Ultra Swim Swimmer of the Month is a recurring SwimSwam feature shedding light on a U.S.-based swimmer who has proven themselves over the past month. As with any item of recognition, Swimmer of the Month is a subjective exercise meant to highlight one athlete whose work holds noteworthy context – perhaps a swimmer who was visibly outperforming other swimmers over the month, or one whose accomplishments slipped through the cracks among other high-profile swims. If your favorite athlete wasn’t selected, feel free to respectfully recognize them in our comment section.
After missing Georgia’s midseason invitational meet in November, Luca Urlando has been on fire for the Bulldogs over the last two months, kicking things into another gear in January.
After setting a lifetime best of 1:39.12 en route to winning the 200 back against Texas in December, Urlando started the new year a pair of personal bests on Jan. 18 against UNC Wilmington, winning the 200 free (1:32.05) and placing 5th in one of his ‘off’ events, the 200 breast (1:59.95).
One week later, the Bulldogs’ redshirt senior took over against Tennessee.
In a swim that came a little bit out of nowhere, Urlando broke the American, NCAA and U.S Open Record in the men’s 200 fly, clocking 1:37.17 to erase Jack Conger‘s 1:37.35 mark from the books.
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The record swim also broke the oldest men’s NCAA Record in a championship event, with Conger’s mark having been set in 2017. The only older record is in the 1000 free, not raced at the NCAA Championships, which was set by Clark Smith in 2015.
Coming into the meet, Urlando held a lifetime best of 1:38.82, set at the 2022 NCAA Championships.
Split Comparison
| Conger, 2017 | Urlando, 2022 | Urlando, 2025 |
| 21.65 | 21.63 | 22.03 |
| 45.78 (24.13) | 46.62 (24.99) | 46.18 (24.15) |
| 1:10.87 (25.09) | 1:12.36 (25.74) | 1:11.11 (24.93) |
| 1:37.35 (26.48) | 1:38.82 (26.46) | 1:37.17 (26.06) |
Urlando didn’t stop there.
Later in the session, the 22-year-old dominated the men’s 100 fly in a time of 43.62, another personal best and UGA Record that ranks him #4 all-time in the event. His previous PB stood at 43.80 from the 2022 NCAAs.
All-Time Performers, Men’s 100 Fly (SCY)
- Caeleb Dressel, Florida – 42.80 (2018 NCAAs)
- Josh Liendo, Florida – 43.07 (2024 NCAAs)
- Youssef Ramadan, Virginia Tech – 43.15 (2023 NCAAs)
- Luca Urlando, Georgia – 43.62 (2025 Georgia vs. Tennessee)
- Andrei Minakov, Stanford – 43.71 (2022 NCAAs)
A few events later, Urlando closed out the session with his third individual win of the day in the 200 IM, clocking 1:41.86 to fall just three one-hundredths shy of his season-best.
Urlando’s Lifetime Bests In January
- 200 free – 1:32.05 (#14 in NCAA this season)
- 200 breast – 1:59.95
- 100 fly – 43.62 (#4 All-Time)
- 200 fly – 1:37.17 (NCAA, American, U.S. Open Record)
Entering the month of February, with the conference championships on the horizon, Urlando ranks 1st in the NCAA in the 100 and 200 fly, and also sits 7th in the 200 back, 9th in the 200 IM, 11th in the 100 free, 14th in the 200 free, and 18th in the 100 back.
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It will be very interesting to see how Ilya Kharun replies to Luca’s in the 200 fly next weekend meet between Arizona and ASU!
We really need the ultimate underwater showdown between him Crooks and Marchand (throw in Ponti too?) to settle who is truly the fastest
Given how great all his strokes are, mildly surprised his 200IM isn’t even faster.
I do feel like Leon’s 1:36 skewed perspectives a bit. 1:41 in a dual meet after breaking an all time record and moving to #4 all time in another isn’t anything to scoff at. I’d imagine he’ll be very quick and push Lasco in Mafch