Madisyn Cox seems to be peaking at the right time, some 22 days before the start of the Omaha Olympic Trials as she lowered her own best time in the 200 IM to put herself at the top of the world rankings for 2021 with a 2:08.51, improving on her best time of 2:09.0 from March 2020 a week before the COVID pandemic pushed everything back an extra year.
Cox is now 12th all-time in the event and the third fastest American as she is chasing what would be her first Olympic appearance at age 25.
Madisyn Cox had a rocky road to this point, serving a doping suspension in 2018 that left her out of contention for the 2019 Worlds and Pan American Games that was ultimately overturned, but it was too late as she missed out on international competition for 2019. Cox has been a popular redemption story in the lead-up to Trials as she has also stated she will pursue medical school this fall no matter what happens at the Olympic Trials. This weekend in her training pool at the Longhorn Elite Classic, Cox swam lifetime bests in the 200 and 400 IM.
2021 World Rankings Women’s 200 IM
- 2:08.51, Madisyn Cox, USA
- 2:08.73, Kaylee McKeown, AUS
- 2:09.23, Abbie Wood, GBR
- 2:09.55, Miho Teramura, JPN
- 2:09.59, Yui Ohashi, JPN
- 2:09.61, Alicia Wilson, GBR
- 2:09.64, Yu Yiting, CHN
- 2:09.85, Rika Omoto, JPN
- 2:09.99, Anastasia Gorbenko, ISR
- 2:09.99, Bailey Andison, CAN
Cox won tonight ahead of Evie Pfeifer (2:12.51), Brooke Forde (2:13.04) and Allie Raab (2:13.52).
Cal freshman Isabelle Stadden somehow made the women’s 100 back US field even more stacked with a 59.33 effort on Saturday night in Austin as she is fifth nationally three weeks out from the Games. Stadden has been more known as a threat in the 200, winning silver at the 2019 Pan American Games and bronze at the 2018 US Nationals, but her 59.3 puts her in the mix for a spot in the crowded 100 back. She finished ahead of fellow Cal Bear Isabel Ivey (1:01.08) and Texas’ Julia Cook (1:01.36).
Texas freshman Anna Elendt raced to a 1:07.34 in the 100 breaststroke as she officially qualified to represent Germany at the Tokyo Olympics. She was just off her season best of 1:07.1 but she will be headed to Tokyo which is nine weeks away. Elendt finished ahead of Zoe Bartel (1:10.15).
Texas A&M’s Taylor Pike swam a 2:09.85 in the 200 butterfly to lower her own season best to put herself ninth nationally ahead of next month’s Olympic Trials. She won ahead of Katie Drabot (2:10.39), who won bronze at the 2019 Worlds in this event, and Olivia Bray (2:11.18), who could be a factor in Omaha in the 100 butterfly.
Keep it going girl!!