Meitz Drops 9:29 in 1,000 Free to Set Purdue Pool Mark in Time Trial

Kaersten Meitz Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Saturday’s Big Ten tri-meet hosted by Purdue included a special guest, and a record-setting one at that.

Purdue alumna Kaersten Meitz set the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center record in the 1,000-yard freestyle during a time trial Saturday during the meet with Northwestern and Minnesota.

In a break between the 200 breaststroke and 400 free relay, Meitz laid down a time of 9:29.05, trouncing the pool record of 9:32.02 set by Southern Methodist University grad and Swiss Olympian Flavia Rigamonti at the 2005 NCAA Championships.

Meitz, a 2018 graduate of the Boilermakers, set the school record in the 1,000 free at the Big Ten Triple Duals in Minneapolis during her senior year with a time of 9:38.46. Saturday’s time trial is a fitting illustration of how she’s grown into one of the United States’ top female distance swimmers since her graduation. Meitz owns Purdue program records in the 500 and 1,650 free.

Pool Record Time for Kaersten Meitz!! As part of a time trial during the break between the 200 Breast & 400 Free Relay, @kaerstenmtz takes down a pool record time from 2005. #BoilerUp

Kaersten’s Record Time: 9:29.05
Previous Mark: 9:32.02 pic.twitter.com/kITUbRoggt

— Purdue Women’s Swim-Dive (@PurdueWSwim) February 1, 2020

Meitz, who continues to train at Purdue with coach John Klinge, won gold medals in the 2019 World University Games in the 400-meter free and 800 free relay. She’s qualified for the 2020 Olympic Trials in four events: 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 free.

Her time of 4:05.80 was the third-fastest among Americans (and 11th-fastest in the world) in 2019, trailing American Olympic medalists Katie Ledecky and Leah Smith. She was the top seed in the 400 free at the Phillips 66 National Championships last July before withdrawing due to an appendectomy.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use