With many of the big names of swimming not competing at the 2022 Phillips 66 U.S. National Championships in Irvine, California, opportunities are knocking for several swimmers to claim their first national championship or first time in a finals.
That opportunity was there for the taking in the men’s 200 backstroke.
While the women’s 200 backstroke was led by a handful of Olympians, the men’s field was largely unknown and unproven to the casual swim fan.
That changed on Wednesday during Day 2 of the Phillips 66 U.S. National Championships as a new national champion was crowned and many more got their first taste of the finals at a meet of this caliber.
Jack Aikins used a quick reaction time, quick first 50 and strong race to hold off the field and get to the wall first. He claimed his first national championship with a swim of 1:57.52.
“This morning I was out really fast, and I definitely paid for it the second half of the race, so my goal this evening was to just control it a little better. I definitely feel like I did that, I wasn’t dying as much towards the end. It wasn’t a best time, but I think that is largely in part to the fact that I just don’t have that much experience swimming outside. I was kind of bumping into the lane lines a little bit, but that’s ok because I had fun and that’s what really counts,” Aikins said.
It was seven tenths of a second ahead of Dynamo’s Ian Grum, who finished in 1:57.59.
Remarkably, two more swimmers were under 1:58, making for an exciting finish. Nick Simons took third in 1:57.79, just ahead of
Cal’s Destin Lasco, who touched the wall in 1:57.76.
Australia’s Ty Hartwell finished fifth in 1:58.50, followed by SwimMAC’s Baylor Nelson (1:59.19) and Caleb Maldari (1:59.33) and Christopher O’Connor (1:59.52).
• Results
That experience at the U.S. National Championships will help everyone in the field as they move on to more national meets in the future.
This time, they won’t be unknown or unproven.
