In collegiate swimming if you make NCs (National Championships) you’re already a very fast swimmer. If you did that and finaled in an event, I pretty much thought of you as a god back in the day when I was swimming at the University of Wyoming.
NCs just took place last week and the times were very impressive. So, how do the winning times at NCs in 2005, when I was a senior, compare to this year’s championships? Well, you probably didn’t ask yourself that, but I did, and I’m very curious to see how the gods of the pool back in the day, like Lochte, Bousquet, Grevers, and Draganja, would have finished in 2026’s very impressive field.
Here’s how the winners in 2005 stack up to the winners in 2026. I’ll list the winning time from 2005, the result of that time in 2026, and the winning time from 2026.
50 Free – Frederick Bousquet 18.90, would have finished 20th, and the winning time was 18.06.
100 Free – Duje Draganja 41.49, would have finished 15th, and the winning time was 39.91.
200 Free – Simon Burnett 1:33.28, would have finished 36th, and the winning time was 1:30.03.
500 Free – Peter Vanderkaay 4:09.82, would have finished 6th, and the winning time was 4:06.56.
1650 Free – Larsen Jensen 14:32.01, would have finished 5th, and the winning time was 14:10.03.
100 Backstroke – Matt Grevers 45.62, would have finished 33rd, and the winning time was 42.61.
200 Backstroke – Ryan Lochte 1:38.37, would have finished 5th, and the winning time was 1:34.13.
100 Breaststroke – Gary Marshall 52.68, would have finished 35th, and the winning time was 49.90.
200 Breaststroke – Vladislav Polyakov 1:53.93, would have tied for 24th, and the winning time was 1:48.61
100 Butterfly – Duje Draganja 45.39, would have finished 29th, and the winning time was 42.49.
200 Butterfly – Davis Tarwater 1:42.30, would have finished 26th, and the winning time was 1:37.66.
200 I.M. – Ryan Lochte 1:41.71, would have finished 7th, and the winning time was 1:38.48.
400 I.M. – Oussama Mellouli 3:39.19, would have finished 13th, and the winning time was 3:32.96.
200 Free Relay – Cal 1:15.78, would have finished 15th, and the winning time was 1:12.46.
400 Free Relay – Cal 2:47.70, would have finished 12th, and the winning time was 2:42.38.
800 Free Relay – Florida 6:16.53, would have finished DEAD FUCKING LAST (truly astonishing, they would not have beat Yale this year), and the winning time was 6:05.82.
200 Medley Relay – Cal 1:25.30, would have finished LAST, and the winning time was 1:20.07.
400 Medley Relay – Stanford 3:06.45, would have finished 27th, and the winning time was 2:56.79.
Wow! This year was fast, but I’m shocked by some of these results, especially the 800 Free Relay. It’s clear that collegiate swimmers have made huge gains in their 200 Free times in the last 21 years. Ryan Lochte was on that Florida 800 team and even with that boost their time would not have been anywhere near the top 8 in this year’s field. Likewise, the championship swim from 2005 in the 200 Free was 1:33.28, a very impressive achievement at the time, but now a paltry 36th place at this year’s championships.
Since I thought the winners in 2005 were gods of the pool, I’m at a complete loss of words for the 2026 champions. Jaw-dropping performances.
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