Beata Nelson Lowers American Record in 100 Individual Medley
From her collegiate days at the University of Wisconsin to her efforts for the Cali Condors in the International Swimming League, Beata Nelson has repeatedly proven her excellence in short-course competition. On Saturday, during the second day of the ISL Grand Final in Eindhoven, Nelson took down her own American record in the 100-meter individual medley.
En route to a second-place finish, Nelson registered a time of 57.72 to lower her previous record of 57.90, which was set during the ISL regular season in September. Nelson was beaten to the wall by Energy Standard’s Sarah Sjostrom, with the Swede touching the wall in 57.46. The world record for the event is 56.51, set in 2017 by Hungarian Katinka Hosszu.
Nelson has been a valuable member for the Condors throughout the season, excelling in the backstroke and medley events, along with serving as a consistent relay performer. In bettering her American record by .18, Nelson covered the first half of the race (butterfly/backstroke) in 26.31 and came home over the final 50 meters (breaststroke/freestyle) in 31.41.
Nelson owned a .10 advantage over Sjostrom at the midway point of the race, but Sjostrom split 31.05 to surge ahead. Sjostrom was not far off the ISL record of 57.30, set last year by Beryl Gastaldello of the L.A. Current.