Luca Urlando flew to victory in the men’s 200 fly on the first night of the 2019 Phillips 66 U.S. National Championships, clocking a 1:54.92 for gold. For Urlando, he knew that he wanted to win a National Title and that it was a goal of his coming into the National Championships. To the young teenager, claiming victory on night one is a checkmark off his bucket list.
The teen has been very strategic with his training building up his aerobic endurance with his coach and doing a lot of stroke count work.
Following his race, Urlando stopped by the press tent to speak to the media and maintained a very relaxed demeanor his entire time there. The 17-year-old credited the 2018 Phillips 66 U.S. National Championships with the meet that made him feel like he could belong with the upper level of athletes and he has used that to push him towards more ambitious goals. Although he doesn’t necessarily write these goals down he says.
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So young. DART is a great organization