Lilly King Breaks American 100 BR Record With 57.15 At NCAA Prelims

Indiana freshman Lilly King became the fastest 100 yard breaststroker in history at the 2016 NCAA Championship prelims, going 57.15.

King’s time, coming on the heels of the two fastest 100 breaststroke relay splits of all time yesterday, moves past Olympian Breeja Larson to take over the American, U.S. Open and NCAA records in the event.

The 19-year-old King was just two tenths off that record at the Big Ten Championships last month, going 57.35 in winning that title.

Speed continues to be King’s game, as she outpaced Larson’s record by nearly a half-second in the opening 50 split. Here’s a comparison of the splits between the two:

King is the top seed heading into tonight’s final, and could be pushing to become the first woman under 57 seconds in the event. If she can drop her back half split closer to Larson’s level (or even just get her split differential closer to +3.7 than the +3.9 it was this morning) she’ll be shattering that barrier by tonight.

Also of note in that same 100 breast prelim: Stanford’s Sarah Haase went 57.73 to become the fourth-fastest swimmer of all-time in the event and just the seventh woman ever under 58. Haase, the defending NCAA champ in the event, leapfrogs Emily McClellan for that spot.

Top 100 SCY Breaststrokers All-Time

1. Lilly King, IU – 57.15
2. Breeja Larson, A&M – 57.23
3. Alia Atkinson, Jamaica – 57.29
4. Sarah Haase, Stanford – 57.73
5. Emily McClellan, UWM – 57.76
6. Tara Kirk, Stanford – 57.77
7. Emma Reaney, Notre Dame – 57.79
8. Annie Grevers, Arizona – 58.06
9. Jill Tyler, Minnesota – 58.08
10. Rebecca Soni, USC – 58.10