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.
Georgia sophomore Luca Urlando earns Ultra Swimmer of the Month honors for February on the heels of a sensational performance at the SEC Championships.
Urlando scored the maximum 96 points to earn the SEC Commissioner’s Trophy for the meet’s top point-scorer (along with Tennessee’s Ellen Walshe), sweeping his individual events, and was also named the Men’s Swimmer of the Meet.
Urlando picked up individual wins in the 100 fly (44.41), 200 fly (1:39.00) and 200 IM (1:41.19), and added a blistering 44.38 100 back time leading off the Bulldogs’ 400 medley relay. The 200 fly swim marked a new SEC Championship and Georgia school record, while the 100 fly and 100 back swims were also the fastest ever in UGA history. His 100 back swim was also faster than what was required to win the individual event (44.51 from Florida’s Adam Chaney).
Needless to say, all four swims were lifetime bests for the 19-year-old DART Swimming product.
Urlando also had some blistering relay splits at the meet. See all of his finals swims from the SEC Championships below:
- 200 medley relay – 4th place, 1:23.92 (19.57 fly split)
- 800 free relay – 2nd place, 6:09.32 (1:32.24 second split)
- 200 free relay – 4th place, 1:16.71 (19.00 second split)
- 200 IM – 1st place, 1:41.19
- 100 fly – 1st place, 44.41 (UGA Record)
- 200 fly – 1st place, 1:39.00 (SEC Meet, UGA Record)
- 400 medley relay – 4th place, 3:04.76 (44.38 back lead-off, UGA Record)
Coming out of this past weekend’s male conference championship meets in the Big Ten and Big 12, with the Pac-12 still to come, Urlando ranks second in the NCAA in the 100 and 200 fly, and third in both the 200 IM and 100 back.
At the Bulldog ‘Last Chance” Invite this past weekend, Urlando reeled off yet another best time in the 100 breast, clocking 54.80 to down his previous PB of 57.52 set in February 2019.
After finishing fourth in the 200 fly and eighth in the 100 fly in his freshman season, Urlando is primed to vie for national titles in less than a month’s time across all three events at Men’s NCAAs.
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Luca’s back.
Yes, he is!!!