Alicia Henry Breaks 31-Year Old Georgia Record at Speedo Eastern Classic

2020 Speedo Eastern Classic

• January 17th-19th, 2020
• Raymond Arthur Bussard Aquatic Center, Chamblee, Georgia
• 25y, prelims/finals
• Psych Sheets
• Full Meet Results (PDF)

Alicia Henry of the Dynamo Swim Club broke a 31-year old Georgia LSC record held by former American Record holder Mary Ellen Blanchard this weekend at the Speedo Eastern Classic.

The meet saw teams from around the country, including the Colorado Stars, Lakeside Swim Team in Kentucky, Sandpipers of Nevada, the Mason Manta Rays of Ohio, City of Mobile Swim Association in Alabama, and the YMCA of Central Florida to races against the hosts Dynamo, which split into multiple groups for scoring purposes. The racing was done at the Bussard Aquatic Center, a historic facility which has had many of the best American swimmers of the last 20 years grace its blocks – including Pool Records held by Katie Hoff, Kristy Kowal, and Michael Phelps.

The highlight of the meet came in the women’s 100 yard breaststroke, where the 16-year old Alicia Henry swam a 1:00.20 in the final, which undercut the Pool Record of 1:01.41 that was set in 1988 by Allison Higson. Higson would go on to win an Olympic bronze medal in a 400 medley relay and an individual World Championship bronze medal in the 200 breaststroke representing Canada.

The result also broke the Georgia Swimming LSC Record of 1:00.66 that was set 31 years ago, in 1989, by Mary Ellen Blanchard in 1:00.66. At the time, Blanchard’s swim, done when she was only 15, was an American Record by half-a-second. Henry’s swim undercut her previous best time of 1:00.69 and inches her closer to the all-ages LSC record of 59.98 that was set by Olympian Micah Sumrall in 2017.

Henry, who swims for the host Dynamo Swim Club, is a high school junior who has not yet made a public commitment to swim in college.