The Week That Was: Pair of NCAA Records Tumble At Pac-12’s

Photo Courtesy: McKenna Ehrmantraut

This week was another busy one for Division I college swimming, with two more records falling and several of the biggest teams across the country giving a glimpse of what is to come at NCAA’s later this month. Check out the highlights from those college meets and the other biggest stories of the week in the week that was!

The Week That Was #5 – Division III Water Polo National Champs Set For 2019-20 Season

This week it was announced that Division III Water Polo will be getting its own men’s and women’s Division III NCAA Championships beginning in the 2019-20 season. The news was shared in a joint announcement from the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA), the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletics Conference (SCIAC), and USA Water Polo. This will be the first-ever national championships for water polo at the Division III level, and is a testament to the growing number of schools offering the sport. You can read the official press release from the CWPA here.

The Week That Was #4 – 2020 Tokyo Olympic Medals Will Be 100% Recycled

Photo Courtesy: The Japan Times

The medals for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo will be made from 100% recycled material. The initiative is part of the Tokyo 2020 Medal Project, which started in 2017 with the goal of collecting 30.3kg of gold, 4,100kg of silver and 2,700kg of bronze from used electronic devices such as cell phones and computers. This will be the first time in history that the Olympic medals will come from 100% recycled material. Roughly 30% of the silver and bronze medals used for the 2016 Rio Olympics came from recycled materials. The organizing committee plans to release the designs of the medals later this year.

The Week That Was #3 – Olympic Silver Medalist Jazz Carlin Announces Retirement

Photo Courtesy: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Two-time Olympic silver medalist Jazz Carlin announced her retirement from swimming this week on her social media accounts. Carlin was a silver medalist in the 400 and 800 freestyles at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games behind Katie Ledecky. The Rio Games was Carlin’s last major international meet as a pool swimmer. She withdrew from the 2017 World Championships and was an open water swimmer at the 2018 European Championships. Carlin’s 400 free best time (4:01.23) from the 2016 Olympics ranks her third all-time in Great Britain behind Joanne Jackson and Rebecca Adlington. Her 800 best time (8:15.54) from the 2014 Europeans ranks her second all-time in Britain behind Adlington. Carlin also retires holding the British record in the 1500 free at 15:47.26 as the only British swimmer to break 16 minutes in the event.

The Week That Was #2 – ISHOF Historian Bob Duenkal Passes Away

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

This week long-time International Swimming Hall of Fame employee Bob Duenkel passed away after a long battle with illness. He was 74 years old. Duenkel had an incredible passion for the sport of swimming, as evidenced by his 40+ years working as a historian, curator, interim CEO, and eventually Executive Director of ISHOF. During his time working for the Hall of Fame Duenkel presided over 40 years of ISHOF induction ceremonies, getting a firsthand look at much of swimming history. Duenkel was also a highly-respected long distance coach, working In the summer of 1976, he also took over Camp Chikopi, a boys Sports and Wilderness Camp in Ontario, Canada that was the world’s first swimming camp, founded in 1920. In lieu of flowers, you can donate to Bob’s charity here.

The Week That Was #1 – Two NCAA Records Fall At Pac 12 Championships

Photo Courtesy: McKenna Ehrmantraut

This was another big weekend in conference action around the country, with a pair of NCAA record falling at the women’s Pac-12 Championships. USC junior Louise Hansson became the fastest in history in the 100 fly with a 49.34, breaking Kelsi Worrell’s record of 49.43 from 2016. Abbey Weitzeil also had some standout swims, including a key anchor leg in Cal’s 400 free relay that broke Stanford’s 2018 NCAA record in the event with a 3:07.41. Stanford, though, defended their Pac-12 championship title. Across the country, Texas came away with their 23rd (men) and 7th (women) Big 12 Championship, Indiana won their 3rd straight men’s Big Ten men’s championship, and NC State won their 5th straight ACC men’s championship. And at men’s Ivy Championships, Harvard junior Dean Farris rocked the fastest 800 free relay split in history (1:30.22) to open the meet before breaking his own conference record in the 200 free (1:30.83) and 100 free (41.42) to help Harvard to their 3rd straight Ivy League title. You can catch up on all the weekend’s college coverage here.

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