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Great Britain’s Harry Nicholson has announced his verbal commitment to Oakland University for the fall of 2022.
“After speaking to coaches and seeing the facilities as well as programme there was nothing to think about and I’m looking so forward to my studying and progression over the coming years along with becoming a golden grizzly.”
He trains with Newcastle Swim Team and will have a long trip to Rochester Hills, Michigan from his hometown of Sunderland. He just graduated from Durham Sixth Form United Kingdom. In April, he posted lifetime best times in the 100 meter backstroke and 200 meter backstroke at the City of Sunderland ASC National Qualifier meet. His new long course 200 back time would have placed 6th at the 2022 European Junior Championships in Romania. No British swimmers made the final in that event.
Nicholson is now ranked #1 out of the fastest British 18-year-olds in the 200 back this year, ahead of Kaden Edwards and Jonny Marshall who represented Great Britain at the recent European Junior Championships (Edwards competed in the 400 IM.)
This season, Nicholson is ranked #3 out of the fastest British 18-year-olds in the 100 back behind only Marshall and Robbie Hemmings. Marshall, who won bronze in this event at the recent European Junior Championships, will be swimming for Florida in the fall of 2023. Hemmings was a semifinalist in the 200 back in Romania.
Nicholson is also among the top 10 fastest British 18-year-olds this year in the 50 back (ranked 6th), 100 free (ranked 4th), and 200 free (ranked 10th.) He is 11th in the 50 fly, 12th in the 200 fly, and 14th in the 100 fly. Out of the all-time fastest 18-year-old’s in Great Britain, Nicholson is ranked 9th in the 200 back and 15th in the 100 back.
Top LCM times:
- 100 back – 55.79
- 200 back – 2:00.54
- 100 free – 51.22
- 100 fly – 57.07
- 200 free – 1:54.36
While Nicholson has not swum short course yards, his converted long course times (49.18/1:46.43) would have placed him 6th in both the 100 and 200 back at the 2022 Horizon League Conference Championships. This would have made him the Golden Grizzlies’ second-fastest swimmer in both events since rising junior Jack Wike placed 5th in the 100 and rising senior Marko Khotynetskyi won the 200 back.
His converted times also would have placed him in the 100 free, 200 free, and 100 fly finals at last season’s conference championships in 7th place (44.70), 9th place (1:40.14), and 14th place (50.15), respectively. He would have been Oakland’s third-fastest swimmer in the 100 free and 100 fly, but the Golden Grizzlies had a deep 200 free group last season, placing 1,2,3,4 in the ‘A’ final. Nicholson would have been their 5th-fastest swimmer. Now that Mack Flowers, who placed 3rd in the 100 fly last season, has graduated Nicholson would be the second-fastest in this event.
Oakland men are coming off their 9th consecutive Horizon League Conference Championship title win last season. Their head coach Pete Hovland is entering his 45th season coaching for the Golden Grizzlies.
Nicholson is one of two British commits in Oakland’s class of 2022 verbal commitments alongside James Hart who trains with Plymouth Leander. They also join Charles Brown, Micah Scheffer, James Hart, Sofus Balladone, and Kieron Bezuidenhout, in the Golden Grizzlies’ class of 2022.
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Backstroke conversions are no longer at all accurate due to underwaters
2:00 is not a 1:46….its more like 1:41/2
Converted times should be way faster, 55 100 back to 49? No way, definitely a 47