WATCH: Kate Douglass swims 200 breast in 2:01.43, breaks American and US open record
Kate Douglass is an Olympic bronze medallist and one of the top swimmers at last year's NCAA Championships. Her reputation as a swimmer has grown well in the past few years and is definitely a star for the future in the sport of swimming.
The New York-born swimmer broke the American and US Open record in the 200-yard breaststroke. She achieved this feat during the 2023 Cavalier Invitational. The race was held in a 25-yard pool. Kate Douglass clocked a time of 2:01.43. In fact, Kate didn't overtake anyone else's record, but her own.
Her previous record was 2:01.87 which she clocked during the 2022 Tennessee Invite. This is also the third time Kate has broken the American and US Open records.
In a video posted on a YouTube channel named "UVa Swimming" on February 5, 2023, the New York-born swimmer swam the 200-yard breaststroke. It was a three-person suited time trial. With Kate representing the University of Virginia, the other two swimmers were Anna Keating and Emma Weber.
The Olympic bronze medallist started in lane five and swam in a 25-yard pool. Kate started well and gained her lead through the halfway mark during the first 25 yards. She continued to lead throughout the race. Douglass created an almost body-length lead halfway through the 100 yards.
Kate continued to maintain her lead throughout the race and it looked highly impossible for the other two swimmers to overtake Kate as she had established an extremely huge lead.
She eventually won the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:01.43. According to Swimswam, Kate Douglass first broke the 200-yard breaststroke record back in March 2022 when she clocked a time of 2:02.19 and broke Lilly King's American, US Open and NCAA record time of 2:02.60 which was set in 2018.
The other two swimmers, Anna and Emma clocked a time of 2:07.91 and 2:08.41 respectively. As per Swimswam, the official NCAA rule states that swims that are conducted in time trials do not count as NCAA records. So Kate's swim at the "2023 Cavalier Invite" is considered an American and US Open record only.
Kate Douglass leads the way in the all-time top performances in the women's 200-yard breaststroke
Kate has several of the fastest times in the 200-yard breaststroke. According to Swimswam, she owns four out of the seven fastest times in the 200-yard breaststroke. The seven fastest times of the 200-yard breaststroke according to Swimswam is attached below,
- Kate Douglass, Virginia - 2:01.43 (2023)
- Kate Douglass, Virginia - 2:01.87 (2022)
- Kate Douglass, Virginia - 2:02.19 (2022)
- Lilly King, Indiana - 2:02.60 (2018)
- Lilly King, Indiana - 2:02.90 (2019)
- Alex Walsh, Virginia - 2:03.02 (2022)
- Kate Douglass, Virginia - 2:03.14 (2022)
How many events did Kate Douglass win at the 2022 NCAA Championships?
The 2022 NCAA Championships were held at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. Kate won a total of seven titles at the 2022 NCAA Championships, with three singles and four relay titles.
Her singles titles include the 50 freestyle, 100 butterfly and 200 breaststroke events. In the relay event, Kate and her teammates helped the University of Virginia emerge victorious with titles in the 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay, 200 medley relay and 400 medley relay events.
Kate's performance proved to be crucial for the University of Virginia, clinching their second consecutive NCAA Team Title. The University of Virginia scored a total of 551.5 points.