South African Olympian Matt Sates swam 200 and 400 IM time trials at the Bulldog NCAA Qualifying Meet in Athens, GA on Feb. 26 – Feb. 27. Sates swam the 200 IM at the Tokyo Olympics, placing 14th in the race. He came to Georgia in January of this year.
Video of his time trials are available below.
400 IM
Sates earned an NCAA “B” cut in the 400 IM, finishing in a time of 3:41.85, which ranks as the 11th fastest in the NCAA this season. His swim was just over two seconds shy of the “A” qualifying standard. The time would have also qualified for the B-final at last year’s NCAA Championship. Sate’s time would have also placed second at the SEC Championship this year, behind Florida’s Kieren Smith, who swam the third fastest 400 IM in the NCAA this year with a 3:39.33.
400 IM Splits
| Fly | 50.21 |
| Back | 58.50 |
| Breast | 1:02.93 |
| Free | 50.21 |
| Final Time | 3:41.85 |
200 IM
Sates also swam a 1:44.83 in the 200 IM, which is another NCAA “B” cut. Sates NCAA rank was not quite as high in the 200, which currently ranks as the 67th fastest this season. His time would have been good enough for 32nd last year at the NCAA Championship. The time would have also qualified for the “B” final at this year’s SEC Championships.
200 IM Splits
| Fly | 22.30 |
| Back | 26.49 |
| Breast | 30.97 |
| Free | 25.09 |
| Final Time | 1:44.83 |
“which currently ranks as the 67th fastest this season. His time would have been good enough for 32nd last year at the NCAA Championship”
This line woke me up this morning. GEEZZZ
would have been seeded 48th pre-selection though. Still crazy
what a difference a year makes.