Josh Liendo Breaks His Own 100 Fly NCAA Record (42.49), Completes National Title Three-Peat

2026 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Dates: Wednesday, March 25–Saturday, March 28
• Location: McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
• Defending Champions: Texas (1x)
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  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2
  • Finals: Day 1

En route to a three-peat in the 100-yard butterfly at the NCAA Championships, Florida’s Josh Liendo broke his own NCAA record in the 100 fly, swimming a time of 42.49. He previously went a time of 42.54 in the preliminary heats, which took down Caeleb Dressel‘s NCAA record mark of 42.80 from 2018.

The 100 fly final was by far the fastest race in the event’s history. Second-place finisher Hubert Kos tied Liendo’s previous record from prelims, while Ilya Kharun recorded a time of 42.92 to place third and become the fourth swimmer ever to get under the 43-second mark.

All-Time Top Performers, Men’s 100-Yard Butterfly: 

1. Josh Liendo, Florida — 42.49 (2026)
2. Hubert Kos, Texas — 42.54 (2026)
3. Caeleb Dressel, Florida — 42.80 (2018)
4. Ilya Kharun, Arizona State — 42.92 (2026)
5. Youssef Ramadan, Virginia Tech — 43.15 (2023)

Liendo spent most of the final playing catch-up to Kos, who opened with a blistering 19.56 first 50 that was even faster than the 19.67 he opened with during prelims. However, the Gator outsplit Kos by 0.33 on his final 50 to pull off the come-from-behind victory.

That said, Liendo’s improvements from his own prelims mark came from his first 50, as he bettered his opening split by 0.12 seconds.

Split Comparison:

Liendo’s 100 fly race is his first out of two opportunities to three-peat (or more at NCAAs). He will later race in the 100 free, an event that he has won the last three NCAA titles in. He also will race the 50 free, which he won in 2024.