Rhyan White Strengthens Backstroke Presence With 200 Win at Atlanta Classic; Ryan Murphy Completes Double

Rhyan White Strengthens Backstroke Presence With 200 Win at Atlanta Classic; Ryan Murphy Completes Double

Alabama star Rhyan White added her latest “don’t-forget-about-me” performance at the Atlanta Classic on Sunday night.

Having produced a superb collegiate season for the Crimson Tide, White has transitioned splendidly to the long-course pool, her most-recent evidence the 2:07.07 winning time she delivered in the women’s 200 backstroke. It was an effort that complemented her personal-best swim in the 100 backstroke a day earlier. On Saturday, White checked in with a 58.43 clocking in the short backstroke discipline to firmly establish herself as a contender at the Olympic Trials.

In the longer distance, White raced primarily against the clock, as runnerup Lisa Bratton was more than two seconds back in 2:09.69. White went out in 29.46 and turned at the midway point in 1:01.64. A third lap of 32.84 was followed by a closing length of 32.59. White’s time was just off the 2:06 showings that Phoebe Bacon and Regan Smith turned in over the weekend in Indianapolis.

While White is a rising star on the backstroke scene, Ryan Murphy is well-known as they come, thanks to his trip of Olympic titles from the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. On the road to defending those titles, Murphy won the 200 back in 1:56.14, his Cal teammate Bryce Mefford finishing second in 1:58.16.

Murphy enjoyed a highly successful weekend in Atlanta, as he won the 100 backstroke in 52.95 and came through with a strong effort in the 100 butterfly, an off event. In the fly, Murphy went 52.08 for fifth place.

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