Erica Sullivan Throws Down 15:23 SCY 1650 at King Marlin ProAm Meet

Erica Sullivan passed Katie Hoff on the all-time list in the 1650 free on Sunday. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

19-year-old Erica Sullivan unleashed a superb 15:23.81 in the 1650-yard freestyle on Sunday at the 2019 King Marlin Pro-Am Classic in Lewisville, Texas as she moved up to second all-time in the 1650 with her swim.

Sullivan will be a freshman at the University of Southern California next fall as she initially graduated high school in 2018 but deferred her enrollment until after the 2020 Olympic Games. Her 15:23 is quicker than any swimmer in Division I this season by 24 seconds as Florida’s Leah Braswell leads the nation at 15:47.

Sullivan surpassed Katie Hoff on the all-time list as she dropped from her 15:36 at this meet last year.

All-Time Top Ten Women’s 1650 (SCY)

15:03.31, Katie Ledecky, 2017
15:23.81, Erica Sullivan, 2019
15:24.35, Katie Hoff, 2008
15:25.30, Leah Smith, 2016
15:27.84, Brittany MacLean, 2014
15:29.15, Kate Ziegler, 2007
15:30.84, Lotte Friis, 2015
15:30.95, Ashley Twichell, 2019
15:36.27, Ally McHugh, 2018
15:37.06, Stephanie Peacock, 2012

Sullivan, primarily an open water swimmer from the Sandpipers of Nevada, was a spot away from qualifying for the 2019 World Championships in the 10K this summer, which would have given her a chance to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games if she placed in the top ten.

But Sullivan will have a good chance to qualify to swim the 1500 freestyle at the Olympic Trials in June as she is now the second fastest all-time in the yards version behind Katie Ledecky. She was a 15:55 this summer at the Clovis Pro Series which was only a second off of what Ashley Twichell swam (15:54) to get fourth at the World Championships.

Twichell and Sullivan, as well as Ally McHugh, will likely be fighting for that second spot in the 1500 at Trials behind Ledecky as the women’s 1500 free will be making its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games this summer.

The 1650 was the only individual event Erica Sullivan swam on the weekend as she also swam on Sandpiper’s 200 free relay where she led off with a 23.60.

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