NCAA Swimming Flashback: Beata Nelson Emerges as Wisconsin Superstar

Beata Nelson at the 2019 NCAA Championships -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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NCAA Swimming Flashback: Beata Nelson Emerges as Wisconsin Superstar

When Beata Nelson arrived at the University of Wisconsin in the fall of 2016, she was a highly-touted recruit, the reigning Swimming World High School Swimmer of the Year after setting a national public school record in the 100-yard butterfly. But during her freshman campaign with the Badgers, she struggled badly as she dealt with the stress of her mother battling cancer and a reduced-calorie diet that zapped her of her strength in the pool.

At her first NCAA Championships, Nelson did not score in any of her individual events, and she topped out at 17th in the 200 backstroke. But by her sophomore campaign, she was again excelling. As she regained her muscle strength, she became one of the country’s premier underwater dolphin kickers, and that skill elevated her performances not in her old premier event, the 100 fly, but in the backstroke events.

Nelson entered her second NCAA Championships as the top seed in the 100 back after swimming a 49.78 earlier in the season, nearly toppling the American record in the process. She ended up placing second in the event at that meet behind Ally Howe, and she finished one spot ahead of the woman who would go on to break the world record in the 100-meter back four months later, Kathleen Baker. Nelson also placed third in the 200 back at that meet and sixth in the 200 IM.

Of that entire sophomore year, Nelson said, “I think I was trying to prove to the swimming world that I deserved to be here.” Referring to following season, Nelson added, “This year was just to have fun.”

Indeed, during the 2018-19 NCAA season, Nelson was magnificent. By the end of the 2019 NCAA Championships, her status as one of the country’s top swimmers was secured, but she got the ball rolling long before that, when she swam a 49.67 in the 100 back at the mid-season Texas Invite to clip the American record.

At the national meet, Nelson crushed it in every race she swam. Each time she touched the wall with another national title and another remarkable time, a look of incredulity spread across her face.

For her first event, the 200 IM, she had focused on her breaststroke leg in film work and pace work, hoping for some improvement on her weakest stroke, but she turned it into a strength as she pulled away from American-record holder Ella Eastin in the final. Nelson led by six hundredths after backstroke and then by 0.33 after breaststroke before winning the race by more than a second. Her final time of 1:50.79 was just 0.12 off Eastin’s record.

Nelson was the clear favorite in the 100 back a day later, but she had lost her American record two weeks earlier when Regan Smith raced at a Sectionals meet in North Carolina. So Nelson won the race in 49.18, demolishing Smith’s mark of 49.66. Nelson was shocked at her own excellence, while runner-up Amy Bilquist was amazed. Bilquist screamed, “Beata!” as she summoned Nelson to the lane line for a congratulatory hug.

To conclude the meet, Nelson came from behind to beat Taylor Ruck for the national title in the 200 back. Ruck led going into almost every turn, but Nelson’s powerful underwater kicks helped her keep up before she stormed ahead over the final two lengths. She finished in 1:47.24, breaking the NCAA record and coming up just eight hundredths shy of Smith’s American record.

“It’s been pretty surreal. I’ve had an awesome support system around me,” Nelson said that night. After a pause, she added, “Yeah. I struggle with words sometimes when I get shocked about things. It’s been a really great week. I’m really happy I get to represent the Badgers, and I’m glad I got to stand up there and make them all proud.”

Nelson was named NCAA Swimmer of the Meet for her efforts, and she was poised to follow up that success in her senior season with the Badgers. She was the favorite to repeat in all three individual events, with Virginia freshman Kate Douglass posing the strongest challenge in the 200 IM. However, that NCAA Championships was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ending Nelson’s college career prematurely.

At that point, her swimming future was not entirely clear since Nelson had yet to enjoy the same level of success in long course as in short course. She did qualify for the final in the 200-meter IM at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials, which represented the best long course performance of her career. But she has carved out a role as one of the best swimmers in the new International Swimming League (ISL), and in 2021, she posted 15 individual victories.

Seven of those came in the 200 backstroke, where she recorded the league’s fastest time (2:00.33), and that time was faster than the eventual winning time at the Short Course World Championships. Another six victories were in the 100 IM, where Nelson broke the American record.

“It’s really special to me because it kind of emulates college swimming but on a professional level,” Nelson said of the ISL. “And it allows somebody like me to continue pursuing a professional life in the sport that I otherwise might not have.”

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