Stege Sisters Go 1-2 in SEC 500 Free Final | DOUBLE INTERVIEW

2023 SEC SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Tuesday, February 14 – Saturday, February 18, 2023
• Rec Center Natatorium, College Station, TX
• Defending Champions:
  • Women: Tennessee (1x)
  • Men: Florida (10x)
• Championship Central
• Women’s Fan Guide
• Men’s Fan Guide
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Video

There’s a lot to unpack in this narrative. In high school, Kristen and Rachel Stege both swam, but Kristen focused more on sprint events while Rachel swam distance. As a freshman as East Carolina, Kristen won the conference title in the 1,650, which was also her first time ever swimming the event. She then transferred to Tennessee, where she proceeded to break the school record in the 1,650 and place 4th at the NCAAs, along with a 9th place finish in the 500.

Last year, Rachel Stege was a freshman at Georgia but was sidelined with a shoulder injury. So this year was the first time the two sisters have raced similar events in the SEC conference. What a debut it was. In finals, Rachel was in lane 4 while Kristen was in lane 3. Rachel was out early but Kristen had a late charge, nearly overtaking Rachel and ultimately touching .04 behind her younger sister, 4:36.31 to 4:36.35.

With no race plan or strategy going in, the two sisters said they just wanted to be on the podium with one another, a wish that came true tonight as they finished 1-2.