2023 MEN’S PAC-12 SWIMMING & DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, March 1- Saturday, March 5, 2023
- Weyerhauser King County Aquatic Center – Federal Way, WA
- SCY (25 Yards)
- Defending Champions: Cal (5x)
- Championship Central
- Event Schedule
- Diving Results
- Live Stream
- Live Results
- Fan Guide
- Psych Sheets
- Day 1 Finals Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Recap | Day 2 Finals Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Recap | Day 3 Finals Recap
- Day 4 Prelims Recap | Day 4 Finals Recap
Léon woke up feeling DANGEROUS 😈
Marchand breaks the NCAA 200 breast record in 1:47.67 for @ASUSwimDive. pic.twitter.com/J0rbSowLiS
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 5, 2023
Leon Marchand has done it again. 24 hours removed from bettering his NCAA record in the 400 IM, Marchand took down Will Licon‘s NCAA record in the 200 breaststroke. The Frenchman threw down a sizzling 1:47.67, chopping .24 seconds off Licon’s record, which had stood since the 2017 NCAA Championships.
He led the race from wire-to-wire, getting out to a fast start in 24.37 even ahead of Jacob Soderlund, who was swimming for the 100 split. Marchand continued to extend his lead as the race went on, posting the fastest split in the field on each 50.
Split Comparison: Marchand vs. Licon
| Marchand – 2023 PAC-12s | Licon – 2017 NCAAs | |
| 50 | 24.37 | 24.23 |
| 100 | 51.71 (27.34) | 51.42 (27.19) |
| 150 | 1:19.46 (27.75) | 1:19.41 (27.99) |
| 200 | 1:47.67 (28.21) | 1:47.91 (28.50) |
In his post-race interview, Marchand said that he tried to take the first 100 out fast but “couldn’t” and built his way into the race. That shows in the split comparison between him and Licon; the Longhorn was out almost three-tenths ahead of Marchand. The Sun Devil made his move on the third 50, splitting 27.75, and by the 150-yard mark was just .05 off Licon’s pace. He powered home on the final 50 in 28.21 compared to Licon’s 28.50 to get his hands on the wall in record-time.
This is Marchand’s third NCAA and US Open records. He now owns the fastest time in history in his three primary championship events: the 200 breast, 200 IM, and 400 IM.
Winning this event also gives Marchand a sweep in his individual events at this meet for the second straight year. That means that not only did he successfully defend all of his 2022 titles, he’s also undefeated at the PAC-12 championships in his individual events.
In his post-race interviews, Marchand has said that he is not fully tapered for this meet, instead starting a “soft taper” about a week ago. What will he have in store for NCAAs later this month once he gets some rest?
Anyone else seeing double dolphin kicks off each start end wall?
Yes, I saw it on multiple walls. At 1:41 mark, You can see one downward kick and then a full kick cycle. We are now at yet another phase of breaststrokers testing the limits of the UW rules.
What’s going on in lane 1 (Soderlund)?
It seemed he was going for the split at the 100-yard mark to try and improve from 51.90, which was his best swim in the individual 100 breast. 51.90 is likely going to be right on the bubble for an NCAA invite. Without the results from PAC-12s added, it would put him in a three-way tie for 26th.
I think his versatility short course will equate to a faster 400 IM long course. I don’t necessarily think he’s going to be a 6 event gold medalist at the world level, but rather just take the 400 IM world record to crazy heights. I think he’s a true IMer long course, and a versatile king short course. And I think that is legendary enough.
I had gone through the Hy-Tek results in detail. I’d read the synopsis. So I knew what happened. And I still shouted “what the ____!!” at my laptop when I watched this. A real brain-breaker, this one.
Will Licon really paved the way for a lot of guys to break into the 1:48 and 1:47 territory.
His record was always one of the most impressive to me because of how ahead of his era he was.
Going out in a 51.4 and holding on to that pace is insane
If there is anyone that broke the 200breast wide open and was ahead of the era, it was Kevin Cordes
Agree, I feel like he really redefined how breast stroke was done at the SCY level
I see it as questionable there, off the 75 and 175 walls – for sure multiple. Type of thing seems to be widely accepted for years now – people often like to look the other way or say “it’s just the body motion, bro” but if it’s that noticeable above the water via cam, then imagine how significant of a downward movement it would look like underwater.
I’ve now edited twice. I have no idea what’s going on here. He’s out in 51 kinda easy. How many conferences does that split win in the 100?
His turns look so loose and inconsistent and his head position is so high. How on earth is he so fast.
Look at his pullouts & actual stroke though. I’m a club age group coach and my kids definitely need to see his glide and stroke!