Yahoo’s Pat Forde Puts a 17 Second 50 Free into Perspective at NCAA Swimming Champs

Vlad Morozov’s 17.86 50 free split on the 200 free relay at 2013 Men’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships was epic. Yahoo’s Pat Forde dropped by to put the swim into perspective for non-swimming fans.

Coverage of the 17.86 50 free split as reported by Braden Keith

This is unreal.

These are numbers that nobody thought possible.

Polyurethane? Who needs it.

All Vlad Morozov needs is a pool, a block, and some laneropes. And he went a 17.86. That is the fastest relay split in history. This is the first time that anybody has ever split under 18 seconds in a 50 freestyle, in any suit, off of any blocks, at any level.

It’s not even clear if anybody was watching this race, because it appeared that more eyes were focused on the scoreboard waiting for the split. He was a pistol off of the blocks. His arms were flying at the sort of turnover that you only see from 8-year olds at summer league meets. It was unnatural how fast he was spinning, but somehow that ended up with 50 yards in 17 seconds. Great starts and great turns are his specialty.

The previous two fastest relay splits we’ve ever seen both came from Auburn swimmers. At NCAA’s in 2009, Matt Targett split an 18.19 to anchor the Tigers’ winning 200 free relay. The year before, his teammate Cesar Cielo had an identical 18.19 to anchor the 200 medley.

That makes Vlad’s time even more unique in that it was on USC’s third leg.

Auburn got the last laugh in this relay. They took the victory, with USC finishing 2nd. But it will be Morozov whose result is remembered.