Jake Foster Breaks Through, Nick Mahabir Breaks Record in 100 Breast Finals in Irvine

2023 U.S. PRO CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 26-29, 2023
• LCM (50m)
• William Woollett Jr. Aquatics Center, Irvine, California, United States
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Results
• Live Stream
• Friday Finals Live Recap

As most eyes were focused on the World Championships on Friday night, a bunch of attention-worthy swims were put down in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke final.

American Jake Foster swam 59.64 while Singaporean Nick Mahabir became the first man from his country to break 1 minute in the event.

Jake Foster

Foster won the Pro Championship title on Friday with a time of 59.64, which was his first time under a minute in the race. His previous best swim was a 1:00.07 – at June’s US National Championships and International Team Trials.

That time jumps him to 16th all-time among Americans.

While Nic Fink appears to have the top US spot locked down for the foreseeable future, Foster now moves into contention for the #2 slot in this race – and the 200 breast. In both races, there’s not clear favorites for both spots for the Paris Olympic Games.

Times from Trials (A Final):

1. Nic Fink – 58.36
2. Josh Matheny – 59.20
3. Noah Nichols – 59.40
4. Cody Miller – 59.85
5. Mitch Mason – 59.87
6. Charlie Swanson – 59.89
7. Matt Fallon – 1:00.18
8. Jake Foster – 1:00.31

Foster is a member of the current US National Team in the 200 breast and 400 IM, and this swim right now puts him in position to make the team again. His best event, the 200 IM, is still to come on Saturday.

Foster has delayed starting med school by a year in order to continue training for the 2024 US Olympic Trials, and if this swim is any indication, that decision might pay off.

Nick Mahabir – Singapore Record

Nick Mahabir rebroke his own Singapore National Record in finals, swimming 59.96 to become the first swimmer representing a Southeast Asian nation to go under 1 minute in the event.

The time breaks his own National Record of 1:00.07 that was set in prelims on Friday.

Record Progression:

Mahabir is one of two talented young breaststrokers for Singapore. Maximillian Wei Ang represented the country in the 100 breast at Worlds this week. He finished 40th in 1:02.45, but has a best time of 1:01.42.

Mahabir’s time on Friday in Irvine, meanwhile, would have put him through to the semi-finals at the World Championships. Singapore could only enter one of the two into the meet because neither had a World Aquatics “A” cut in the event. Of the two, only Mahabir is eligible for the World Junior Swimming Championships later this summer.

In total, Mahabir owns the 9 fastest times in Singapore history. Ang is the country’s next-best swimmer in history.

Mahabir, a rising high school senior, is committed to swim at Cal in fall 2024. He was born in Singapore to an American father and Singaporean mother. While he lives and trains in the US, he is representing Singapore internationally.