2022 U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championships
- April 28- May 1, 2022
- San Antonio, TX
- SCY (25 yards)
- Meet central
- Psych sheets
- Results
After three days of competition at the 2022 U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championships in San Antonio, Texas, we have now seen 46 records fall in individual and relay events. Saturday, alone, accounted for 23 of those records.
Olympian Rick Colella (1972 and 1976, one bronze) continued on his record-destruction path, adding the men’s 70-74 100 IM and 70-74 100 breaststroke to the events he had already won in record-breaking fashion on Days 1 and 2. Colella went 59.97 in the 100 IM to take a nearly 5-second bite out of the 1:04.77 mark that had stood since 2017. In the 100 breast, his 1:04.95 improved the previous USMS mark by 4.2 seconds.
Another superstar in the 70-74 age category, Laura Val, took down the national records in the 200 back (2:26.53) and 50 free (27.10). She had owned the previous 50 free record (27.95) but she etched her name in the record book for the first time in the 200 back with a 12-second improvement from the previous mark (2:34.54) that had been set in 2020.
Another U.S. Olympian, Josh Prenot (2016, one silver), was a member of the Olympic Club’s national record in the mixed 200 medley relay. Along with Felicia Lee (back), Eduardo Solaeche (fly), and Courtney Monsees (free), Prenot (23.95 breast) took 1.1 seconds off the previous national mark that had been sent in 2015 by Arizona Masters and had included both Matt Grevers and Annie Grevers.
Diann Uustal has been lowering her own 75-79 records all weekend. On Saturday, she added a new national record in the 200 back (2:53.97), going 21.1 seconds faster than the previous record that had been set by Nancy Brown in 2011. She also lowered her own record in the 75-79 50 freestyle with 30.53, taking exactly 1 second off the previous mark.
Erika Braun was another two-event record-breaker. She took down a 2016 mark in the 100 IM, going 1:00.21 to improve that mark by 1.07 seconds, and she lowered the 50 free record by .34 with 24.19.
Chuck Barnes is another swimmer who has been on a tear all weekend. On Saturday, he won the men’s 45-49 200 backstroke in 1:51.82, eclipsing Jeff Comming’s 2019 mark of 1:52.23.
Former UVA swimmer Zachary Fong rewrote the books in the men’s 18-24 200 butterfly with 1:44.08. The previous mark of 1:46.22 had stood since 2020.
The 2022 USMS national meet has 1,816 registered swimmers, including U.S. Olympians Josh Davis (1996 and 2000 Olympics, three golds and two silvers), Melissa Belote Ripley (1972 and 1976, three golds), Dave Wharton (1988 and 1992, one silver), and Ashley Whitney (1996, one gold), as well as Burkina Faso Olympian Angelika Ouedraogo (2012, 2016, and 2020).
USMS Records Broken on Day 3*
- Erika Braun, North Carolina Masters Swimming: women’s 50-54 100 IM (1:00.21)
- Karlyn Pipes, Palm Beach Masters: women’s 60-64 100 IM (1:05.01)
- Susan Meyers, Sarasota Sharks: women’s 80-84 100 IM (1:41.47)
- James Fike, Lone Star Masters: men’s 40-44 100 IM (50.65)
- Rick Colella, Puget Sound Masters: men’s 70-74 100 IM (59.97)
- Andrew McPherson, Davis Aquatic Masters: men’s 75-79 100 IM (1:08.23)
- Laura Val, Tamalpais Aquatic Club: women’s 70-74 200 backstroke (2:26.53)
- Diann Uustal, Sarasota Sharks: women’s 75-79 200 backstroke (2:53.97)
- Kevin Nead, Rice Aquatic Masters: men’s 35-39 200 backstroke (1:47.68)
- Chuck Barnes, New England Masters Swim Club: men’s 45-49 200 backstroke (1:51.82)
- Dan Stephenson, Rose Bowl Masters: men’s 65-69 200 backstroke (2:11.06)
- Marty Mennen, Indy Aquatic Masters: men’s 85-89 200 backstroke (3:16.44)
- Katie Glenn, Off Piste Aquatics: women’s 45-49 100 breaststroke (1:04.45)
- Steve West, Novaquatics Masters: men’s 50-54 100 breaststroke (56.25)
- David Guthrie, Lone Star Masters: men’s 60-64 100 breaststroke (1:00.64)
- Rick Colella, Puget Sound Masters: men’s 70-74 100 breaststroke (1:04.95)
- Douglas Springer, Arizona Masters Swim Club Inc: men’s 75-79 100 breaststroke (1:15.25)
- Erika Braun, North Carolina Masters: women’s 50-54 50 freestyle (24.19)
- Laura Val, Tamalpais Aquatic Masters: women’s 70-74 50 freestyle (27.10)
- Diann Uustal, Sarasota Sharks Masters: women’s 75-79 50 freestyle (30.53)
- Zachary Fong, New York Athletic Club: men’s 18-24 200 butterfly (1:44.08)
- Lone Star Masters: 65+ 200 mixed medley relay (1:58.70)
- The Olympic Club: 25+ 200 mixed medley relay (1:34.12)
*Note: All records are subject to change pending verification.
I used to think all you had to do was wait and get old and the competition level would drop. Some of these 70 year olds could still smoke a lot (or most) of age groupers.
Steve West going 56 low in the 100 breast in the 50-54 age group is insane!
Can you attend USMS nationals as a foreigner? Really cool to see the big and passionate masters swimming community in this country.
Yes! Internationals can attend USMS Nationals.
Male breastrokers are just different. The fall-off of times with aging is far less dramatic than other strokes, especially if you consider what really fast times were when these guys were in college. West doing 56 in his early 50’s, Traviano doing a 59 at 59, Guthrie 1:00 plus at 61, and Colella being Colella at 70. For all the other strokes, the drop off is like a cliff with each 5-year age up from 50 and above. Colella, being Colella, is the one guy who seems like nothing drops off that much. His 200 IM at age 70 would’ve won two age groups younger. I’ll have what he’s having.
Where is 2023 spring nationals?
Hasn’t been announced yet that I’ve seen.
I’ve heard rumors of Irvine, but no official announcement yet.
Do you know when the official announcement typically comes?
it’s usually much more than a year in advance, so this is uncharted territory. wonder if the bid / selection process was thrown off by covid.
hoping there’s a “thanks for attending this year — join us next year in ______!” kind of email this week.
Typically the announcement would have been made quite a while ago, but they pushed back the 2023 bid deadline to the end of 2021 instead of May 1, 2021 due to COVID uncertainty, which has thrown all the timelines off.
Oddly enough, 2024 bid deadlines were back to the normal 5/1 deadline, so the bid selection team will be hustling through two sets of selections in short order. Hopefully that means we’ll know the four locations for 2023 and 2024 by the end of this summer!