{"id":582694,"date":"2024-03-29T16:10:26","date_gmt":"2024-03-29T23:10:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=582694"},"modified":"2024-03-29T19:19:39","modified_gmt":"2024-03-30T02:19:39","slug":"ncaa-mens-championships-liam-bell-shatters-ncaa-record-in-100-breaststroke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/ncaa-mens-championships-liam-bell-shatters-ncaa-record-in-100-breaststroke\/","title":{"rendered":"NCAA Men’s Championships: Liam Bell Shatters NCAA Record in 100 Breaststroke"},"content":{"rendered":"

NCAA Men’s Championships: Liam Bell Shatters NCAA Record in 100 Breaststroke<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Five swimmers were 50-point in the 100-yard breaststroke as the group collectively inched closer to Ian Finnerty’s<\/strong> NCAA record of 49.69 set in 2018.<\/p>\n

It has finally fallen.<\/p>\n

Cal fifth-year Liam Bell<\/strong> scorched a 23.15 on the first 50 as he took control and kept building that lead and got to the wall in 49.53.<\/p>\n

“It means a lot, especially to my family and the guys on the team. It is something I have been wanting for a long time. It was a long journey. A lot of time and patience,” Bell said. “These are the moments we live for.”<\/p>\n

A long journey that included taking a step away from swimming this past summer.<\/p>\n

“A big thing was having a relatively injury-free season,” Bell said. “Being able to train for a whole season has been a game-changer. I didn’t really train much this summer. Maybe twice a week. I was lifting a lot. I think for me, gaining a lot of strength has been one of the big things because I was always that skinny kid that got washed away off the walls. I wanted to compete with those guys. But I just took a break from it.”<\/p>\n

His best time before this race was 50.50, and like a whole slew of breaststrokers, he was looking for what would get him past the 50-second barrier. Year after year, that record looked like it would fall, but it took until the 2024 NCAAs.<\/p>\n

“It is something everyone dreams of,” he said. “But a lot of people don’t think this was achievable. Looking at the guys when I was a kid, I would have never thought I could get here, but then I am training with the best guys in the world. I think it hit me at the Minnesota Invite (that I could do this). I was tired of being in the shadows and thought this would be a good season for me.”<\/p>\n

Towson’s Brian Benzing<\/strong> surged to a second-place finish in 50.59 – a huge win for mid-majors. When his runner-up award was given, the Indiana Natatorium NCAA crowd gave him a thunderous ovation.<\/p>\n

Louisville’s Denis Petrashov<\/strong> finished third in 50.91, ahead of Virginia’s Noah Nichols<\/strong> (50.93) as four broke 51 in the finals.<\/p>\n

Virginia Tech’s Carles Coll Marti<\/strong> took fifth (51.06), ahead of Indiana’s Josh Matheny<\/strong> (51.07), Florida’s Julian Smith<\/strong> (51.18) and Stanford’s Ron Polonsky<\/strong> (51.25).<\/p>\n

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