Richard Burns Slices Almost 7 Seconds Off World Record in Men’s 80-84 200 Back (3:04.59)

2023 USMS SUMMER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Aug. 2-6, 2023
• Selby Aquatic Center
  • Sarasota, Florida
• LCM (50 meters)
• Results
• Results on MeetMobile: “2023 USMS Summer Nationals”
• Day 1 Recap
• Day 2 Recap
• Day 3 Recap
• Day 4 Recap

Three more individual world records fell on the final day of the 2023 United States Masters Swimming (USMS) Summer National Championships in Sarasota, Florida.

After breaking three of his own masters world records on Friday, 80-year-old Richard Burns broke another global standard in the men’s 80-84 200-meter backstroke with a time of 3:04.59. The Tamalpais Aquatic Club standout crushed the previous world record of 3:11.43 that Hungary’s Jozsef Csikany set in January by nearly seven seconds. Burns took down the men’s 80-84 marks in the 50 butterfly (34.39), 50 backstroke (36.83), and 100 backstroke (1:22.06) on Friday, sneaking under his own records from last month’s Pacific Masters Championships.

At 72 years old, Laura Val remarkably continues to drop time in the women’s 70-74 100 freestyle. Her time of 1:06.68 on Sunday was a couple tenths quicker than her own world record of 1:06.90 from October of 2021.

Another big name in masters swimming, Erika Braun, broke the world record in the women’s 50-54 100 freestyle with a time of 1:00.40. The 51-year-old North Carolina Masters Swimming standout just barely edged the former record of 1:00.42 by France’s Marie-Therese Fuzzati in 2015. Earlier in the meet, Braun helped wipe out relay records in the mixed 200-239 200 medley relay (1:57.86) and 200-219 200 freestyle relay (1:54.10).

All Day 5 Records:

• Chuck Barnes, New England Masters Swim Club: men’s 45-49 200 backstroke (2:12.67, USMS record)
• Richard Burns, Tamalpais Aquatic Club: men’s 80-84 200 backstroke (3:04.57, World Aquatics world Masters record and USMS record)
• Erika Braun, North Carolina Masters Swimming: women’s 50-54 100 freestyle (1:00.40, World Aquatics world Masters record and USMS record)
• Laura Val, Tamalpais Aquatic Club: women’s 70-74 100 freestyle (1:06.68, World Aquatics world Masters record and USMS record)
• Dave Noble, MOVY Masters: men’s 80-84 200 butterfly (3:54.46, USMS record)
• Jane Oberg, Colorado Masters Swimming: women’s 85-89 400 IM (10:17.34, USMS record)