U.S. Nationals: Kaitlyn Dobler Continues Stellar 2022 With 100 Breaststroke Title<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kaitlyn Dobler<\/strong> arrived at the University of Southern California in the fall of 2020 already a national-high-school-record holder, and she quickly progressed in her first collegiate season, as she finished second in the 100-yard breast at the NCAA Championships and then fifth in the long course version of the event at Olympic Trials. In 2022, Dobler has taken the next step on every level. In yards, she was the NCAA winner, and at the International Team Trials a month later, she missed a spot on the World Championships team by just seven hundredths.<\/p>\n

At U.S. Nationals, Dobler reached the top step of the podium for the first time. Sure, the three swimmers most decorated 100 breaststrokers in the country \u2014\u00a0Lilly King<\/strong>,\u00a0Annie Lazor<\/strong> and\u00a0Lydia Jacoby<\/strong> \u2014 were all absent, but Dobler delivered on expectations as the favorite and claimed the win. She touched in 1:06.88, about seven tenths short of her top mark of 1:06.19 set in April and ranks her as the 12th-fastest swimmer in the world for 2022. Dobler was only three hundredths ahead of Aquajets’\u00a0Olivia Anderson<\/strong> at the 50-meter mark, but she quickly pulled away on the second length.<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a great feeling,” Dobler said. “Last time I was here, I got second to Breeja<\/strong> Larson<\/strong>, so I just wanted to come and see what I can do. It worked out well, so I was really happy with it.”<\/p>\n

Anderson claimed second in 1:07.85, with the 25-year-old knocking 0.15 off her previous best time, while Australia’s\u00a0Talara-Jade Dixon<\/strong> finished third in 1:08.15, touching out Denver Hilltoppers’\u00a0Emma Weber<\/strong> by just one hundredth for the last spot on the podium.<\/p>\n

Dobler’s win made her the third consecutive swimmer to claim their first long course national title Friday night, joining previous winners Erin Gemmell<\/strong> (women’s 400 free) and\u00a0Jake Magahey\u00a0<\/strong>(men’s 400 free). After the race, she credited specific work with her coaches for her incremental improvement over the past two years.<\/p>\n

“I think just keeping the training fresh and keep on switching it up a little bit, trying to figure out more scientifically what works and what doesn\u2019t for me. I didn\u2019t lift at all in high school, so lifting the past couple years has made a big difference for me,” Dobler said. “I\u2019ve definitely tweaked my stroke a lot. I\u2019ve been focusing a lot more on the pullouts because I\u2019ve been strong in those. Switching to long course, the pullouts don\u2019t help as much, so I\u2019ve just been trying to go to my hip movement so I don\u2019t die.”<\/p>\n

And even though she still has some big-name breaststrokers in the U.S. to catch up to, Dobler is excited by the challenge. “It\u2019s actually been a lot of fun to race them,” she said of competing against King, Lazor and Jacoby. “At first, I was really intimidated by it, but the more I do it, the more I get used to it. It\u2019s fun to have someone to chase, and so I\u2019ve been really lucky to get to know some of them because they\u2019re really nice people, and the ready rooms are always really fun. ”<\/p>\n