{"id":300926,"date":"2018-03-16T19:43:32","date_gmt":"2018-03-17T02:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=300926"},"modified":"2018-03-20T14:06:38","modified_gmt":"2018-03-20T21:06:38","slug":"stunning-disbelief-ella-eastin-produces-epic-in-ncaa-400-im","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/stunning-disbelief-ella-eastin-produces-epic-in-ncaa-400-im\/","title":{"rendered":"Stunning Disbelief: Ella Eastin Produces Epic in NCAA 400 IM (Video)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By David Rieder.<\/em><\/p>\n

Swimming the 400 IM next to Katie Ledecky<\/strong> is an experience that Ella Eastin<\/strong> calls \u201cterrifying,\u201d and it\u2019s hard to blame her. When competing against the best swimmer in the world and one of history\u2019s all-time great freestylers, it\u2019s hard to feel comfortable with any sort of lead going into the final 100 yards.<\/p>\n

But during her freestyle leg in the NCAA championships final, Eastin had no reason to be scared. She had just put together the best 100 yards of breaststroke in her career and was on her way to delivering one of the most satisfying moments she has ever had in a pool.<\/p>\n

At the halfway point, Eastin had a lead of seven tenths over Ledecky. She then split 1:06.57, \u201cthe best breaststroke split I\u2019ve ever had, I think by two and a half seconds,\u201d and by the time she turned for the freestyle leg, she had a four-second edge over Ledecky.<\/p>\n

It was a jarring sight to watch the great Ledecky buried and fighting for second the same way she has buried so many swimmers over the years. But the moment did not belong to her\u2014it belonged to the 20-year-old from Southern California who was about to win her third straight NCAA title in the 400 IM.<\/p>\n

Over the final 100 yards, Eastin admitted that it was still intimidating to know Ledecky was charging, but she added that, \u201cIt was fun. The 400 IM is a really tough race, and I had a really enjoyable experience with it today.\u201d<\/p>\n

One night earlier, Eastin had finished on top in the 200 IM, reclaiming the NCAA title she won as a freshman from Kathleen Baker<\/strong> and breaking her own American record by almost a second. In the aftermath, she turned to the scoreboard, turned back towards the wall and pumped her fist.<\/p>\n

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Eastin celebrates with teammates after the 400 IM final — Photo Courtesy: Dan D’Addona<\/p><\/div>\n

In the 400 IM, she needed no scoreboard confirmation of the result. But what the scoreboard showed her was a time two full seconds faster than anyone else had ever done: 3:54.60, compared to Ledecky\u2019s American and NCAA records of 3:56.53 from the Pac-12 championships last month.<\/p>\n

Stunning disbelief. That\u2019s how everyone inside the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion felt watching.<\/p>\n

And the woman on the performing end was someone who had taken every reason to doubt herself and turned it into supreme confidence.<\/p>\n

===<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t blame Eastin if she doesn\u2019t like talking about her summer. It\u2019s clear that the memory of her 400 IM disqualification at U.S. Nationals, the result that kept her off her first World Championships team, still stings. She had the swim of her life erased from public record\u2014but not her own memory.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegardless of whether I was named to the World Champ team or not, I knew that all the training I did the year leading up to that was still with me and also the training that I\u2019ve done over the last six months, and that was something that I could only draw confidence from,\u201d Eastin said.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And she arrived this week in Columbus, Ohio, determined but also already satisfied and comfortable, with the mindset that she had already succeeded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI walked into this meet and tried to give myself the best opportunity to show everybody what I can do,\u201d Eastin said. \u201cI\u2019ve been really pleased with the outcome of my races before I even do them, and I know I have really good training behind me. I\u2019ve just kind of trusted myself every lap that I\u2019ve swum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, Eastin finds herself on about as satisfying an emotional high as one can imagine: She has crushed two records in her two best events, with only the 200 fly (where she is again expected to dominate) still to come. She\u2019s been a part of a national championship relay. And she\u2019s watched as her Stanford team has won nine total events, giving the Cardinal a 146-point lead headed into the final day of competition.<\/p>\n

Then there have been the incredibly satisfying moments like the one Eastin experienced on the awards podium after the 400 IM, when she looked at the scoreboard and saw that teammate Brooke Forde<\/strong> had finished fourth and broken 4:00 for the first time.<\/p>\n

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Ledecky and Eastin react to Forde’s breakthrough swim — Photo Courtesy: Dan D’Addona<\/p><\/div>\n

Eastin reached over to get Ledecky\u2019s attention and excitedly pointed to the scoreboard. \u201cI was like, \u2018Oh my god\u2014Brooke broke four minutes! I told her she was going to!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Nope, not much more Eastin could ask of these NCAA championships so far. One day remains, and that one day will likely be emotional, with the Cardinal preparing to accept a second straight NCAA title trophy. One night\u2019s sleep stands between Eastin and those final few moments, and when she gets in bed, she knows the emotions will still be running high.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually have a really hard time sleeping throughout this entire meet. I take a lot of Advil PM, just trying to calm down,\u201d Eastin said. \u201cI definitely try to appreciate the moment, think about it before I go to sleep and try to relax as much as possible because we still have a lot of work to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Eastin, that work entails another shot at the 200 fly, where a win would lock up NCAA Swimmer of the Meet honors, and another American record would put a cap on one of the most magical individual NCAA performances in recent memory.<\/p>\n

A week Ella Eastin will never forget\u2014and a smile that will take a long time to melt away.<\/p>\n