Canada’s Josh Liendo wins record-tying 4th straight NCAA swimming title in 100-yard freestyle

Canadian Olympian Josh Liendo capped an historic week of swimming at the NCAA championships on Saturday in Atlanta.

The University of Florida Gators senior from Toronto posted a wire-to-wire victory in the 100-yard freestyle for a record-tying fourth consecutive title in the event and ninth overall.

Liendo, who entered the race as the third seed, recorded the second-fastest start and was first after 25 metres in 8.93 seconds, 14-100ths ahead of his closest competitor. He went on to win in 39.91, the third-fastest time in history and first man to break the 40-second barrier more than once.

In celebration, Liendo climbed the lane rope, flexed and slapped his chest.

Liendo’s winning time was 8-100ths off the NCAA mark established by Tennessee’s Jordan Crooks last season when the Canadian beat Crooks in the final with the first sub-40 performance of his career.

On Thursday, Liendo went 42.51 in the 100m butterfly preliminaries to break American Caeleb Dressel’s 2018 record. He lowered the mark to 42.49 a few hours later in the final.

In winning four 100 free titles, Liendo joins Michigan’s Gustavo Borges as the only swimmers to do so at the college level. Liendo is also the first male swimmer to four-peat in any event since former Gator Dressel won the 50 free each season from 2015 through 2018.

Besides his freestyle titles, Liendo won the 100 butterfly three times and 50 free twice while never placing lower than second place in any individual NCAA race.

Also Saturday, Liendo anchored Florida’s 4×100 freestyle relay team to third place. The squad finished second overall for the first time since 1985.

Liendo was victorious in one other race this week, clocking an 18.06-second personal best in the 50 free.

Last October, the 23-year-old set a short course (25m pool) world record in the men’s 100 fly, touching the wall in 47.68 seconds at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Toronto.

Liendo was second in the event last summer at the Canadian swimming trials in Victoria and placed fourth two months later at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.

At the 2024 Olympics, Liendo captured silver in Paris to become the first Black Canadian swimmer to win an Olympic medal and was named Swimming Canada’s male swimmer of the year.

Other notable Canadian performances:

Michigan freshman Antoine Sauve (Mont-Royal, Que.) helped his team to fifth in the 4×100 free relay.

Stanford freshman Ethan Ekk, a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, recorded a personal-best 1:38.78 for 12th in the 200 backstroke. Calgary’s Lorne Wigginton, a Michigan sophomore, shaved 1.64 seconds off his PB to place 13th (1:42.13) in the 200 individual medley.

Tristan Jankovics (Puslinch, Ont.), also representing Michigan, was 12th in the 200 IM in 1:41.93.