Anna Moesch topped her own national record while winning the women’s 100-meter freestyle on Tuesday as the U.S. Swimming Championships got underway in Irvine, Calif.
Moesch finished in 51.88 seconds, topping the U.S. mark of 51.93 that she established in London two months ago. Her time was also a meet record, besting the 52.04 mark set by Torri Huske last year.
Speaking about her improvement this year, the 20-year-old told NBC Sports, “Think I’ve changed a lot about every part of my stroke, my kick, … my underwaters, my start. I’m really learning how to piece them all together.”
Rylee Erisman was the runner-up at 52.92, and Liberty Clark captured third place in 52.97.
Caeleb Dressel won the men’s 100-meter freestyle in 47.70, with the nine-time Olympic gold medalist prevailing in an individual event for the first time in two years.
His last major solo win was in the 100-meter butterfly at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, and the 29-year-old last won the U.S. title in the 100 freestyle in 2022, per NBC Sports.
“I haven’t seen a one next to my name in a long time, so it feels good,” Dressel told NBC Sports. “I love this sport so much. It feels good to be back swimming, enjoying myself. It feels like freshman year right now, pretty good time for freshman year.”
Brooks Curry (47.81) and Patrick Sammon (47.87) finished just behind Dressel.
In the men’s 200-meter butterfly, Luca Urlando prevailed while competing in the event for the first time since he captured the world championship in 2025. Urlando won in 1 minute, 54.45 seconds, topping Ilya Kharun (1:54.59) and Enzo Solitario (1:54.99).
Hannah Bellard earned the women’s 200-meter butterfly crown in 2 minutes, 6.86 seconds. Bella Sims (2:07.19) and Lindsay Looney (2:07.26) took second and third place, respectively.
The competition continues through Saturday.
–Field Level Media
