NCAA Women’s Swim of the Year: Kate Douglas fastest ever in 200 breaststroke
Early in my junior year at the University of Virginia, Kate Douglas told the Cavaliers head coach Todd DeSorbo She wanted to break American records in the 50-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke. Given Douglas’ history, it wasn’t such an unreasonable goal. In addition to her bronze medal in her 200m IM at the Olympics, she won her NCAA title in her 50 free the previous season and recorded several quick her 200 chest performances during the season. was doing. .
But Douglas was a player like no other. No other swimmer in history has achieved the record in two races. So this is an unlikely challenge and one that will go down in swimming history. Douglas put in a great performance at his NCAA championship in March and made it through.
Douglas actually set three American records in competition with three different strokes. With 50 freestyle, 100 her butterfly and 200 breaststroke, she swam leadoff or anchor in her four national title-winning relays. Her most impressive moment came on the final day of the competition when she smashed her 200m record on her chest, which she had set four years earlier. lily king.
In the final, Douglas was tens of minutes off record pace as he battled Texas. Anna Ellen Over the first 100 yards, at which point she began to pull away.At 150, she was two-hundredths of the pace ahead of King and closed it in the final 50 yards. . She touched at 2:02.19. This puts her 0.4 seconds faster than King’s record in 2018, previously an American, NCAA and US Open record..
“To do it here, to do it against the competition she was in, and to compete against many rivals in the 200 breaststroke and break Lily King’s record – Lily is arguably the greatest breaststroker of all time. – It’s so incredible to see her do that, said Douglas that night.
Performance made by Douglas First swimmer to hold an American record for three different strokes ever since Natalie CoughlinFurthermore, no swimmer has ever won the 50 free after Douglas won the national title in the 200 breaststroke. Also 100 flies at the NCAA Championship.
After setting that record at the college level, Douglas improved her breaststroke skills to several meters.At the US International Team Trials, Douglas competed against Olympic silver medalist King and bronze medalist Annie Lazer 2nd place in the 200m chest, and then World championship, where she won a bronze medal. At the end of the year, Douglas was world champion in the short course 200m Brest.
But she still had a lot to show in the college ranks, and when her senior season at the University of Virginia reached the halfway point, Douglas Lowered her own American record for the event at the Tennessee Invitational to 2:01.87Perhaps she’ll have an even bigger dip as she progresses through the rest of the season, but for now Douglas will be branching out from an already busy program of sprint free, fly and IM to tackle the 200 chest and become the fastest ever. yard swimmer.
