Van Mathias Becomes #5 American in History in 50 Fly in Indy Time Trial

2026 Pro Swim Series – Indianapolis

• June 17-20, 2026
• Indianapolis, IN
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Stream: USA Swimming Network (Downloadable App)
• Live Recaps:
  • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
  • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4
• Time Trials Results (PDF)

While Van Mathias‘ American Record setting 50 and 100 breaststrokes stole the headlines in Indianapolis, those weren’t the only highlight swims he had.

Mathias scratched from prelims of the 50 fly, but he swam a mid-day time trial in the 50 fly on Thursday, posting a lifetime best of 22.87. That undercuts his previous best time of 22.99 from the Bergen Swim Festival in April.

He now ranks as the 26th best performer in the history of the 50 fly, moving ahead of names like Gui Santos, Szebasztian Szabo, and Roland Schoeman, and sitting just behind names like Dylan Carter.

He is also the 4th-fastest American in the history of the event, and would have finished 2nd in the event final on Saturday behind Ilya Kharun, who clocked a 22.73 U.S. Open Record. Kharun, who is in process of converting his sporting citizenship to the United States, would be Mathias’ primary competition for a spot on the Olympic Team in this event in 2028 – though World Aquatics’ unique qualifying pathways makes the equation less simple than in other events.

Top 5 Americans All-Time, Men’s 50 LCM Fly

1. Caeleb Dressel, 2019 – 22.35
2. (TIE)
   • Michael Andrew, 2022 – 22.79
   • Dare Rose, 2022 – 22.79
4. Van Mathias, 2026 – 22.87
5. Bryan Lundquist, 2009 – 22.91

Editor’s note: Ilya Kharun swam 22.73 in the 50 fly in the final. That would normally put him 2nd on this list, but because he’s not eligible to represent the U.S. until later this year, he has been excluded.

While Mathias 2.0 has emerged as America’s best sprint breaststroker, he arrived at Indiana University as a butterflier and swam the event at the Big Ten Championships in each of his first four seasons there. As a freshman, he finished 3rd in the 200 fly, and as a sophomore he finished 2nd in the 200 fly and 4th in the 100 fly. He didn’t really shift to breaststroke (or the sprints, for that matter), until his 5th year at the 2023 Big Ten Championships, where he won the Big Ten title in the 50 free, was 2nd in the 100 free, and was 2nd in the 100 breast.

He also finished 2nd at the NCAA Championships in the 100 breast in 2023, his best individual NCAA finish.

That 50 fly highlights two things: one is that Mathias didn’t just find ‘better events,’ but has truly gotten better as a swimmer in the last year. The other is just how impressive this shift has been for him.

Other Notable Time Trial Results

• Early in the meet, 16-year-old Colin Cunneen from the CSP Tideriders broke one minute in the 100 meter backstroke for the first time, dropping from 1:00.07 to 58.70. That’s a big marker for the rising high school junior whose recruiting window opened last week.
• US National Team member Henry McFadden, best known as a 200 freestyler, swam a lifetime best in the 100 fly in a time trial in 54.34. His previous best was 54.60 from 2023.
• Arizona State’s Quin Seider, a rising junior who has qualified for NCAAs twice, swam a best time in a 50 meter free time trial in 22.66. While he has steadily improved his yards times, his long course best of 22.79 was stuck from 2024 Junior Pan Pacs.
• Mikel Schreuders, who is training with Michael Andrew in Hawaii, swam 1:01.97 in a 100 breaststroke time trial, breaking the Aruban Record. He would later break that record again in the event final with a 1:01.70. His previous record was 1:02.54 from the 2024 Mare Nostrum.
• 16-year-old Aibhy King from the Schroeder Swim Team in Wisconsin swam 1:01.28 in the 100 fly time trials. That knocks .33 seconds off her previous best time from last summer. King, who is committed to Georgia Tech in the class of 2027, is the defending Wisconsin D2 High School State Champion and YMCA National Champion in the yards version of this event.