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USA National Team Breaks American Record in 400 Medley Relay

2016 USA COLLEGE CHALLENGE

The USA National Team relay of Ali DeLoofAndee CottrellKelsi Worrell, and Amanda Weir have combined to swim a 3:25.60 and break the American and U.S. Open Records of 3:26.14.

While the USA Swimming National Team frequently gets to compete as an all-star relay in short course meters and long course meters during international meets, they almost never get to do so in short course yards. Thus most of the American and U.S. Open Records in short course yards are held by college teams.

As was the case in this relay, where a Stanford quartet of Ally Howe, Sarah Haase, Janet Hu, and Lia Neal combined for a 3:26.14 at the 2016 NCAA Championships.

Comparative splits:

2016 USA National Team 2016 Stanford
Back DeLoof – 50.59 Howe – 51.89
Breast Cottrell – 57.61 Haase – 57.02
Fly Worrell – 49.36 Hu – 50.65
Free Weir – 48.04 Neal – 46.58
3:25.60 3:26.14

Even mid-season, the ability for the U.S. National Team to put together an all-star relay, highlighted by Worrell’s 49.3 fly split, was enough to overcome Stanford’s record (which still is an NCAA Record). Worrell is half-a-second better in yards than any other butterflier in history, but has never swum with as complete of a relay as this one, and that’s the difference-maker.

Stanford still has a chance at taking that record back at this year’s NCAA Championship now that Olympic Champion and the all-time fastest in the 100 yard free Simone Manuel has returned from her redshirt season.

Incidentally, the swim by the Michigan post-grad DeLoof is a lifetime best for her and ranks her as the 8th-fastest 100 yard backstroker in history.

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bobo gigi
8 years ago

Best US line-up of the moment in my opinion in SCM with 4 girls at their peak
Amy Bilquist 49 high
Lilly King 56.20 relay split
Kelsi Worrell 48.80 relay split
Simone Manuel 45.30 anchor leg
= around 3.19.30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😆

JONATHAN W WASHBURN
Reply to  bobo gigi
8 years ago

Those splits sound great but more like a great fantasy. I’m sure you meant SCY anyway, but even so every split looks hard to believe. And to put them all together, well … hmmm. I should not be so pessimistic though … each of these swimmers is uniquely talented. So … yeah, I bump this (in SCY not SCM) up from total fantasy (0.01%) to an unlikely achievement (11.2%). I’d love to see it!

Bill Bell
8 years ago

DeLoof’s 50.59 leadoff backstroke keg is her or, around 20th- fastest performance all- tine and fadtest all- tine by a Big Ten swimmer (current/ former)the official Big Te. 100 back record is 51.15 by Indiana’s Katerzina Fesenko from a few years ago.

Eutaw Street Sprinters
8 years ago

The strokes are wrong

swimz14
8 years ago

Looks like the strokes for the split breakdown are in IM order 🙂

Uberfan
Reply to  swimz14
8 years ago

Back breast fly free I wish that was IM order

Person
Reply to  Uberfan
8 years ago

The back end would hurt so much more 🙂 I have a friend who’s always saying he’d be a great IMer if the fly was last lol

Uberfan
8 years ago

That freestyle difference though.

Votehillary
Reply to  Uberfan
8 years ago

Worrell’s split is amazing

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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