Lucy Bell’s 200 Breast Rise Continues With 2:03.72, Now #8 All-Time Performer

When comparing the two swims side-by-side, Bell, known for her strong back half, actually went out nearly three-tenths slower over the first 50, touching in 28.85 compared to 28.56. That trend continued on the second 50, as she split 31.75 against her previous 31.43 to reach the 100 in 1:00.60 compared to the 59.99 from NCAAs. Despite the deficit, she began closing the gap on the third 50 with a 31.53 split compared to 31.79, hitting the 150 wall in 1:32.13 versus 1:31.78. Bell then rocketed home nearly a full second faster, closing in 31.59 compared to 32.50 to smash her best time.

Splits Comparison:

She now leads the NCAA by 1.53 seconds, with Duke senior Kaelyn Gridley ranked second with her 2:05.25 from November.

Bell also won the 100 breast (57.60) and 200 IM (1:52.50), with the former eclipsing her previous lifetime best of 57.88 set at the Texas Hall of Fame Invitational in November, and the latter just three-hundredths shy of her 1:52.47 personal best from last season’s NCAA Championships.

Bell’s improvement, even at a dual meet, shouldn’t be too much of a surprise for avid swim fans. She cut a whopping 9.20 seconds off her best time in 2024-25, entering the season with a personal best of 2:13.48, and proceeded to swim four more lifetime bests in the second half of the season, which culminated in a 2:04.60 at the ACC Championships and her aforementioned NCAA win.

She has historically swam both IMs and the 200 fly at NCAAs until the 2024-25 season, when she added the 200 breast. In her first two years with the Cardinal, she placed seventh in the 400 IM (4:05.56), 15th in the 200 IM (1:54.89), and 23rd in the 200 fly (1:55.84) as a freshman before upgrading to third in the 400 IM (4:01.23), fourth in the 200 IM (1:52.64), and ninth in the 200 fly (1:52.63) as a sophomore. Besides her 200 breast win, Bell repeated her bronze medal in the 400 IM (4:00.24) and touched sixth in the 200 IM at last season’s NCAAs with her current lifetime bests.

Bell is showing no signs of slowing down, and given she historically swims her fastest times of the season at NCAAs when it counts, more than one NCAA title could be on the cards come March.

Looking ahead to that meet, Bell finds herself in a great position across all of her events. In the 200 IM, her season best leads the nation by nearly a full second. She sits second in the 100 breast with her new personal best, trailing only Florida sophomore Anita Bottazzo (56.87), and sits third in the 400 IM with her 4:01.13 from the Texas Invite.

While the new NCAA event schedule caused some major hiccups for many stars in the collegiate scene, Bell won’t be affected at all. She’ll still be able to swim both IMs and the 200 breast, just on different days. Rather than swimming the 200 IM on day two, the 400 IM on day three, and 200 breast on day four, the order now includes the 400 IM on day two, the 200 breast on day three, and the 200 IM to wrap up the meet.

The 400 IM versus 100 breast could be more of a tossup than most would think, as both events have very different field overviews.

Bell currently ranks third in the NCAA in the 400 IM with her 4:01.13 from the Texas Invite, but the event features arguably one of the deepest fields at the top of any women’s race at NCAAs. Defending NCAA champion and junior teammate Caroline Bricker sits second nationally with a 3:59.70, while top-ranked Bella Sims has returned to form with a 3:58.02 this season after setting her 3:56.59 personal best in December 2022, though her versatility means she could opt for any number of events at the meet besides the breaststrokes or the 50 free.

Virginia sophomore Katie Grimes, who has been under four minutes a plethora of times and owns a best time of 3:57.02 from December 2022, also looms as a contender despite currently ranking fifth at 4:03.34.

The 100 breast, on the other hand, has a lot of swimmers currently bunched up in the 57-mid to high range. Bell has seen steady improvement in the event, dropping from 59.00 to 58.30 in 2024-25, and from 58.30 to 57.60 so far this year. NC State freshman Eneli Jefimova (57.67), Tennessee sophomore McKenzie Siroky (57.78), Louisville freshman Anastasia Gorbenko (57.81), Fresno State graduate student Mackenzie Lung (57.92), Virginia senior Emma Weber (57.96), and Cincinnati senior Joleigh Crye (57.99) are all under 58 seconds so far this season, making for a tight competitive field.