{"id":581966,"date":"2024-03-23T15:48:45","date_gmt":"2024-03-23T22:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=581966"},"modified":"2024-03-23T19:25:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-24T02:25:06","slug":"ncaa-womens-championships-phoebe-bacon-full-circle-with-200-back-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ncaa-womens-championships-phoebe-bacon-full-circle-with-200-back-title\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Women’s Championships: Phoebe Bacon Full Circle With 200 Back Title: ‘Never One to Shy Away From a Fight’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 200 backstroke was perhaps the most up-for-grabs event this week at the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.<\/p>\n

Five swimmers looked within striking distance out of prelims and none of them were from Virginia.<\/p>\n

It turns out it was a familiar face touching the wall first with Wisconsin senior Phoebe Bacon<\/strong>, who won the title as a freshman, won the event in 1:48.23, breaking the pool record in the process – the ninth-fastest performer of all-time.<\/p>\n

“Everybody is hurting on the last day, but you have to push through and finish. (Winning) feels awesome,” Bacon said. “It is pretty special to win a national title. To do it my senior year and book end it like that is really fun. It makes it that much more special – especially how my career went post-the last national title. This summer should be looking pretty good.”<\/p>\n

Bella Sims<\/strong> was strong off the wall on the first turn and split a 25.04 to take the early lead.<\/p>\n

Phoebe Bacon<\/strong> caught her at the 100 and they were neck-and-neck with Bacon slightly pulling ahead at the 125 and 150 marks of the race (1:19.59).<\/p>\n

Bacon turned first on the final turn but Sims and Kennedy Noble each had huge pushes off the final wall to close the gap.<\/p>\n

But Bacon had just enough to earn the win in 1:48.23, her second NCAA title.<\/p>\n

“It was a mixture of working with my coach on the mental side and being able to know that I am fast enough to compete with the best swimmers in the country and the world. I just need to put myself in the race and get to the wall,” Bacon said. “It will always be fun to be a champion. It shows how the hard work that pays off comes to this one moment, and it just feels great.<\/p>\n

“Growing up I have always been a big competitor and never one to shy away from a fight, and the past couple years, I was a little bit shy, or not want to fight as hard. Being able to acknowledge that to myself was big – I want to win.”<\/p>\n

That is the mantra she is taking into the Olympic Trials.<\/p>\n

“Fight or flight kicked in and I want to fight,” she said. “The fight really kicks in when it needs to in the backstroke races in the U.S. I have to hope it is there, and put on my blinders and race, because I know what I can do.”<\/p>\n

Noble, of NC State, took second in 1:48.43 after that strong final 25. Her time is 12th on the all-time performer list.<\/p>\n

Sims finished third in 1:48.47, just ahead of Cal’s Isabelle Stadden<\/strong> (1:49.19), who had a strong race, but just didn’t have as much as the other three off the final wall.<\/p>\n

Tennessee’s Josephine Fuller<\/strong> finished fifth in 1:50.49, followed by Texas A&M freshman Miranda Grana<\/strong> (1:51.96), Virginia Tech senior Caroline Bentz<\/strong> (1:52.39) and Florida freshman Catie Choate<\/strong> (1:53.54).<\/p>\n

The NCAA and meet record is 1:47.24 set by Wisconsin’s Beata Nelson<\/strong> in 2019. The American record is held by Regan Smith<\/strong> (1:47.16) set in a short-course sectional meet.<\/p>\n

Sims was coming off wins in the 500 freestyle and 200 freestyle already this meet.<\/p>\n

Bacon, a U.S. Olympian in Tokyo, won this event in 2021 as a freshman with the Badgers.<\/p>\n

Earlier Stadden finished third in the 100 backstroke, her highest finish at an NCAA Championships.<\/p>\n