There are few titles Missy Franklin has yet to claim in swimming, but she did notch a first Friday with the fastest short course 200-yard freestyle in history.
The four-time 2012 Olympic champion won her maiden NCAA Championship in Minneapolis after finishing second in two events Thursday.
Franklin, 18, beat the 200 free field by more than a body length (1.95 seconds) in 1 minute, 40.31 seconds. She dusted the previous record of 1:41.21 set by 2013 World Championships teammate Megan Romano in 2012. (USA Swimming has the fastest performances in history here).
Franklin left no doubt, taking a lead of .75 after 50 yards and building and building and building. She said it was a bit of a relief after being caught by Georgia’s Brittany MacLean in the 500 free Thursday.
“The 200 is a little bit more my style,” Franklin said on ESPN3. “I knew it was a really tough field. I was right next to [MacLean], who came home in a 25 in the 500 [Thursday]. I knew I was going to have to be out fast.”
NCAA Swimming is done in short course yards (25-yard pools) as opposed to major international swim meets that are mostly done in 50-meter pools (some in 25-meter pools). So, most top times in short course yards events are held by Americans.
Franklin is expected to swim one more individual event Saturday, the 100 free. She’s the top seed entering the prelims.