U.S. Nationals: Matt Fallon Scorches Third 50, Holds Off Josh Matheny for 200 Breast Win

Matt Fallon -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

U.S. Nationals: Matt Fallon Scorches Third 50, Holds Off Josh Matheny for 200 Breast Win

Weeks after graduating from high school, Matt Fallon was the top seed in the men’s 200 breaststroke final at U.S. Olympic Trials. Yes, he fell to eighth that night, but he was instantly deemed a potential budding star in the event. One year later, Fallon did not attempt to qualify for the World Championships team, but he still ended up with the fastest time in the United States in the event.

The ensuing season was not a perfect progression, either, as Fallon dealt with injuries and missed the NCAA Championships, but he has now officially secured his status as the top 200 breaststroker in the country. As always, Fallon started slowly in the 200 breaststroke final, turning eighth at the first split, but he had already improved to seventh by the halfway point — and everyone inside the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis knew what was coming next.

On the third 50, Fallon’s entire stroke changed completely. The tempo blasted upward, and he split 32.06 to pull himself into the lead by almost a half-second. Fallon would not be caught from there, and he finished with the quickest final split as well. He touched in 2:07.71, clipping his best time from last year by two tenths and becoming the fourth-fastest man in the world this year. Only France’s Leon Marchand, Russia’s Kirill Prigoda and China’s Qin Haiyang have been quicker.

“I’m usually a little bit behind at the 100, and then I try to build it back up from there,” Fallon said. “I wasn’t as far behind as I thought I’d be. I was 1:02.4, which was really good, and then I was 32.0 on the third 50. To be a little critical, I spun out a little bit on the last 100, which is something I’ll be working on. Overall, it was a good swim. Best time, I was really happy with that, but I know there’s more upside to that. It was an amazing time, but I can see how to improve from here.”

When he races next month in Fukuoka against the likes of Australia’s Zac Stubblety-Cook, the world and Olympic champion and the only man ever under 2:06, Fallon plans to stick to the same training plan and back-half strategy that have boosted him to the top of the national rankings.

“It means everything,” Fallon said of the opportunity to race at Worlds. “I’m so over-the-moon about it. I’ve been working my whole life to get to this stage of my career. It’s nice to see all the hard work pay off, and I finally get to race on the biggest stage in the world, so I’m really happy about that, and I’m excited to get out there and race against people from other countries.”

Also surging through the field on the second half was Indiana’s Josh Matheny. After dropping a second in prelims to qualify second, he took another second off at night to secure a spot on his first Worlds team. Matheny touched in 2:08.32, good for seventh in the world rankings.

“It feels great,” Matheny said. “I’ve been struggling in the 200-meter breaststroke the past couple years, so to kind of break back through and gain that confidence, especially this morning to break 2:10 again, it set me up to know something special was coming tonight, and I just wanted to go in and get it done.”

When Matheny walked out behind lane five up for the final, he was pumped to carry on an Indiana University tradition of the previous few minutes. “Lilly King won the women’s race in lane five, and Jassen Yep won the B-final in lane five,” Matheny said. “I just happened to be in lane five, and when I saw Jassen just close on the last 50, I’m like, ‘There’s something magical about lane five. This is happening for IU.’

Four swimmers broke 2:10 in a quick final, but Jake Foster and Nic Fink had to settle for third and fourth, respectively. Foster touched in 2:09.10, followed by Fink’s 2:09.20. Fink is still the heavy favorite in the 50 and 100 breaststroke coming up later in the meet as he has surged in the sprint events later in his career.

Will Licon was fifth in 2:10.13 while Charlie Swanson, the early leader and the co-champion with Fink at last year’s International Team Trials, ended up sixth in 2:10.43.

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