In Hugo Gonzalez, Carson Foster Has a Model for Perseverence

2022 NCAA DIVISION I MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS

• March 23-26, 2022
• McAuley Aquatic Center, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, Georgia (Eastern Daylight Time)
• Prelims 10AM /Finals 6PM
• Short Course Yards (25 yards)
• Live Results
• Official Psych Sheets
• Virtual Championship Program
• SwimSwam Pick Em’s Contest
• Qualified relay teams
• Live stream link

Swimming can be a cruel sport. Hours of training come down to mere seconds, sometimes minutes, of racing. And no matter how hard someone trains, no matter how fast they can go at any given meet, once a swimmer pasts the age group ranks, the biggest accolades and recognition only come if they swim fast at the right time, whether that’s the Olympics, NCAA Championships, or a another meet of renown.

Over the last few years, Carson Foster has been one of the fastest swimmers in the world. That’s not surprising, considering his standout career as an age grouper, and he’s continued to develop since he arrived at University of Texas nearly two years ago.

And yet, it feels like Foster still hasn’t put together the right swim at the right time. He made three NCAA A-finals last year as a freshman, finishing 4th in the 200 IM, 2nd in the 400 IM, and 6th in the 200 back. That’s the kind of meet that the vast majority of swimmers could only dream about. And yet, he couldn’t match his 400 IM time from the previous October, and he would’ve stood atop the podium had he managed to do that.

A few months later, Foster had a similar experience at the US Olympic Trials. He finished 3rd in the 400 IM by barely a half a second, after having led for the first 250m and having been in 2nd heading into the final 50m. He finished 8th in the 200m freestyle, missing out on an Olympic relay spot by just 0.18s. A month later, he threw down a 4:08.46 400 IM at a sectionals meet. That turned out to be the fastest time of the year globally, and would’ve won not only Trials, but even the Olympics.

Fast forward another few months. Foster headed into sophomore year obviously hungry for a big swim. And he’s thrown down fast times all season, including swimming a 3:40 in the 400 IM without a tech suit in a dual meet.

Now, we hit the biggest short course yards meet of the season, the NCAA Championships, and despite the depth in the NCAA this year, we have to assume that Foster was hoping for an individual title. The week started off well enough, as Wednesday night, he anchored Texas’ 800 free relay in 1:31.05, helping the Longhorns to a US Open record.

Thursday morning, he dropped a lifetime best in the 200 IM, qualifying 3rd overall. But then, Thursday night, he added 0.06s, falling to 6th, while Arizona State’s Leon Marchand swam to the fastest time in history.

This morning in the 400 IM, Foster stormed to a 3:33.79, the 2nd-fastest swim of all-time, behind only Chase Kalisz’s 3:33.42 from 2017. Tonight, he took his fly out in essentially the same time as prelims, but then faded (relatively speaking) from there, watching first Cal’s Hugo Gonzalez and then Marchand swim by him and ultimately finishing 3rd in 3:35.69.

Again, that’s the kind of swim that the vast majority of swimmers would consider the pinnacle of success. And yet, it has to be frustrating for Foster.

But, two spots on his right on the podium, one of the sources of Foster’s assumed frustration could also serve as model for Foster to follow.

The aforementioned Gonzalez broke Kalisz’s record with a monster 3:32.88 record tonight. But it hasn’t been a smooth path to that record for Gonzalez.

Gonzalez, a Spanish national and a 2016 Olympic semifinalist in the 200 back, originally signed with the Auburn Tigers. Gonzalez quickly achieved success with the Tigers, setting school records at the midseason.

He then truly broke out at the 2018 SEC Championships, popping a 3:35.76 in the 400 IM, good for the 3rd-fastest time ever at that point in time. He appeared to be primed for a great NCAA Championships, and in our previews, we picked him to finish no lower than 5th in any of three races.

But, for whatever reason, Gonzalez struggled at his first NCAAs, only making the B-final in the 200 IM, and failing to score at all in the 400 IM or 200 back.

After a coaching change in Auburn, Gonzalez announced he’d follow Auburn associate head coach Sergio Lopez to Virginia Tech. But after enrolling for classes, Gonzalez decided to head to the West Coast and transferred to Cal, which ultimately resulted in him having to sit out for the 2018-2019 season.

The pandemic canceled NCAAs in 2020, so Gonzalez ended having to wait two years until competing at the NCAA Championships again. And it’s not like Gonzalez had a bad meet. He finished 2nd in the 200 IM, getting under 1:40, and 3rd in the 200 breast.

But the 400 IM had to sting. He went 3:41.91 in prelims, which was four seconds shy of his season best and six seconds off of his lifetime best. He made up for it in the finals, throwing down a 3:36.73 that not only won the heat, but turned out to be faster than the winning time in the A-final as well.

So, heading into tonight, more than four years after his making his NCAA debut, with a rock solid pedigree, and some of the fastest swims in history, Gonzalez was still looking for his first individual NCAA title.

He wasn’t even the clear favorite tonight, after Marchand looked almost relaxed in prelims and Foster swam the 2nd-fastest time ever. But Gonzalez finally put together the right swim at the right time. He passed Foster on the backstroke leg, and never looked back. He held off not only Marchand and Foster, but also Florida’s Bobby Finke, last year’s champion who’s known for his wicked fast closing speed.

Swimming can be a cruel sport. Maybe there is a reason why swimmers like Foster, and Gonzalez, until tonight, can’t seem to put together the right swim at the right time. Or maybe it’s just bad luck.

But, as a college sophomore and barely 20 years old, Foster still has plenty of time to put it all together at the right moment. And whether it’s Gonzalez, or former Texas swimmers Jack Conger or John Shebat, both of whom were big talents who won their first individual NCAA titles in the final individual swims of their college career, there are plenty of examples of swimmers who persevered through the ups and downs and ultimately etched their names into history.