NCAA Swimming: Breaking Another Losing Streak, Florida Gators Bag National Title 16 Years Later

The 2024 NCAA Swimming Championships are making waves across the nation with thrilling all-around performances. While swimmers from the University of Virginia are making ripples in their own right, the Florida Gators aren’t fairing too badly themselves. On the first day of the event, the Florida swimmers made history by winning the women’s 800m freestyle relay team title after 35 years. The momentum was carried well into the next day as two more Gators rose to the occasion.

The Day 2 of the NCAA Championships was opened by the 500y freestyle race and Florida’s swimmers ran havoc. In the morning’s prelims, seven swimming stars had already breezed past the 2023 Championships’ winning time, and the finals only got better.

NCAA swimming stars run riot on Day 2

The official Gators Swimming & Diving Twitter account shared the achievements of their two electrifying stars. “ONE TWO FINISH”, reads the caption of the post with two fire emojis. Freshman Bella Sims and junior Emma Weyant finished the 500 free race in first and second places, respectively. With this, they brought Florida its first National Title in 16 long years (first since 2008).

Clocking 4:32.47, Sims rang the celebration bells, thanks to her explosive first half. While the rest of the swimmers started catching up in the second 250, her lengthy lead nullified their efforts. This was her first individual NCAA event, and Sims made sure to make the most of the opportunity.

Coming in second with over 1 second added, her collegiate teammate Weyant improved on her record from the Southeastern Conference in February. Clocking 4:33.70, Emma broke the 4:34 mark in her career for the first time. In the second stretch of the race, the Gators junior edged past Inidana’s Anna Peplowski and Aurora Roghair of Stanford, who came in 3rd and 4th, respectively. However, it wasn’t just the NCAA swimming powerhouse who dazzled the audience with their skills.

The waters being set on fire all around

Day 1 of the NCAA Championships was kicked off in style by the Virginia swimmers who triumphed in the 200 medley relay. Spearheaded by Gretchen Walsh, the Virginia women picked up the first spot, while the Gators came in third. However, in the following 800 freestyle relay, the Florida squad (comprising Bella, Isabel Ivey, Emma, and Micayla Cronk) picked up the much-awaited NCAA title with 6:48.59 on the clock. With that, the Gators finished the first day of the meet on top of the charts with 72 points.

Read more: Hours After Setting NCAA Record, Gretchen Walsh Shows Superhuman Skill Breaking Another

On the second day, after the thundering performances by Sims and Weyant in the first event, the Gators’ senior Isabel Ivey once again put Florida on the scoresheet by finishing the 200IM in second place with 1:51.96 on the clock. In the same event, Virginia’s Alex Walsh became the first swimmer in history to break the 1:50 mark. Gretchen Walsh once again made the headlines by winning the 50m free race (20.37) and setting a new NCAA and American record. With two more days to go, we are surely up for more fireworks!

Also Read: Gretchen Walsh vs Katie Ledecky: Is Freshly Made Dynasty Dethroning the Long Distance Queen?