Josh Liendo Makes History With 9th Title, Opens in 18.84 To Win 100 Free in 39.91

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 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4

Men’s 100 Freestyle — Final

• NCAA Record: 39.83 — Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2025)
• Championship Record: 39.83 — Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2025)
• American Record: 39.90 — Caeleb Dressel, Florida (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 39.83 — Jordan Crooks, Tennessee (2025)
• 2025 Champion: Josh Liendo, Florida — 39.99
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Places: 41.14/41.62

Final: 

1. Josh Liendo (Florida) — 39.91
2. Jere Hribar (LSU) — 40.33
3. Gui Caribe (Tennessee) — 40.41
4. Julian Koch (Pittsburgh) — 40.43
5. Jonny Kulow (ASU) — 40.76
6. Quintin McCarty (NC State) — 40.90
7. Tomas Lukminas (Arizona) — 41.11
8. Brendan Whitfield (Virginia Tech) — 41.22

Josh Liendo blasted to a new best time of 39.91 to take his fourth consecutive 100 free title, going out in a blistering 18.84 to feet for the second-fastest opening 50 ever. He moves to joint-third on the list for all-time individual NCAA titles with nine, tying with Caeleb Dressel for most in Florida history.

He shattered Caeleb Dressel‘s decade-old pool record by half a second, winning his fourth consecutive NCAA title in the event to join a short list of athletes to have completed the career sweep.

The Opener

Liendo was the third-fastest swimmer in prelims this morning, but got out fast tonight as he hit the 25 in 8.93 before flipping at the halfway point in 18.84 – a time which would have placed 15th in the individual 50 free. He more than hung on with a 21.07 on the second 50 to become the only man to have broken 40 seconds more than once in this event.

His opening 50 is his fastest ever, and ranks behind only Jordan Crooks‘ 18.76 from his NCAA-record 39.83 prelims swim last year.

Fastest Opening 50 Split, Men’s 100 Yard Free

1. Jordan Crooks (Tennessee), 2025 – 18.76
2. Josh Liendo (Florida), 2026 – 18.84
3. Josh Liendo (Florida), 2025 – 18.94
4. Bjorn Seeliger (Cal), 2022 – 18.95
5. Caeleb Dressel (Florida), 2018 – 18.96

The Time

Liendo stays ranked as the 3rd-fastest swimmer in history after shaving 0.08 seconds from the 39.99 he swam last year. He closes the gap to the Crooks and Dressel ahead of him, with all three separated by less than a tenth of a second.

All-Time Top Five, Men’s 100 Yard Free

1. Jordan Crooks (Tennessee), 2025 – 39.83
2. Caeleb Dressel (Florida), 2018 – 39.90
3. Josh Liendo (Florida), 2026 – 39.91
4. Gui Caribe (Tennessee), 2025 – 40.15
5. Leon Marchand (ASU), 2024 – 40.28

He becomes the only man to have swum under 40 seconds on two occasions after winning the NCAA title in 39.99 last year. He still sits 0.01 off the school record set by Caeleb Dressel in 2018, despite being the #3 performer all-time.

The History

With his title tonight, Liendo moves to nine individual titles in his NCAA career. That ties him for the third-most, behind Pablo Morales (11) and John Naber (10).

Liendo’s Individual NCAA Titles

1. 2023 – 100 free: 40.28
2. 2024 – 50 free: 18.07
3. 2024 – 100 fly: 43.07
4. 2024 – 100 free: 40.20
5. 2025 – 100 fly: 43.06
6. 2025 – 100 free: 39.99
7. 2026 – 50 free: 18.06
8. 2026 – 100 fly: 42.49
9. 2026 – 100 free: 39.91

This is the second year in which he has swept all three events he competed in, after doing so in 2024. He has finished no lower than second in any individual event at the NCAA championships, and has amassed a total of 231 individual points out of a possible 240.

Overall Individual Men’s NCAA Titles

1. 11 Titles – Pablo Morales (Stanford): 1984-1987
2. 10 Titles – John Naber (USC): 1974-1977
3. 9 Titles – Roy Saari (USC): 1964-1966/Brian Goodell (UCLA): 1978-1980/Artur Wojdat (Iowa): 1989-1992/Ryk Neethling (Arizona): 1997-2000/Caeleb Dressel (Florida): 2015-2018/Josh Liendo (Florida): 2023-2026

His sweep of the 100 free during his NCAA career makes him just the 16th man to do so. Only Ian Crocker (100 fly), Brendan Hansen (100 breast, 200 breast), Kevin Cordes (100 breast), Ryan Murphy (100 back, 200 back), and Caeleb Dressel (50 free) have also done so this century.

Liendo will anchor the 400 free relay for Florida at the end of the session, targeting Jordan Crooks‘s #1 all-time split of 39.36. Liendo was 39.47 at the 2026 SEC championships for Florida, where he was just 40.94 individually.