California Busts 200 Medley Relay American Record In Prelims; Katis Swims Fastest 50 Breaststroke Split In History

After breaking the American record last night in the 400 medley relay last night with Stubblefield as the anchor, the team of Ryan Murphy, Chuck Katis, Justin Lynch, and Tyler Messerschmidt earned the top seed in prelims of the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:22.40. California’s relay broke the American record they set last year at the NCAA Championships in Austin of 1:22.83.

Michigan currently holds the US Open and NCAA records at 1:22.27 from the 2013 NCAA Championships in Indianapolis.

In addition to breaking the American record, Chuck Katis also posted the fastest 50 breaststroke relay split in history with a 22.64. That time was just under Tennessee freshman Peter John Stevens’ split of 22.72 from the 2015 SEC Championships. 

Take a look at their splits below (1:22.40):

  • Ryan Murhpy – 20.82
  • Chuck Katis – 22.64
  • Justin Lynch – 20.33
  • Tyler Messerschmidt – 18.61

Comparative Splits from 2014 (1:22.83):

  • Murphy – 20.90
  • Katis – 23.29
  • Cox – 19.99
  • Messerschmidt- 18.65

 

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gator
9 years ago

phenomenal split from Katis in prelims. his first 25 is brilliant

coacherik
9 years ago

Remember when 22.6 used to be a serviceable backstroke lead off? Now BRer are pushing past it and it will be the norm in a few short years for your breaststroke leg to be under 23.. Insane.

PD
Reply to  coacherik
9 years ago

I think 22.6 is still serviceable

floppy
9 years ago

Did the rule change from “hands have to stay below the water” to “elbows have to stay below the water”? If so, when?

sven
Reply to  floppy
9 years ago

I don’t know specific dates but I’m pretty sure that’s been legal for a long time now.

floppy
Reply to  sven
9 years ago

Sorry, I should have phrased that as “wasn’t hands under the water a rule sometime in the last decade”?

Mike Emmons
Reply to  floppy
9 years ago

No, hands over the water has been around for well over a decade.

floppy
Reply to  Mike Emmons
9 years ago

I remember hearing that was one of the reasons that Erik Vendt dropped the 400 IM in 2008 for just straight swimming free – he kept getting DQ’ed on breaststroke for bringing his hands out of the water.

Joel Lin
9 years ago

49.9 is possible.

Markster
Reply to  Joel Lin
9 years ago

It’s already been done. Cordes split 49.78 at the 2013 Texas invite. Unless you were talking about flat start of course…

EmZee
9 years ago

Correction: It’s not the exact same team, they had Stubblefield on the 400 Medley, this is Messerschmidt on the 200 Medley now.

Still, wow.

About Tony Carroll

Tony Carroll

The writer formerly known as "Troy Gennaro", better known as Tony Carroll, has been working with SwimSwam since April of 2013. Tony grew up in northern Indiana and started swimming in 2003 when his dad forced him to join the local swim team. Reluctantly, he joined on the condition that …

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