This week, the world record holder in the women’s 100 back continued to show her dominance in the event in Switzerland. Check out the recap from that meet and the biggest stories of the week in The Week That Was.
The Week That Was #5 – Irvine Novaquatics Coach Shot Outside Home
Adam Crossen, the associate head coach for Irvine Novaquatics and the head coach for the Soka University swim team, was shot outside of his home early Monday morning last week. The coach was shot around 4 a.m. after discovering his car was being broken into. He is currently recovering, but according to a fundraising page set up by Crossen’s family, the recovery process may be significant. Crossen is the father of three young boys and has been a member of the Southern California swimming community for years. You can donate to the family’s fundraising page to assist with Coach Adam’s medical bills by clicking here.
The Week That Was #4 – Arizona State Continues Season of Firsts with Win Over Arizona
Photo Courtesy: Blake Benard
Bob Bowman’s Arizona State University continued their season of firsts with another big win this week, with the ASU women defeating the University of Arizona for the first time in 25 years. Swimming at home in Tempe, the women took the meet in a final score of 173-127 in the first matchup of the two teams since Augie Busch returned to Arizona as the head coach in July. In other college news, the No. 4 Stanford men won a close meet (151.5-148) against No. 10 USC to remain undefeated this season a day after Cal beat the Trojans in their home pool. The Texas women took down TCU in their last dual meet of the season to finish with their first undefeated season in 30 years. You can read all of the stories from this week’s college swimming and diving here.
The Week That Was #3 – Big Names at Kosuke Kitajima Cup
Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr
There were some big swims out of Japan at last weekend’s Kosuke Kitajima Cup in Japan. While Kosuke Hagino, who is arguably the most dominant Japanese swimmer right now, was absent from the meet due to illness, that didn’t stop other swimmers from throwing down some notable times. Olympic finalist Katsumi Nakamura continued to show he may be a force in 2020 for his home country, winning both the the 50 (22.15) and 100 (48.13) free. Nakamura is the first Japanese man to ever swim under 48 seconds in the 100 free, which he did leading off the 4×100 free relay at the 2016 Olympics, and his 48.13 from last week puts him first in the world in 2018. Olympic bronze medalist Daiya Seto won the 400 IM in 4:13.93, while Yui Ohashi won both the 200 (2:10.31) and 400 IM (4:39.44). Her time in the 200 IM is the second fastest in the world this year. You can see full results of the meet here.
The Week That Was #2 – TCU Head Coach Sam Busch Placed on Administrative Leave
Photo Courtesy: TCU
Texas Christian University head coach Sam Busch has been placed on indefinite administrative leave, according to multiple sources close to the program. This is Busch’s first year as the head coach of TCU’s program after being hired back in August. Busch came to TCU from the University of Virginia, where he served as the assistant coach under his older brother, Augie Busch. Sam Busch has also coached at Auburn, West Virginia and Arizona, the latter with his father, Frank Busch. The exact reason for Busch’s suspension was not confirmed, although the source indicated there were multiple factors at play. Keith Dawley, the first year assistant coach, will lead the program through the Big-12 championships Feb. 21-24 in Austin, Texas.
The Week That Was #1 – Kylie Masse Sets Two Meet Records in Zurich
Photo Courtesy: Chris Reith (Swimming Canada)
The Uster International Meet had some of Europe and Canada’s best swimmers in attendance this weekend, with world record-holder Kylie Masse starting off her 2018 with a bang. The 2017 World Champion and world record holder in the 100 back started off with a meet record in the 200 back, breaking her own meet record from the year before with a 2:07.47. She followed that up on day two with a blazing fast 58.54 in the 100 back, less than a half-second off of her own world record (58.10) and by far the fastest time in the world so far this year. Also having a strong meet was countrywoman Penny Oleksiak, who set meet records in the 100 (53.93) and 200 (1:57.79) free as well as in the 100 fly (58.05). You can see complete results of this weekend’s competition here.