Video interview is courtesy of Kelsey Floyd. Video edit is courtesy of Coleman Hodges.
2013 US Winter National Championships – Women’s 400 IM – as reported by SwimSwam
Celina Li took the national title in the 400 IM, going 4:06.54 and leading virtually the whole way. That time is a lifetime-best for Li, and ranks 4th in the NCAA at this point. Chelsie Miller put the University of Kansas onto the podium with a runner-up time of 4:08.86, coming home with the strongest freestyle split of the field and outdueling Michigan’s Marni Oldershaw, who took third in 4:10.31. Miller also broke Kansas’s school record during the swim – she’s been on fire this weekend. Her previous lifetime-best before nationals was 4:15.01, so she has dropped over 6 seconds over the span of one weekend, an extreme rarity for a 19-year-old already swimming at a high level.
Arizona State’s Tristin Baxter was fourth, going 4:12.67, and Michigan’s Courtney Beidler was just behind in 4:12.89. Second seed Doreen Szekeres of Indiana struggled in the finals, adding 3 seconds to her prelims swim and taking 7th.
