{"id":649050,"date":"2026-07-30T19:57:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T02:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=649050"},"modified":"2026-07-30T19:57:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T02:57:41","slug":"rowan-cox-lowers-17-18-national-age-group-record-in-100-butterfly-finishes-third-at-nationals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/rowan-cox-lowers-17-18-national-age-group-record-in-100-butterfly-finishes-third-at-nationals\/","title":{"rendered":"Rowan Cox Lowers 17-18 National Age Group Record in 100 Butterfly, Finishes Third at Nationals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rowan Cox Lowers 17-18 National Age Group Record in 100 Butterfly, Finishes Third at Nationals<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the center lanes of the men’s 100 butterfly at U.S. Nationals,\u00a0Ilya Kharun<\/strong> overtook Caeleb Dressel<\/strong> in the final 25 meters on the way to posting the fastest time in the world this year<\/a>. Dressel, the Tokyo Olympic champion and world-record holder, finished second in his quickest time in more than two years. Just off the pace was\u00a0Rowan Cox<\/strong>, an 18-year-old set to begin his college career at the University of Texas this fall.<\/p>\n

Cox touched the wall in 50.64, concluding a day when he vaulted himself into the national conversation in the event. He arrived at Nationals with a best time of 52.59 before dropping all the way to 51.42 in prelims. He had another leap waiting at night, making himself the seventh-fastest swimmer in the world this year.<\/p>\n