{"id":531569,"date":"2023-07-01T17:52:55","date_gmt":"2023-07-02T00:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=531569"},"modified":"2023-07-01T23:18:41","modified_gmt":"2023-07-02T06:18:41","slug":"u-s-nationals-ryan-held-locks-down-50-free-title-jack-alexy-makes-worlds-by-01","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/u-s-nationals-ryan-held-locks-down-50-free-title-jack-alexy-makes-worlds-by-01\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Nationals: Ryan Held Wins Mental Battle in 50 Free Victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

U.S. Nationals: Ryan Held Wins Mental Battle in 50 Free Victory<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ryan Held<\/strong> had to take a dose of his own advice Saturday night.<\/p>\n

Before the meet, he had a talk with some of the younger NC State swimmers, sharing lessons he\u2019d learned at his alma mater. One that stood out, semi self-effacingly, was to not take it too seriously, to \u201cswim for the 8-year-old you who would be absolutely in awe\u201d of being at a meet like this.<\/p>\n

It came in handy to cap Phillips 66 Nationals and earn a bit of history for himself.<\/p>\n

Held won the men\u2019s 50 freestyle, booking a rare individual swim at a major international event for a swimmer that has been such a relay cornerstone for going on a decade.<\/p>\n

Held clocked in at 21.50 seconds. He was followed by Jack Alexy,<\/strong> whose time of 21.63 seconds edged out Olympian Michael Andrew<\/strong> by .01 seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s such a great feeling,\u201d Held said. \u201cI told my wife, every day before I was leaving for practice, that I was going to make an individual event for the World Championships this year. For it to finally happen is a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n

That drive informs the mixed feelings he overcame this week. Held Saturday reversed the disappointment of the 100 free<\/a>, where he was third at the 50-meter mark but faded to fifth. It was still enough to get him to Worlds for relay duty, but with the youth movement of the 100 free overturning the veteran order, he entered the final night looking for an individual swim.<\/p>\n