U.S. Nationals: Dakota Luther Explodes on Third 50 For 200 Fly National Title (VIDEO)

Dakota Luther -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

U.S. Nationals: Dakota Luther Explodes on Third 50 For 200 Fly National Title

Five years ago, Dakota Luther was a surprise qualifier for the U.S. World Championships team in the women’s 200 butterfly as a 17-year-old. Now, she again looks like one of the best in the country in that event after she posted an impressive victory at U.S. Nationals. Just behind Lindsay Looney at the halfway point, Luther blasted ahead on the third 50 with a split of 32.43, and she remained an arm’s length ahead on the way home.

Luther finished in 2:07.02 to secure her first national title and the first win of the five-day meet in Irvine, Calif. She erased a personal-best time that had stood for three years (2:07.76), and her time made her the seventh-fastest performer in the world for 2022.

“It was a little bit of a blur,” Luther said after the race. ” I have really high expectations for that event, but, you know, one best time in a while. I’m really happy with that. I didn’t swim great at Trials last year, so moving forward, I guess.”

Looney finished just behind Luther in 2:07.25, while Long Island’s Tess Howley (2:08.07) and Texas’ Kelly Pash (2:08.39) were third and fourth, respectively. All of those swimmers recorded personal-best times. The top four swimmers in this race rank third through sixth among Americans in 2022 behind only World Championships silver medalist Hali Flickinger and Worlds fourth-place swimmer Regan Smith. The times by Luther and Looney would have been quick enough to finish second behind Flickinger at the U.S. International Team Trials in April.

Luther concluded a strong collegiate swimming career at the University of Georgia this spring, and she finished fourth at the NCAA Championships in the 200-yard fly. After that meet, Luther decided on her immediate next steps in swimming after racing at the TYR Pro Swim Series in San Antonio. “I just kind of tried to carry my taper,” she said. “I felt like if I could swim 2:07 or 2:08 there, then I would go to Trials, and if not, I’d take that week off. I went San Antonio and went 2:10, so I took that week off.”

Luther graduated from Georgia in early May, and then she moved back to Austin, Texas, where she grew up, with plans to swim a fifth year with the University of Texas. But for her first month back in Austin, she trained with a masters group coached by her mother, 1996 Olympic medalist Whitney Hedgepeth.

Yes, she was swimming was a masters group, but that month was no cakewalk.

“She made me do a lot of butterfly, descend 200s, so that was fun. I love her group. They’re always super nice to me, even though I come in and the sets always way harder for them. It’s a nice change of pace,” Luther said. “I don’t know a bunch about masters, but I know she has one of the best if not the best group in the country.”

Luther explained that she approached the national final with a sense of finality. She hopes to swim through the 2024 Olympic Trials — I think for me to move on in my life, I want to have one more shot at the Olympic team,” Luther said — but there are no guarantees in her swimming career beyond this upcoming collegiate season. That mindset helped her savor the moment as she stood behind the blocks and on the way to one of the best swims of her life.

“If I decide to be done in March, this could be my last 200 fly ever,” Luther said. “I think is a really great thing for me to have mentally and move forward and give it my all. I’ve been really trying to enjoy the racing. That’s what I love about swimming, and I think I lost some of that along the way putting pressure on myself. I’m just trying to have fun and keep moving forward.”

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