Under-the-Radar Performance of the Year: Tess Howley Lit Up 200 Butterfly at World University Games
The final of the women’s 200-meter butterfly at the World University Games produced a dominant showing by American Tess Howley. A standout at the University of Virginia, Howley easily captured the gold medal, as her time of 2:05.69 was good for a two-plus second triumph over fellow American Lindsay Looney. Yet, the performance was only Howley’s second-best effort in a 24-hour timeframe.
A night earlier, while racing in the semifinals, Howley unleashed a time of 2:05.20 to surge into the upper echelon of the all-time rankings. Swimming World has selected the outing as its Under-the-Radar Female Performance of the Year. While scaring the 2:05 barrier, Howley opened with a split of 28.23 and turned at the midway point of the race in 59.83. She produced a third-lap split of 32.18 to hit the 150-meter mark in 1:32.01 and she came home with a closing length of 33.19.
A 20-year-old, Howley vaulted to 14th in the all-time rankings and she is now knocking on the door of sub-2:05 territory, which has been visited by only 12 women. More, Howley is the third-fastest American in history, trailing only Regan Smith (2:03.84) and Mary DeScenza (2:04.14), who was briefly the world-record holder during the 2009 World Championships.
Howley headed to the World University Games with an impressive resume. She was the seventh-place finisher in the 200 fly at the 2024 United States Olympic Trials, with her semifinal time of 2:08.79 her best performance of the meet. Meanwhile, she was the fourth-place finisher at the 2025 NCAA Championships, where she went 1:51.79 for All-American honors and helped Virginia claim its fifth consecutive team title.
But the WUGs saw Howley surge to another level, as her pair of 2:05 markers were complemented by a 2:06.75 swim in the preliminaries. What’s next? Howley will represent the United States at next summer’s Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, where she’ll chase something in the 2:04 range.
Why zero mention of the 19 year old who swam a 2:01.99?
This article focused on an under-the-radar swim during 2025. We’ve had plenty on Summer McIntosh, including her 200 fly, and will have further pieces on her in the days ahead, including as World Swimmer of the Year.