Josh Bey is an American breaststroke specialist. The top breaststroker of the clas of 2025 heading into his junior year, Bey committed to Indiana. Bey has represented the US at World Juniors where he finaled.
Junior/High School Swimming
2022 IHSA Boys’ State Championship (Westmont, Illinois)
Just a freshman, Bey nearly won the 100 breast at the 2022 IHSA State Championship with an impressive 54.96. That time ranked him 17th all-time among 15-year-olds and tied for 86th historically in the 15-16 age group, not to mention it crushed his PB coming in of 59.32.
2022 Indiana Senior SC State Championships (Elkhart, Indiana)
Heading across state lines to the Indiana Senior Championships as a member of the Indiana-based Highland Hurricanes Swim Club, Bey took on more events than high school states. Bey was well off his 100 breast PB with a 56.37 and a 57.40 in prelims and finals respectively. However, Bey did post a slew of best times. Bey was 1:54.93 in the 200 IM, 3:54.11 in the 400 IM, and 2:00.26 in the 200 breast.
2022 Summer Junior Nationals (Irvine, California)
Bey posted a respectable PB of 2:18.87 in the 200 breast, good for 19th in the final. He was also 1:04.73 in his 100 breast and 4:38.84 in the 400 IM.
2022 FMC Speedo Grand Challenge (Westmont, Illinois)
Bey posted a new PB in the 200 breast, breaking 2 minutes for the first time with a 1:59.30. He was solid in the 100 with a 55.54. Bey crushed a huge PB in the 200 IM with a 1:49.90 and neared his best in the 400 IM with a 3:54.38.
2023 IHSA Boys’ State Championship (Westmont, Illinois)
Bey put up a new PB in the 100 breast in both prelims and finals. He moved through prelims in 2nd with a 54.57. In the finals, he improved just a little bit to a 54.51 and took the state title. His fortunes were reversed in the 200 IM. He led prelims with a new PB of 1:48.22 but in the finals, he took 2nd in a 1:48.91. His best time would still have not been enough to top the podium. Bey also split a 24.97 on the breast split of the 200 medley relay as Hinsdale Central crushed a 1:29.40 for the win.
2023 Indiana Senior SC State Championships (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Bey once again headed across state lines for the Indiana Senior State Championships for the Highland Hurricanes Swim Club. Bey came away with a slew of best times. He opened his meet with the 400 IM where he dropped 4 seconds with a 3:50.09 for the win. In the same session, Bey slashed .70 seconds off his 100 breast best from just 2 weeks prior with 53.81. While he came 2nd to Will Modglin’s 52.92, Bey’s time represented the fastest time any boy in the high school class of 2025 had produced to that point.
Bey posted another class-leading time in the 200 breast the next day with an impressive 1:57.31 for a 2nd win. Not long after, Bey put up another PB with a solid 50.08 100 back. On the final day, Bey missed his 200 IM PB by just .19 seconds with a 1:49.10 for a 3rd win. He rounded out his meet with another PB, this time in the 100 fly with a 50.41.
2023 Central Zone Sectionals (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Another 2 weeks later, Bey returned to the long pool for the first time since his breakout SCY season. Bey was able to carry his momentum to PBs in all 4 of his races. In the 100 breast, he topped the field with a 1:02.44. In prelims, Bey was pushed to a 2:14.35 for a new PB but he didn’t quite recapture that form in the final. Bey was also 4:33.62 in the 400 IM and 2:12.02 in his 200 IM.
2023 World Aquatics Junior Championships (Netanya, Israel)
Bey comfortably made the 200 breast final with a 2:14.60 for 4th. In the final, Bey found .04 seconds of improvement but fell to 6th with his 2:41.56.
College Swimming
Bey was ranked the No. 9 recruit in SwimSwam’s way-too-early rankings for the class of 2025 with the best 100 breast (53.81) and 200 breast (1:57.31) times in his class. In October of his junior year, Bey committed to Indiana. Coach Ray Looz and the Hosiers are known for developing breaststrokers: Ian Finerty, Cody Miller, Lilly King, and Josh Matheny to name a few.
National/International Swimming
2023 US International Team Trials (Indianapolis, Indiana)
Bey was on fire in the 200 breast, posting an Olympic Trials cut in prelims with a 2:13.39 for 13th. In the final, he added a fair bit to a 2:14.84 but maintained 13th. As the top-placing junior swimmer in the event, he was selected for the World Aquatics Junior Championships in Netanya, Israel. Bey was off his best in the 100 breast and placed 31st in 1:03.50.
–This biography was originally developed by Lucas Caswell