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Rising junior breaststroke specialist Watson Nguyen improved his private report by almost a second en path to his first nationwide title within the 50-meter breaststroke. The Dallas native moved to No. 4 in American historical past within the occasion together with his spectacular 26.65-second end.
During the previous educational 12 months, Nguyen clinched Ivy League titles within the 100- and 200-meter breaststroke. With the new NCAA qualification system, the then-sophomore earned automated bids to the NCAA Championships on the finish of March, the place he completed twenty eighth within the 100-meter breaststroke and twenty sixth within the 200-meter breaststroke.
Nguyen determined to spend this summer time swimming relatively than taking a conventional internship route frequent at Penn, following within the footsteps of 2026 Wharton and Engineering graduate and 2024 Olympian Matthew Fallon. Nguyen educated together with his membership staff for the primary half of the summer time, earlier than returning to Penn to do analysis.
“The school I go to, Penn, we take school work and internships super seriously, so people don’t really swim over the summer time. So it’s been a while since I’ve been able to have a really good long-course season,” Nguyen stated in a post-race interview with SwimSwam Magazine.
Despite his spectacular resume, Nguyen wasn’t the favourite getting into the 50-meter breaststroke. He missed the finals finally 12 months’s nationwide championships, in the end ending eleventh within the nation. Instead, all eyes this 12 months had been on seasoned skilled Michael Andrew, who earned a gold medal within the 4×100-meter medley relay on the 2021 Olympic Games.
A fast response day off the block and a superbly timed pull out gave Andrew the sting, however Nguyen wouldn’t let up. It was neck and neck, however Nguyen’s stamina prevailed as he out-touched the Olympian to the title.
Although the second long-course title in program historical past is a formidable achievement, Nguyen wouldn’t settle for only one medal. On the ultimate day of competitors, Nguyen was decided to interrupt one minute within the 100-meter breaststroke for the primary time in his profession. He hadn’t touched his private report on the time, a blazing 1:01.22, because the 2023 World Aquatic Junior Championships.
Nguyen stared down powerful competitors in defending nationwide champion and All-American Alexei Avakov, who competes for Indiana collegiately. The Quaker was a bit of gradual coming off the block, however he didn’t let that deter him from making features on the primary lap, turning simply two hundredths of a second behind Avakov.
An spectacular last-lap effort from Avakov sealed the deal, however Nguyen wasn’t far behind, reducing his private report by over a second with a 59.79-second end – going below a minute for the primary time in his profession.
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