Phoebe Bacon Swims Fastest 200 Back Since Winning Event At 2021 NCAAs With 1:48.81 In Prelims

2024 WOMEN’S NCAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

WOMEN’S 200 YARD BACKSTROKE – PRELIMS

• NCAA Record: 1:47.24 – Beata Nelson, Wisconsin (2019)
• Meet Record: 1:47.24 – Beata Nelson, Wisconsin (2019)
• American Record: 1:47.16 – Regan Smith, Riptide (2019)
• US Open Record: 1:47.16 – Regan Smith, Riptide (2019)
• Pool Record: 1:48.55 – Rhyan White, Alabama (2021)
• 2023 Champion: 1:47.64 – Claire Curzan, Stanford

Top 8:

1. Phoebe Bacon, Wisconsin – 1:48.81
2. Bella Sims, Florida – 1:49.44
3. Josephine Fuller, Tennessee – 1:49.57
4. Kennedy Noble, NC State – 1:49.78
5. Isabelle Stadden, Cal – 1:50.37
6. Miranda Grana, Texas A&M – 1:51.78
7. Caroline Bentz, Virginia Tech – 1:51.81
8. Catie Choate, Florida – 1:51.99

Wisconsin senior Phoebe Bacon swam to her fastest 200 backstroke time during prelims of 2024 NCAAs since winning the 200 backstroke NCAA title back in 2021. This morning she swam a 1:48.81, the fastest swim of the morning by over half of a second.

The senior won the NCAA title in 2021 swimming a 1:48.32, a time that is tied with Bella Sims of Florida as the #9 performer of all-time. Sims swam next to Bacon this morning and swam to a 1:49.44 and will be the #2 seed tonight, right next to Bacon as they will be in lanes 4 and 5 respectively.

In 2022, Bacon swam a 1:49.29 in finals at NCAAs to finish 2nd in the event behind Regan Smith who won in a 1:47.76. Then, a year ago, Bacon finished 2nd again as she swam a 1:49.28, finishing behind Claire Curzan of Stanford who won in a 1:47.28.

It also is important to note that Bacon has consistently dropped time from prelims to finals in the event. The last three seasons in the event at both Big Tens and at NCAAs, she has at least dropped half of a second from prelims to finals. At 2021 NCAAs, she dropped exactly two seconds from prelims to finals. In 2022, she dropped 0.89 while in 2023 she dropped 0.75 seconds. This bodes well for her swim tonight with her previous success of improvement from the morning to night.

Bacon’s success this morning also bodes well as she looks to make another Olympics for the US. In 2021, she finished 2nd in the event at Olympic Trials in a 2:06.46, a personal best at the time. She went on to finish 5th in the event in Tokyo swimming a 2:06.40.

In 2022 at International Team Trials, Bacon swam a best time of a 2:05.08 to make the Worlds team for the US before winning silver at Worlds in a 2:05.12. This past summer, she was 5th in the event at US Summer Nationals in a 2:06.59. It took a 2:05.77 to make the 2023 Worlds roster.