Lucy Bell Hammers the Final 50 of Her 400 IM to Break ACC Championship Record

2026 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships

• Dates:
  • Diving: Sunday, February 15–Tuesday, February 17
  • Swimming: Tuesday, February 17–Saturday, February 21
• Location: McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
• Defending champions: UVA women (6x); Cal men (1x)
• Live Results
• Live Video: ESPN+ ($)
• Schedule of Events (PDF)
• Championship Central
• Pre-Scratch Psych Sheet
• Live Results
• Live Recaps
  • Prelims: Day 4|Day 5
  • Finals: Day 1|Day 2|Day 3|Day 4 | Day 5
• Teams: Boston College, Cal, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (women swimming & diving/men diving), NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, Virginia, Virginia Tech

Stanford senior Lucy Bell is primarily a breaststroker, but on Thursday evening in Atlanta she showed off her versatility by running away from a field of talented IM’ers and freestylers on the last 50 of the women’s 400 IM.

Her time of 3:59.11 shaved .22 seconds off the ACC Meet Record that was set in 2023 by Virginia’s Ella Nelson.

Bell is the defending NCAA Champion in the 200 breaststroke, but this 400 IM is a bit of a sleeper swim for her. Her teammate Caroline Bricker, the defending NCAA Champion in this event, was off her best on Thursday, finishing 7th in a 4:04, but Bell picked up the torch to stave off a 2-3-4-5 finish for the Virginia women.

Bell’s previous best time was a 4:00.24 at the NCAA Championships last season. Her only previous swims of the event this season were at the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational in November, where she posted a 4:01.13.

Splits Comparison:

Bell used a “less is more” approach on the front-half of the race, instead leaning into her strength: breaststroke and endurance.

While she was out almost a second-and-a-half slower in the first 200 yards, she dropped 1.1 on the breaststroke leg and 1.3 on the freestyle leg compared to her previous personal bests.

The most visually stunning was the way she powered away from the field over the last 50 yards. Not known as a freestyler, over the last 50 yards she wound up and pulled away from everyone, including the Olympic silver medalist Katie Grimes and freestyle specialist Aimee Canny, who is relatively-new to this event.

Bell split 26.60 on that last 50, which was better than Grimes (26.96) and Canny (27.41).

Bell didn’t swim the 200 IM on Wednesday, but has the 100 and 200 breaststroke left to swim this week. That’s a shift from last year, when in championship season she swam 200 breast/200 IM/400 IM. This 400 IM will leave her with a tough decision to make about a third event for NCAAs.

Virginia holds a 124 point lead over Stanford after the conclusion of Thursday’s racing, with the Cardinal 41 points ahead of their rivals Cal.

Team Standings After Thursday

1. Virginia – 786
2. Stanford – 662
3. Cal – 621
4. Louisville – 507
5. NC State – 404.5
6. Pitt – 354.5
7. North Carolina – 261.5
8. Miami – 248
9. Florida State – 223
10. Notre Dame – 220
11. Duke – 215.5
12. Virginia Tech – 208
13. Georgia Tech – 204
14. SMU – 155
15. Boston College – 48