Sydney Schoeck Sets Big PB in 400 IM at Indy Pro Series Weeks after Drop at Mel Zajac Jr Meet

Top 8:

1. Sydney Schoeck (CSP) – 4:39.86
2. Emma Weyant (GSC) – 4:41.80
3. Katie Grimes (CA) – 4:43.70
4. Aimee Canny (RSA) – 4:44.66
5. Audrey Derivaux (JW) – 4:45.67
6. Caroline Bricker (ALTO) – 4:46.33
7. Leah Hayes (CA) – 4:47.04
8. Teagan O’Dell (UN) – 4:47.61

Just under two weeks since swimming a new career best in Vancouver at the Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet in the 400 IM, Sydney Schoeck is back in the timedrop circle, this time on home soil, dropping over a full second from that time to claim the top time in the prelims of the Pro Swim Series in Indianapolis in 4:39.86.

Schoeck, the future Texas Longhorn, came away from prelims as the only swimmer under the 4:41, and was faster than the last two Olympic Silver medalists in this event, Emma Weyant and Katie Grimes, in 4:41.80 and 4:43.70, respectively.

Earlier this month, Schoeck clocked a new career best in the 400 IM in 4:41.21, just three tenths ahead of future Texas teammate Sadie Buckley in 4:41.53 at the Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet in Vancouver.

Prior to that swim, Schoeck’s fastest time was from the summer prior, at the US National Championships in 2025, with a 4:43.20. Even before that time, she held a best of 4:47.39, a near eight-second improvement over the last two seasons in the 400 IM.

Below is a chart showing her progression over her last four best times, including each stroke’s progression within the race. Towards the bottom, you will also find how much time Schoeck has dropped between her 2024 best and the fastest split of that stroke, whether that be from this most recent Pro Series swim or the Mel Zajac Jr. meet.

Without a doubt, the biggest improvement has come in her freestyle, having closed in at 1:07.09 in 2024 and now hovering around the 1:03-1:04 range, for a total near-three-second improvement on the freestyle alone.

Her butterfly and backstroke have been the most consistent parts of her IM over the last two years, staying right at that 1:03 high-to-1:05 mid-range on the fly and consistently getting faster on the back, now down to the mid-1:09 range.

Schoeck is set to make a splash in her first season with the Longhorns next season, as the Texas women are coming off a more than 300-point win at the SEC Swimming and Diving Championships and a 3rd-place finish at the 2026 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.