Josh Matheny Overtakes Michael Andrew’s 100 Breast NAG For 15-16 American Men

7TH FINA WORLD JUNIOR SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2019

• Duna Arena, Budapest (Hungary)
• Pool swimming: Tuesday, August 20 – Sunday, August 25, 2019
• Heats 9:30am GMT+2 (3:30 am EDT / 12:30 am PDT)/ Semifinals and Finals 5:30pm GMT+2 (11:30am EDT / 8:30am PDT)
• 50-meter (LCM) course
• Meet site
• Entries book
• FinaTV Live Stream (subscription required)
• Live results

While competing on day 1 prelims of the 2019 FINA World Junior Swimming Championships, American Josh Matheny cracked the Nation Age Group Record for 15-16 men in the 100m breaststroke.

Entering Budapest with a personal best time of 1:00.91 from this year’s U.S. Summer Nationals, Matheny was ranked 4th in this men’s 100m breaststroke for this morning’s heats. When it came time for the Team Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics athlete to take a dive, however, Matheny made it happen with a big-time mark of 1:00.66, slashing .25 off his previous PB to capture the 2nd seed behind American teammate Kevin Houseman. Houseman collected the top time of the morning in 1:00.52, his first time ever 1:01.

Matheny’s time included splits of 28.38/32.28 to give him his 1:00.66 lifetime best. Additionally, the teen’s time shaved .02 off of the National Age Group Record for 15-16 men, which stood at the 1:00.68 Michael Andrew set way back at the 2015 U.S. National Championships. Matheny showed a little more front-half speed than Andrew, and gave most of it back on the closing 50, but ultimately the two split their races fairly similarly.

Comparative Splits:

• Matheny, 2019 – 28.38/32.28 = 1:00.66
• Andrew, 2015 – 28.53/32.15 = 1:00.68

We’ll see what Matheny has in store for tonight’s semi-final.