2025 NOVA SPEEDO GRAND CHALLENGE
- May 23-25, 2025
- William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center Pool, Irvine, California
- Long Course Meters (50 meters)
- Results on Meet Mobile: “2025 CA 29th NOVA-Speedo Grand Challenge”
- YouTube Livestream
In one of the final tune-up meets before the U.S. National Championships begin in just over a week, the 2025 Nova Speedo Grand Challenge kicked off last night at the William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center in Irvine, California. Among the many stars competing were the Cal Bears, most of whom have not raced since the NCAA Championships, where they secured a runner-up finish on the men’s side.
The first day of action featured the women’s 200 IM, men’s 200 freestyle, women’s 50 free, men’s 200 IM, women’s 400 free, men’s 50 free, and the 100 breaststroke for both men and women.
The men’s 50 free saw Olympic relay gold medalist and 2023 World silver medalist Jack Alexy clock the only sub-22 performance with a time of 21.94, putting him slightly ahead of the 21.97 he posted around this time last year. He went on to grab 4th at the Olympic Trials with a time of 21.74 after logging 21.66 in the semifinals—a time that would’ve earned him a top-two spot in the final if replicated. The Cal senior’s personal best remains the 21.54 he recorded at the 2023 Fukuoka World Championships.
Cal Bear pro Brooks Curry, another Olympic relay gold medalist, touched 2nd in 22.48 after popping a faster 22.40 during the prelims. He was a bit off his season-best 22.03 from the Sacramento Pro Swim Series stop in April. His best time remains the 21.84 that he notched at a local summer meet at LSU in June 2023. He will be among the favorites to make the team in both the 4×100 and 4×200 free relays at the upcoming Nationals, having made the Tokyo 2021 Olympics and Budapest 2022 Worlds in the 4×100, before earning a 4×200 berth in 2024.
The 200 free did not see Curry compete in the final, but he did swim a time of 1:48.49 in the heats before scratching. He owns a season best of 1:46.74 and a lifetime best of 1:45.89. In his absence, Belgian native and training partner Lucas Henveaux dominated the final with a 1:46.93 outing. Cal 5th year Destin Lasco secured 2nd in 1:48.66, while Trojan Swim Club’s Ian Pickles hit the wall 3rd in 1:49.75.
Henveaux’s swim is promising, as it’s less than a second outside the 1:46.04 he posted in the Paris Olympic Games heats, which stands as the national record and his current career best. He also eclipsed his season-best 1:47.28 from the Belgian Championships last month.
Lasco’s swim isn’t to be overlooked either, as it breaks his previous best time of 1:49.58 by almost a full second from nearly five years ago. For someone known to be well off his best outside of major national competitions, this is a very good sign that he could have a big breakthrough in just one week’s time. He could be one of the answers Team USA needs in the men’s 100 back, where his best time of 52.93 puts him in contention for an individual spot—especially with American record holder and multiple-time Olympic champion Ryan Murphy opting out of competing this year.
In the men’s 200 IM, 16-year-old Anthony Dornoff impressed with a lifetime-best 2:03.88 to win by over a second over Cougar Aquatics’ Jake McCoy (2:05.o0) and Triton’s Bekzhan Yessengeldy (2:05.14, program record). Dornoff’s previous personal standard rested at the 2:05.04 he recorded at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Series earlier in the month.
Dornoff, who swims for LaMirada Armada, is best known for his standout 400 IM performance last July, when he became the fourth-fastest 15-year-old American ever in the event with a 4:20.65 win at the Novato Sectionals. He ranks behind only Michael Phelps (4:15.20 in 2001), Maximus Williamson (4:17.58 in 2022), and Sean Grieshop (4:20.25 in 2014) on the all-time list for 15-year-olds in the 400 IM.
Alpha Aquatics’ Pavel Romanov, 31, won the only other men’s event of the night—the 100 breaststroke—in 1:01.98, standing as the sole swimmer under 1:03. The former Alabama standout owns a personal best of 1:01.49 from the 2023 TYR Pro Championships, but did notch a season best by eclipsing his previous mark of 1:02.12 from the Fort Lauderdale meet.
On the women’s side, 47-year-old Gabby Rose was the clear headliner, clocking a near-best time of 1:08.77 in the 100 breast. Rose, a Brazilian American, was a two-time Olympian: at the 1996 Games representing Brazil and at the 2000 Games representing the United States.
She was a butterflier, freestyler, and IM’er in her teens and 20s, winning three silver medals at the 2002 World Short Course Championships, another at the 2002 Pan Pacific Championships, and two relay golds at the 2003 long course World Championships.
After 20 years away from the elite level of the sport, she re-emerged in late 2022 at a meet in Irvine, posting a long course 1:12.93 in the 100 breast. She has since risen rapidly, finishing 10th in the 100 breast semifinals with her current best of 1:08.32, and 16th in the 200 breast semifinals (2:30.44) at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Cal graduating senior Leah Polonsky (2:12.29) captured the women’s 200 IM win ahead of NOVA’s Isabelle Odgers (2:13.09) and USC’s Justina Kozan (2:14.24). Polonsky split 29.12, 33.63, 38.75, and 30.79 en route to the win, while Odgers challenged with a strong 37.39 breast leg, and Kozan closed hard on free with a near-sub-30 split of 30.06.
The women’s 50 free ended in a tie between two rising stars, as Pleasanton Seahawks’ Liberty Clark, 17, and Beach Cities’ Gabi Brito both clocked 25.57 to share gold medal honors. Clark, an Indiana commit, has a career best of 25.30, while Brito owns a similar mark of 25.42. The time marks a season best for Brito, while Clark previously logged 25.32 back in April.
Brito is coming off a strong showing at the CIF High School State Championships in short course yards, where she claimed double gold in the 100 fly and 200 IM.
Camille Henveaux, a freshman at Cal and sister of Lucas, touched in 4:13.29 to win the women’s 400 free—just off her personal best of 4:13.08 from the Belgian Championships last month. Sandpipers’ Rebecca Diaconescu, a Michigan freshman who represents Romania internationally, was the only other swimmer under 4:20 with a time of 4:16.68. Her lifetime best stands at 4:13.87 from the Campionatul Național Seniori Tineret Juniori meet in April 2024.
OK Alexy, impressive !