American Anna Moesch broke the American record in the women’s 100m freestyle for the second time this season, clocking 51.88 seconds to win at the Toyota USA Swimming National Championships on Tuesday.
Moesch, a rising University of Virginia junior, lowered her own American record of 51.94 that she swam on May 25. Olympic gold medalist Simone Manuel held the previous record of 52.04.
Moesch’s 51.88 is the fifth-fastest time in history globally, trailing only three times from Dutchwoman Marrit Steenbergen, who owns the world record of 51.68, and one time from former world record holder Sarah Sjostrom of Sweden.
Moesch has been a breakout swimmer this year. She tied for eighth in the 100m free at the 2024 Olympic Trials, was sixth at the 2025 U.S. Championships and went into this year with a personal best of 53.54.
SWIMMING NATIONALS: Results | Broadcast Schedule
“Think I’ve changed a lot about every part of my stroke, my kick, my stroke, my underwaters, my start,” Moesch said on the NBC Sports broadcast in Irvine, California. “I’m really learning how to piece them all together.”
Also Tuesday, nine-time Olympic gold medalist Caeleb Dressel won the men’s 100m free, his first win in any individual event at a top-level meet since the 2024 Olympic Trials 100m butterfly.
More on Dressel’s victory here.
Nationals continue Wednesday with finals live at 9 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN.
Luca Urlando, the 2025 World champion, held off Ilya Kharun, the 2024 Olympic bronze medalist, to win the men’s 200m butterfly by 14 hundredths in 1:54.45.
Urlando swam the event for the first time since winning worlds last July after dealing with injury. He now ranks third in the world this year by best time behind Olympic gold medalist Leon Marchand of France (1:53.08) and Japan’s Tomoyuki Matshushita (1:54.28).
Kharun, who won Olympic 100m and 200m fly bronze for his birth nation of Canada, is in the process of switching nationality to the U.S., where he was raised in Las Vegas. It will go into effect this fall.
Rising Michigan senior Hannah Bellard took the women’s 200m fly in 2:06.86, chopping 3.06 seconds off her personal best going into the meet. Bellard was 27th at the 2024 Olympic Trials and did not compete at 2025 Nationals.
The only faster American this year is two-time Olympic 200m fly silver medalist Regan Smith, who is not racing at nationals as she preps for the Pan Pacific Championships in two weeks, also in Irvine.
