By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers what caught them off guard the most at the U.S. National Championships earlier this month in Indianapolis:
Question: What was the biggest surprise of U.S. Nationals?
RESULTS
McKean hits 58.9 100 breast – 31.3% Bricker upsets Smith in 200 fly – 25.7% Condorelli cracks Worlds roster – 15.8% Bacon takes second 200 IM spot (after 2BK miss) – 7.7% Finke upends Foster in 400 IM – 6.4% Mijatovic cracks Worlds roster – 5.6% Curzan wins 200 back over Smith – 5.4% Weinstein’s free range levels up – 1.5% Other – 0.7%The 2025 U.S. Nationals delivered a thrilling mix of surprise, intrigue, and standout performances, and in the aftermath of the event, we asked SwimSwam readers what surprised them the most earlier this month in Indianapolis.
Two performances stood above the rest when it came to stunning swims in Indy: Campbell McKean in the men’s 100 breast, and Caroline Bricker in the women’s 200 fly.
Leading the way in the poll was McKean, who answered the bell as the Americans were in dire need of someone to step up in the men’s 100 breast with Nic Fink not in the field after serving as the go-to guy on the medley relay for the last three years.
McKean, 18, came into the meet with a personal best time of 1:00.40 in the 100 breast, set just one month prior to Nationals at the Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim, and brought that mark down to 1:00.18 in the prelims to advance 2nd into the final behind Josh Matheny (59.80).
In the final, McKean overtook Matheny with a sizzling second 50 to book the victory in a time of 58.96, knocking well over a second off his personal best time to shatter the boys’ 17-18 National Age Group Record of 59.82, set by Michael Andrew in 2016.
The swim for McKean also made him the first 18 & under swimmer in history to break 59 in the 100 breast (by birthday, as he’ll turn 19 later this year, making him ineligible to break the World Junior Record).
Many had predicted the Texas commit to take over as the top American in the 100 breast this year, but it’s fair to say seeing him go under 59 seconds was a shock.
Finishing a close 2nd in the poll with more than a quarter of the votes was Bricker, who pulled off a stunning upset in the very first final of the meet in the women’s 200 fly.
Coming in, it felt like a foregone conclusion that Regan Smith would win the 200 fly easily, while Alex Shackell was the favorite to place 2nd, with youngster Audrey Derivaux also moving into contention after going 2:06.46 in Fort Lauderdale.
Smith is the only American in history to break 2:04 in the event, first clocking 2:03.87 in 2023 before winning Olympic silver in Paris in 2:03.84. Coming into Nationals, she had already been 2:05.38 in the 2024-25 season.
Juxtapose that to Bricker, who entered the meet with a personal best time of 2:09.12 from the 2024 Olympic Trials, more than five seconds slower than Smith’s PB.
In the prelims at Nationals, Smith led the way in 2:06.25, while Bricker set a new PB of 2:07.37 to qualify 2nd overall.
In the final, Smith pulled ahead of Bricker on the second 50 and extended it on the third, leading Bricker by nearly nine-tenths at the final turn, but Bricker stormed home with a 33.20 split, running down Smith (34.11) to claim the victory by five one-hundredths in 2:05.80.
McKean’s 100 breast and Bricker’s upset win in the 200 fly dominated the poll, while the only other option earning over 10% of votes was Santo Condorelli cracking the World Championship roster.
Condorelli, 30, grew up competing in the U.S. and was a junior national champion during his time with the Bolles School Sharks in the early 2010s, but gained Canadian sporting citizenship in 2015, going on to represent Canada at the World Championships and Rio Olympic Games.
He then represented Italy internationally, including at the Tokyo Olympic Games, but made the decision to return to swimming for the U.S. in 2023. He applied to switch his sporting citizenship back to the U.S. ahead of the 2024 Olympic Trials on the basis that he would be eligible before the Olympic Games, but an arbitrator ultimately denied that appeal.
Coming into the final day of Nationals, Condorelli wasn’t really on anyone’s radar as the 50 free was his lone entry in Indianapolis, meaning he hadn’t yet raced.
After a solid prelim swim of 21.87, he blasted his way to a time of 21.68 in the final, resetting his personal best (21.83) by a wide margin to snag 2nd behind Jack Alexy, out-touching Jonny Kulow (21.73) and Quintin McCarty (21.79) to qualify to represent his third nation at the World Championships.
Condorelli making the Worlds team earned more than 15% of votes in the poll, while Phoebe Bacon qualifying for Singapore in the women’s 200 IM after missing in her best event (200 back), Bobby Finke running down Carson Foster for the win in the men’s 400 IM, 16-year-old Luka Mijatovic cracking the roster in the men’s 400 free, and Claire Curzan upsetting Smith to win the women’s 200 back all earned between 5 and 7% of the votes.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: Which country/event combination is most likely to break a super-suited relay world record in Singapore?
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE
A3 Performance is an independently-owned, performance swimwear company built on a passion for swimming, athletes, and athletic performance. We encourage swimmers to swim better and faster at all ages and levels, from beginners to Olympians. Driven by a genuine leader and devoted staff that are passionate about swimming and service, A3 Performance strives to inspire and enrich the sport of swimming with innovative and impactful products that motivate swimmers to be their very best – an A3 Performer.The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
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