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Alekos Binder of Los Angeles, California will head to the opposite coast in attending Columbia University starting this fall. Binder, a breastroke/IMer, is a product of Rose Bowl Aquatics and attended Loyola High School.
I’m beyond excited to announce my commitment to swim and study at Columbia University. I want to thank God first for making this possible. I’d also love to thank Coach Jim and Gustavo for the honor of being able to continue my career at one of the best universities in the world. I owe everything to the unwavering support from my family, coaches, teammates, and friends. I’d love to thank BLAST, especially Coach Hide and Peter, for instilling my love for swimming, and I’d love to thank Rose Bowl, Coach Andrew, and Coach Hector, for helping me grow and always believing in me. Lastly, I want to thank my Loyola family, especially Coaches Kevin, Gibby, Schaeffer, Joon, and Kyle, for making me who I am today. I’m proud to become a Lion after four years of being a Cub. #C4L #RoarLionRoar 🦁💙
Binder set several PBs at Speedo Sectionals – LaMirada in December 2022, including in the 400 IM (3:57.57) to place 5th, 200 breast (2:00.74) to place 2nd, and 100 breast (55.66) to take 1st. Binder additionally led off the 4×200 relay of Blast Sharks, his team at the time, in a PB of 1:41.56.
A few months later at Futures Championships – Sacramento (LCM) in July 2023, Binder swam a 2:26.28 PB in prelims of the 200 breast. He followed that up with a 2:26.97 in finals, which was good enough for 31st. Binder additionally set season bests in the 100 breast (1:07.71), 200 IM (2:14.82), and 400 IM (4:51.52).
Binder improved upon his sectionals winning time of 55.66 from Speedo Sectionals – LaMirada at the CIF – SS Division 1 Championships earlier this year. He swam a 55.50 in prelims, then a 55.99 in finals to finish 7th overall. Binder also set a PB in the prelims of the 200 IM (1:51.06) before going 1:52.17 to place 9th. Binder capped off his meet by contributing a relay split of 46.18 in Loyola’s 400 free relay.
Best times SCY:
- 100 breast – 55.50
- 200 breast – 2:00.74
- 200 IM – 1:51.06
- 400 IM – 3:57.57
- 200 free – 1:41.56
- 500 free – 4:34.05
At the 2024 Ivy League Championships, Columbia finished in 6th place. The Lions were led by distance freestyler Zachary Vasser, who totaled 64 points. Binder will look to help Columbia improve upon their 6th place finish this season, as his 400 IM, 100 and 200 breast would have qualified for the ‘C’ final at the 2024 Ivy League Champs, making him a potential 3x finalist.
Binder will additionally bolster Columbia’s IM group, with his 400 IM ranking 4th in comparison to the 2023-2024 roster, his 200 IM ranking 6th and the Lions’ top IMer graduating.
Binder is set to join fellow Californians Ryan Makouar (fly), Jerry Yan (fly), and Gian Santos (free), on Columbia’s campus this fall. Tennessee’s Stephen Zhukov (IM/distance free), Iowa’s Holden Carter (fly) and Canadian Lucas Zhang (fly/free) will also be newcomers for the 2024-2025 season.
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