecky in the 200 I think
Baker will probably win breaking the NCAA record so it’s unlikey Stanford will go 1-2.
Is there any race video???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxvlMBkzGZg
Thanks!