2019 WOMEN’S DIVISION I NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, March 20th – Saturday, March 23rd
- Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center — Austin, Texas
- Prelims 9 a.m./Finals 5 p.m. (Central Time)
- Championship Central
- Psych Sheet
- Live Results
- Full livestream schedule
Stanford sophomore Brooke Forde came into the 2019 NCAA Championships with a best time of 4:37.40 in the 500 freestyle, and ended the day as the fifth-fastest 500 freestyler of all-time, picking up her first individual NCAA title in the process.
In prelims, Forde went 4:34.97 and was the No. 2 seed behind Cierra Runge (4:34.64 in prelims) heading into finals.
In finals, she went stroke-for-stroke with Virginia’s Paige Madden, with both splitting consistent 27-mids, until the final 150. Forde split 26.93/26.93/26.69 on her last 150 yards, while Madden was 27.01/27.79. Forde finished in a final time of 4:31.34, with Madden second at 4:32.98.
Forde’s full splits: 25.48 / 27.44 / 27.69 / 27.69 / 27.69 / 27.55 / 27.35 / 26.93 / 26.83 / 26.69.
Top 10 Performers of All Time: Women’s 500 Yard Freestyle
| Place | Swimmer | Time |
| 1 | Katie Ledecky | 4:24.06 |
| 2 | Leah Smith | 4:28.90 |
| 3 | Katie Hoff | 4:30.47 |
| 4 | Dagny Knutson | 4:31.18 |
| 5 | Brooke Forde | 4:31.34 |
| 6 | Cierra Runge | 4:31.90 |
| 7 | Allison Schmitt | 4:32.08 |
| 8 | Brittany MacLean | 4:32.53 |
| 9 | Missy Franklin | 4:32.66 |
| 10 | Kate Ziegler | 4:32.71 |
Forde got her meet off to an exciting start Wednesday night when she anchored Stanford’s winning 800 free relay, but accidentally did an extra 50. You could say her fifth 50 actually was a sign of good things to come for the 500, as she split 27.58, which was right on target for Thursday night’s race.
Great day for Lakeside Swim Team and Sacred Heart Academy with two alum swimmers – Forde and Seidt – getting SwimSwam writeups.
Those splits rock
I guess what we’re all waiting to hear is if she did another victory lap??
They had counters for this race, so crisis averted 🙂