LSU junior-to-be Kara Kopcso swam a new lifetime best of 59.16 on Sunday evening at the Louisiana State Championships, which puts her into contention for the USA Swimming National title in three weeks in San Antonio.
Kopcso’s lifetime best is a 59.92 done at last year’s National meet, and she’s already ducked eight-tenths of a second under that with still the final approach to taper yet to come. Last year, it took slightly faster, 59.05, to make the U.S. National Team in the event.
She’s still only 19 years old (she has a very late birthday, not until September 2nd), and now ranks 8th among all American swimmers over the last two seasons.
Of the 7 swimmers ahead of her, three (Claire Donahue, Kendyl Stewart, and Katie McLaughlin) will miss the U.S. National Championship meet while at the World Championships.
Each of the four ahead of her (that we presume will all be in San Antonio) will be trying to pull off a double taper after representing the United States internationally: Felicia Lee (58.14) and Christina Bechtel (59.05) at the World University Games; and Kelsi Worrell (57.24) and Gia Dalesandro (58.99) at the Pan American Games.
Worrell will still be the favorite for that meet, but Kopcso has a chance based on her reputation for putting up pre-taper warning swims as these, and then making another big drop upon completion.
The two examples both come from her collegiate career, and both against Texas A&M. In January of 2015, she swam a 53.81 in the 100 yard fly, which was just shy of her lifetime best, a month short of the SEC Championships.
A year earlier, also in a dual against the Aggies that was timed the same distance from her championship meet, Kopcso swam a lifetime best in the 200 yard fly (1:56.12) and in the process beat American Olympian, and eventual NCAA Champion, Cammile Adams.
During her freshman season, against Adams, that was as fast as she’d get that season. As a sophomore, however, she figured out how to put in another big drop (1.4 seconds to be precise). If we see a similar improvement at this year’s Nationals, she would not only be in contention for the title, but she could steal a spot on the U.S. National Team and make a name for herself ahead of next year’s Olympic Trials.
Full meet results available on Meet Mobile.
