{"id":349750,"date":"2019-02-02T04:00:20","date_gmt":"2019-02-02T11:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=349750"},"modified":"2019-02-01T13:47:11","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T20:47:11","slug":"swimming-world-presents-wild-crazy-the-history-of-the-womens-100-yard-backstroke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swimming-world-presents-wild-crazy-the-history-of-the-womens-100-yard-backstroke\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming World Presents “Wild & Crazy: The History of the Women’s 100 Yard Backstroke”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wild & Crazy: The History of the Women’s 100 Yard Backstroke<\/h2>\n

History has proven that the women\u2019s 100 yard backstroke is an event where wacky, unexpected results are the norm, whether because of the typical depth of field, the format of the meet, the factors of the race or some other reason entirely.<\/p>\n

In March of 2002, Natalie Coughlin<\/strong> became the first woman ever to swim the 100 yard backstroke in under 50 seconds. Before that, no one had ever swum within two-and-a-half seconds of her 49.97…and for 10 more years, no one even came close.<\/p>\n

After Coughlin had won consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 100 meter back in 2004 and 2008, Missy Franklin<\/strong> followed in those footsteps with gold in 2012, breaking Coughlin\u2019s long course American record in the process.<\/p>\n

But when Franklin followed Coughlin to Cal-Berkeley in 2013, she stayed away from the yards version of the 100 back. The decision was strategic: Franklin would swim the 200 yard free instead at the NCAA Championships (winning the event during each of her two seasons with the Golden Bears), and Cal already had on its roster a stud 100 backstroker by the name of Rachel Bootsma<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s with Bootsma, a Minneapolis native and 2012 Olympian, that our recent history of the 100 back begins…<\/p>\n

To learn more about the history of the Women’s 100y backstroke, check out the February 2019 issue of Swimming World Magazine<\/em>, available now! Swimming World subscribers can download this issue in the Swimming World Vault<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\"SW<\/a><\/p>\n

[PHOTO CREDIT: PETER H. BICK]<\/p>\n

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