Trenton Julian Drops 1:55.77 to Claim 200 Butterfly at Atlanta Classic
As much as his morning performance was a positive indicator, it did not compare to what Trenton Julian delivered in the final of the 200-meter butterfly at the Atlanta Classic on Saturday night. Coming off his senior campaign at Cal-Berkeley, Julian won his prime event in dominant fashion, going 1:55.77. That effort sliced 1.37 seconds off the time he recorded in the prelims.
The 22-year-old has certainly established himself as an Olympic-qualifying contender at next month’s United States Trials in Omaha. Covering the front half of his race in 54.64, Julian was 29.72 and 31.41 for his last two laps, and with additional rest for Trials, continued time drops seem within reach.
Chase Kalisz continued his solid meet, as he placed second to Julian in 1:56.90. That finish from Kalisz followed up on his victory in the 400 individual medley from Friday night.
During the NCAA season, Julian set a Pac-12 Conference record in the 200-yard butterfly and was the runnerup to Louisville’s Nicolas Albiero at the NCAA Champs. Two months later, he has made a nice transition to the long-course pool and will head to Trials with a confidence boost.
In the women’s 200 butterfly, Dakota Luther was the lone swimmer to get under 2:10, as she took top honors in 2:09.33. That mark for Luther, a former World Championships qualifier, was more than a second clear of runnerup Izzy Gati (2:10.94).