Ryan Erisman Makes Statement With World-Class Distance Times in London
One year ago, Ryan Erisman clobbered his best times at U.S. Nationals to nearly put himself on the World Championships team. In the 400 freestyle final, the teenager sat in fifth place throughout before charging down the stretch, passing swimmers including Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Kieran Smith. Erisman ended up just three tenths behind runnerup Luka Mijatovic, his time of 3:46.01 two seconds quicker than he had ever gone before and under the 17-18 National Age Group held for the previous 21 years by Larsen Jensen.
That was the highlight of a stellar summer season for Erisman, who also placed fifth in the 800 free at the national meet before winning three medals in his first senior-level appearance for the United States at the World University Games. Erisman claimed bronze medals in the 400 and 800-meter races while helping the United States to gold in the 800 free relay.
Now, one year into his college career at Cal, Erisman has taken the next step toward becoming an impact mid-distance performer for the Stars and Stripes. Racing last weekend at the AP London International, Erisman rapidly ascended the American rankings in his two main events.
Ryan Erisman — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
His performance in the 1500 free on the meet’s opening day provided a glimpse as Erisman got under 15:00 for the first time. A day later, he went head-to-head with German Oliver Klemet in the 400 and emerged only two hundredths behind, clocking 3:44.03. That was another two-second drop, and it made him the eighth-fastest American ever in the event.
Previously, Rex Maurer had been the only American swimmer to dip below 3:45 in the past four years, but Erisman now owns a much quicker lifetime best than Mijatovic or Olympic finalist Aaron Shackell. Even Smith’s best time, achieved in that Olympic-medal-winning effort five years ago, is less than a tenth better. The time is also world-class by any measure. It would have been quick enough to place fourth in last year’s World Championship final. Only seven swimmers surpassed that time all of 2025, and entering this year’s summer season, Erisman ranks fifth in the world.
Moreover, Erisman’s emergence suggests that the 400 free might no longer be the weakest event for the U.S. men. The Americans have not captured a World Championships medal in the event since 2013, but next year’s selection meet could feature three swimmers capable of challenging for medals in the eight-lap event with Maurer, Mijatovic and Erisman.
Erisman should challenge for qualification spots in the 800 as well. The final day in London brought a time of 7:45.42, good for second place behind German Johannes Liebmann and ahead of Klemet and Florian Wellbrock. Yet another massive time drop as Erisman cut more than seven from his medal-winning time from last year’s WUGs. As with his 400, this time would have reached last year’s World Championships final and placed fourth, and he now sits fourth globally in 2026.
Among still-active Americans, Tokyo Olympic champion Bobby Finke and Luke Whitlock are the only swimmers with quicker best times. Mijatovic had made a statement with a time of 7:47.08 a few days earlier at the USA Swimming Pro Series in Sacramento, Calif., but Erisman moved ahead of him in this event, too. Safe to say this event has improved drastically since that last selection meet, when Finke was the only American swimmer to even achieve the Worlds qualifying mark in the 800.
Perhaps Erisman could expand his range even further in advance of the 2027 national meet, at which swimmers will book tickets to the Budapest World Championships. His most recent time of 14:59.30 in the 1500, which marked a 21-second drop since last year, is within two seconds of David Johnston’s runnerup time in the event from last year’s Nationals. He also dropped more than eight tenths in the 200 free between June 2025 and January 2026, a 1:46.60 clocking putting Erisman on the cusp of relay contention.
Erisman will not have another chance to race internationally this summer, but he will watch as younger sister Rylee makes her debut on the American “A” team at the Pan Pacific Championships in August. Rylee has quickly ascended into one of the top female sprinters in the U.S. ranks, and Ryan might not be far behind.