Justin Lynch
Justin Lynch is a member of University of California swim team. Born Aug. 27, 1996 in Walnut Creek, Calif., Lynch swam for the Terrapins Swim Team and attended Visions in Education High School in Vallejo. Lynch decided to stay close-to-home, and swim for the Cal Bears a mere 45 minutes away. One of the important reasons he chose Cal was because of Coach, Dave Durden, and his reputation for focusing on the smaller things such as underwater work. As a National Age Group Record Holder he’s another addition to Cal’s butterfly dynasty, most recently dominated by Tom Shields and Will Hamilton. At the 2013 World Championship Trials he broke Michael Phelps’ National Age Group 15-16 Record in the 100m butterfly. The 6’1″ Lynch is African-American and Filipino, and he feels that his presence in swimming could have a cultural impact on minority participation in swimming.
UC Berkeley
2014-2015
Lynch made an instant impact for the bears, helping them to a Pac-12 Championship and an NCAA title in the 200 yard medley relay. Lynch swam the butterfly leg in the relay that set a new American record (1:22.40). In his freshman year he also swam the 50 yard freestyle, 100 and 200 yard butterfly at the NCAA Championships.
2015-2016
In his sophomore season, Lynch won his first individual title at the Pac-12 Championships in the 100 yard butterfly. He also took gold in the 400 yard free and medley relays. At the NCAA Championships, he was a member of the silver medal winning 200 and 400 yard medley relays. He also picked up valuable points for the Bears in the 100 yard butterfly. After winning the swim off for the ‘B’ final, Lynch finished second in the final. He also swam the 50 and 100 yard freestyle, finishing 17th and just missing a ‘B’ final place in both.
2016-17
Lynch won a bronze medal as part of the 200 yard freestyle relay (1:15.29) alongside Pawel Sendyk, Michael Jensen and Matthew Josa. He earned a second bronze with the 200 yard medley relay (1:22.28) with Ryan Murphy, Connor Hoppe and Sendyk. Cal’s fourth place 400 yard freestyle relay team included Lynch, Murphy, Jensen and Andrew Seliskar (2:48.49)
Individually, he won the consolation final of the 100 yard butterfly (45.41) and finished 14th in the 50 yard freestyle (19.36).
2017-18
As a senior, Lynch earned a silver medal and two bronzes at the NCAA Championships. He was part of the 200 yard medley relay team alongside Daniel Carr, Connor Hoppe and Ryan Hoffer, which set an American record of 1:21.88. He earned bronze in the 200 yard freestyle relay alongside Pawel Sendyk, Ryan Hoffer and Michael Jensen with a tie of 1:14.56. Lynch also finished third in the 400 yard freestyle relay with Andrew Seliskar, Ryan Hoffer and Michael Jensen (2:45.65). Lynch was a member of the preliminary lineup that finished third in the 400 yard medley relay (3:02.77), but did not race in the finals.
Individually, Lynch finished seventh at the NCAA Championships in the 100 yard butterfly (45.02). He placed sixth in the 50 yard freestyle ‘B’ final (19.35) after going 19.11 in the prelims. He notched a 17th place finish in the 100 yard freestyle (42.31).
International Competition
After winning the 100 and 200 meter butterfly at the Junior Nationals and breaking Michael Phelps’ 12-year-old 100 meter butterfly record at the World Championship trials, Lynch was selected for the 2013 World Junior Championships. At the meet in Dubai, he tied for the bronze medal with his compatriot, Matthew Josa in the 100 meter butterfly in 53.27.
ISL – New York Breakers
On June 18, 2019, Justin Lynch was announced as a member of the New York ISL team, headed by GM Tina Andrew.
