NCAA Men’s Championships: Josh Liendo Finishes Perfect Four-for-Four in NCAA Titles in 100 Free, Swims Third-Fastest Time Ever
No one was stopping Josh Liendo in any of his individual events at the Canadian sprinter’s final NCAA Championships. Hubert Kos came close in the 100 butterfly, leading for the first 95 yards of the race before Liendo came through at the end, and then Liendo required a huge final kickout to defeat Tennessee’s Gui Caribe in the 50 freestyle.
In the 100 free, on the other hand, Liendo showed off his dominance, capturing a wire-to-wire victory for his record-tying fourth consecutive national title in the event. Already up 14-hundredths after 25 yards, Liendo came off the first turn with a half-bodylength lead and never looked back. He flipped at 18.84 at the halfway point, under NCAA record pace, and he remained at that speed through 75 yards. He slipped slightly in the closing strokes but still recorded the third-fastest time in history.
Liendo touched in 39.91, just eight hundredths off the NCAA record established by Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks last season. Crooks swam the time in the prelims at the NCAA Championships, but Liendo beat him in the final with the first sub-40 performance of his career. Now, Liendo is the first man to ever break 40 on multiple occasions.
As for the historical ramifications, he joined Michigan’s Gustavo Borges as the only swimmer to ever sweep victories in the 100 freestyle all four years of his college career. Liendo is the first male swimmer to four-peat in any event since Caeleb Dressel won the 50 free every season from 2015 through 2018.
At the finish, Liendo climbed onto the lane line and pounded his chest. The performance concluded his individual career as a Florida Gator with his ninth individual NCAA title. He won the 100 fly three times and 50 free twice in addition to these 100 free victories. Liendo never finished lower than second place in any of his individual NCAA races; Crooks beat him twice in the 50 free while Youssef Ramadan was the 100 fly winner in 2023.
The battle throughout the race was for second place, with Caribe and LSU’s Jere Hribar battling for that spot throughout the race. In the end, Hribar came in eight hundredths ahead, 40.33 to 40.41. Hribar, who rebounded from a disqualification in the 50 free, jumped to No. 6 all-time in the event while Caribe was just off his fourth-ranked best time of 40.15.Pittsburgh’s Julian Koch closed well to finish just behind in 40.43, surpassing what was already a huge lifetime best in prelims.
Event 17 Men 100 Yard Freestyle
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NCAA: N 39.83 3/29/2025 Jordan Crooks, Tennessee
Meet: M 39.83 3/29/2025 Jordan Crooks, Tennessee
American: A 39.90 3/24/2018 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
U. S. Open: O 39.83 3/29/2025 Jordan Crooks, Tennessee
Pool: P 40.46 3/26/2016 Caeleb Dressel, Florida
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Liendo, Josh SR Florida 40.81 39.91P 20
r:+0.61 8.93 18.84 (9.91)
29.33 (10.49) 39.91 (10.58)
2 Hribar, Jere JR LSU 40.76 40.33P 17
r:+0.68 9.07 19.29 (10.22)
29.75 (10.46) 40.33 (10.58)
3 Caribe, Gui SR Tennessee 41.05 40.41P 16
r:+0.57 9.08 19.25 (10.17)
29.79 (10.54) 40.41 (10.62)
4 Koch, Julian SO Pittsburgh 40.52 40.43P 15
r:+0.64 9.20 19.38 (10.18)
29.85 (10.47) 40.43 (10.58)
5 Kulow, Jonny SR ASU 41.05 40.76 14
r:+0.62 9.16 19.35 (10.19)
29.97 (10.62) 40.76 (10.79)
6 McCarty, Quintin JR NC State 40.98 40.90 13
r:+0.63 9.11 19.37 (10.26)
30.10 (10.73) 40.90 (10.80)
7 Lukminas, Tomas SO Arizona 41.11 41.11 12
r:+0.62 9.14 19.58 (10.44)
30.24 (10.66) 41.11 (10.87)
8 Whitfield, Brendan JR VT 41.12 41.22 11
r:+0.69 9.17 19.51 (10.34)
30.38 (10.87) 41.22 (10.84)
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