LSU’s Brooks Curry Splits 18.14 on 200 Medley Relay Anchor

Braden Keith
by Braden Keith 7

February 15th, 2022 College, News, SEC

2022 SEC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

LSU junior Brooks Curry threw down an 18.14 split on he anchor leg of the Tigers’ 200 medley relay on Tuesday to open up the SEC Championships. That ties as the 19th-best split in history and as the 9th-best performer. Six out of the top 10 swimmers on that list are from SEC schools.

All-Time Fastest 50 Yard Freestylers on a Relay Split (Performers)

  1. Caeleb Dressel, Florida, 2018 NCAAs – 17.30
  2. Vlad Morozov, USC, 2013 NCAAs – 17.86
  3. Kristian Gkolomeev, Alabama, 2016 NCAAs – 18.00
  4. Ryan Hoffer, Cal, 2021 NCAAs – 18.06
  5. Matt Targett, Auburn, 2009 SECs/Robert Howard, Alabama, 2019 SECs – 18.10
  6. (TIE)
  7. Nathan Adrian, Cal, 2011 NCAAs/Ryan Held, NC State, 2017 NCAAs – 18.13
  8. (TIE)
  9. Kyle Decoursey, Tennessee, 2018 SECs/Brooks Curry, LSU, 2022 SECs – 18.14
  10. (TIE)

Curry’s reaction time was .16 seconds – fast, but not dangerously fast.

The LSU relay finished 6th in 1:24.79, which also breaks the LSU School Record of 1:24.87 that was set in 2017.

Most of Curry’s big success has been in the 100 free. His coming-out party came as a freshman when he won a surprise SEC Championship in the 100 free. Then last summer, he won an Olympic gold medal by swimming a finals leg of the American 400 free relay.

But social media posts at LSU have indicated that Curry has been putting a lot of focus on the 50 free this season, and that result showed in his split on Tuesday.

Last season, Curry finished 7th in the 100 free, 6th in the 200 free, and 10th in the 50 free at the NCAA Championships. At SECs, his best relay split was an 18.83 to anchor the 200 medley relay.

LSU has a new coaching staff this season. Rick Bishop was brought in to replace Dave Geyer as head coach at the beginning of the season, and then Curry’s primary sprint coach Steve Mellor left the program in October.

So far, Curry hasn’t missed a beat, and arguably has accelerated his progress after the coaching change. His first individual event will be the 50 free on Wednesday, followed by the 200 free on Thursday. That will be the next big data point – how much, if anything, he’s had to sacrifice from his 200 to improve his 50.

 

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matt
2 years ago

his arms are so skinny

kbizzy
2 years ago

I did not know that CD went 17.3 on a relay. I looked online and tried to find a video but it was from a prelims swim so I have not been able to find it. Does anyone know where it’s posted?

FlynDie
Reply to  kbizzy
2 years ago

https://youtu.be/SGxm5fYbuoE

This is the best video I’ve found, it’s from the USC highlight real. Skip to 1:20, Dressel is in lane 3. There’s no footage of the exchange which is lame but he still makes up a mind-boggling body length

SwimFan
2 years ago

Hoffer was 18.06 at NCAAs last year

Swimfan
2 years ago

That 17.3 from Caeleb Dressel is next level 🐐🐐

PFA
Reply to  Swimfan
2 years ago

Man’s got .56 on the next fastest person that’s a very large margin for a 50

Ol' Longhorn
Reply to  Swimfan
2 years ago

When this dude goes through puberty, he’ll have a shot at it.

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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