Lucy Bell Defends 200 Breast NCAA Title In 2:02.38: #3 All-Time Performer, 2 Second Drop From 2025

2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships

• Wednesday, March 18 – Saturday, March 21, 2026
• McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
• Defending Champions: Virginia (5x)
• Championship Central
• Preview Index
• Psych Sheet
• Live Stream
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE – Finals

• NCAA Record: 2:01.29 – Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• American Record: 2:01.29 – Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• U.S. Open Record: 2:01.29 – Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• Championship Record: 2:01.29 – Kate Douglass, Virginia (2023)
• 2025 NCAA Champion: Lucy Bell, Stanford – 2:04.28
• 2025 8th/16th Prelims Times: 2:07.60/2:08.56

Top 8 Finishers

1. Lucy Bell (STAN) — 2:02.38
2. Aimee Canny (UVA) — 2:03.09
3. Kaelyn Gridley (DUKE)/Anastasia Gorbenko (LOU) — 2:05.24
4. —
5. Letitia Sim (MICH) — 2:05.85
6. Grace Rabb (FLOR) — 2:06.85
7. Anita Bottazzo (FLOR) — 2:07.13
8. Emma Weber (UVA) — 2:07.55

Stanford senior Lucy Bell’s 200 breaststroke has been on a nonstop crescendo over the past two seasons, and tonight she reached her forte.

Bell put together a brilliant 2:02.38 victory in her last NCAA final of the event, successfully defending her national title and moving past all-time great Lilly King in the process. King went a perfect eight for eight in NCAA breaststroke titles from 2016-2019 and held the then-fastest 200 time in history of 2:02.60 for several years.

All-Time Top Performers, Women’s SCY 200 Breast

1. Kate Douglass — 2:01.29 — 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships
2. Alex Walsh — 2:02.07 — 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships
3. Lucy Bell — 2:02.38 — 2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships
4. Lilly King — 2:02.60 — 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships
5. Aimee Canny – 2:02.97 – 2026 ACC Championships
6. Bethany Galat — 2:03.26 — 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships
7. Anna Elendt — 2:03.26 — 2023 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships
8. Kierra Smith — 2:03.55 — 2017 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships
9. Sydney Pickrem — 2:03.65 — 2019 NCAA Division I Women’s Championships
10. Sophie Hansson — 2:03.75 — 2022 ACC Championships

Previously, Bell ranked #4 from the 2:02.67 she clocked to win the 2026 ACC Title.

Beyond rankings, Bell’s splits this evening deserve a little commotion. She registered 28.28/31.36/31.39/31.35, showing remarkable consistency and poise even when faced against rival Aimee Canny, who was over a half second ahead of Bell at the halfway point.

A final noteworthy point of Bell’s swim comes from her improvement from last year’s title. Then, she won with a respectable 2:04.28. Since then, she’s brought her lifetime best down 1.9 seconds over the course of three meets: a dual meet against Cal (2:03.72), ACCs (2:02.67), and now (2:02.38). Canny has worked to stay along for the ride of Bell’s ascension; she brought her own best down from 2:06.70 last season to a 2:02.97 at the ACC Champs behind Bell. Tonight, she put up an impressive 2:03.09 runner-up performance that would rank #5 if not for her own conference effort last month.