Bowen Becker is a competitive swimmer who represents the United States internationally. Becker is a 2021 Olympian as a member of the 4×100 free relay.
College (Minnesota)
2015-2016
As a freshman Becker made an immediate impact for Minnesota. He placed seventh in the 50 free (19.68), seventh in the 100 free (43.54) and 42nd in the 200 free (1:39.28) at the Big Ten meet in West Lafayette, Indiana. He was also a part of four relay teams at the Big Ten Championships: 200 medley relay (5th), 400 free relay (5th), 200 free relay (5th) and 400 medley relay (6th).
At the NCAA Championships, Becker was a member of Minnesota’s 20th place 200 medley relay and 21st place 400 free relay teams. He also swam 2 individual events, where he finished 40th in the 100 free and 46th in the 50 free.
2016-2017
Becker continued to improve, placing fourth in the 50 free (19.08) and 100 free (42.35) and 38th in the 200 free (1:38.02) at the Big Ten Championships in Columbus, Ohio. He was a member of the 400 medley relay (3rd), 200 medley relay (4th), 200 free relay (4th) and 400 free relay (4th) teams at Big Tens as well.
At the NCAA’s, he was part of the 400 free relay (13th), 200 free relay (18th), 200 medley relay (19th) and 400 medley relay (20th). Individually, he finished 20th in the 100 free (42.75) and 30th in the 50 free (19.52) at NCAAs.
2017-2018
Becker won his first Big Ten championship as a junior in the 50 free, having set a meet record (18.69) in the prelims before posting a winning time of 18.93 in the finals at the 2018 Big Ten Championships in Minneapolis. Becker placed second in the 100 free (41.61) and 20th in the 100 fly (47.35) at the conference meet. He was part of the runner-up 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay teams, the third place 200 free relay and fifth place 400 free relay at Big Tens
At the NCAA’s that year, he finished third in the 50 free (18.90) and 14th in the 100 free (42.13). Becker was also a member of four relay teams at NCAAs: 200 medley relay (14th), 200 free relay (18th), 400 medley relay (18th) and 400 free relay (24th).
2018-2019
Becker saved the best for last, finishing off his college career as the NCAA runner-up in the 100 free (40.83) and notching a 4th place finish in the 50 free (18.84). Becker swam as part of Minnesota’s 10th place 400 medley relay, 14th place 400 medley, 17th place 200 medley relay and 20th place 200 free relay teams at NCAAs.
Becker repeated as Big Ten champion in the 50 free (19.11) and also won the 100 free title, swimming a pool record 41.53 in the prelims, before topping the finals in 41.71. He also placed 21st in the 100 fly (47.60) at the conference meet.
For his performances in and out of the pool, he was selected for the Academic All-Big Ten list.
National/International Competition
International Swimming League
On April 11, 2019, Becker announced he had signed with the newly announced International Swimming League (ISL) team in California – the Cali Condors. Becker was also on the Cali Condors for the 2020 ISL season.
In the 2021 ISL Draft prior to Season 3, Becker was chosen in round 8 by the Tokyo Frog Kings.
2021 Olympic Trials
In Omaha after having a relatively low profile since his NCAA career, Bowe Becker qualified for the 100 free final, hitting a 48.62 to tie for 6th with Coleman Stewart in the semi-final. In the final, Becker dropped a huge PB of 48.22 to finish 5th, which was good enough to qualify him for the 2021 Olympic Games. Becker went on to finish 4th in the 50 free individually as well, hitting another PB of 21.78.
2020 Olympic Games
Swimming in the prelims, Becker earned his final spot, splitting 47.3 on the 3rd leg to help USA qualify for the final. In the final, Becker again swam the 3rd leg, splitting 47.4 to aid the US dominate the race, finishing in first by over 1 second and netting Becker a gold.