Coleman Stewart Clips Grevers American Record in 100 Back (SCM) at ISL
During match 2 of the 2021 ISL season, Coleman Stewart of the Cali Condors posted impressive efforts in two backstroke races plus the 400 medley relay, and he capped the evening’s efforts by leading off the Cali men’s 400 medley relay. Stewart went out in 23.94 and finished in 48.91, clipping the American record in the short course meters 100 back. The previous mark belonged to Matt Grevers at 48.92 from back in 2015. Stewart crushed his previous best time of 49.62 that had him ranked 15th all-time.
Stewart now ranks fourth in history in the event, behind world-record holder Kliment Kolesnikov (48.58) and a second-place tie between Xu Jiayu and Evgeny Rylov (48.88). At last month’s Tokyo Olympics, Rylov was the gold medalist in the 100 back and Kolesnikov won silver, and both swim for Energy Standard, so Stewart should have plenty of competition in the sprint backstrokes over the course of this season. Cali Condors and Energy Standard have each won a league title in the ISL’s two years of existence, so those teams appear to be on collision course for the ISL final early next year.
Less than a half-hour earlier, Stewart had won the 50 backstroke in 22.61, also vaulting up the all-time list in that event. He moved into a tie for fifth all-time with Peter Marshall. Only Florent Manaudou, Ryan Murphy, Guilherme Guido and Rylov have ever swum faster, and Stewart was just 0.07 off Murphy’s American record of 22.54. His previous best time, 22.76, ranked him 10th ever in the 50 back.
Earlier in the match, Stewart also placed third in the 200 back behind Grigory Tarasevich and Richard Bohus. Expect to see more from Stewart Sunday when he races in the 100 back individual event and possibly the 50 fly and relays. He could look to lower his new national record a bit further and make inroads on that world record.
