Senior swimmer Matt Fallon competed in the semifinals of the U.S. Olympic Trials at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Credit: Anna VazhaeparambilINDIANAPOLIS — Rising senior Matt Fallon did Matt Fallon things in his first races at the United States Olympic Trials in Lucas Oil Stadium.
After this past Tuesday's prelims and evening’s semifinals, the Warren, N.J. native is the first seed heading into tomorrow’s finals, where the first-place finisher and second-place finisher (pending roster cap limitations) qualify for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team and will compete in this summer’s games in Paris. Fallon earned his seeding in the final with a historic finish in the semifinal heat, notching a 2:07.39 time to become the second-fastest American of all time in the 200-meter breaststroke.
The 2023 World Championships bronze medalist was the top seed going into today’s prelims. Close behind him in the psych sheets was fellow New Jerseyan Nic Fink, who qualified for his second Olympics earlier this week in the 100m breaststroke. Fallon and Fink were in lanes four and five in the last of the circle-seeded heats, and they didn’t disappoint.
Fallon had a on-par reaction time to his competitors with a time of 0.64 seconds. While off to a good start, he was near the back of the pack. At the first 50, Fallon touched the wall in the seventh — splitting 30.10 seconds.
However, as usual, Fallon utilized his incredible back half to push through to the lead at the 150 — splitting 33.23 and 32.90 in his second and third 50s respectively. In the final lap, Fallon kept a comfortable lead ahead of everyone else — finishing first in his heat and securing a spot in the semifinals later that evening.
However, Fallon didn’t swim the fastest time in the prelims. Virginia Tech graduate Ananias Pouch had the fastest time of the afternoon with 2:08.25 while Fallon’s 2023 World Championships teammate and University of Indiana rising senior Josh Matheny was second with a time of 2:09.59.
This evening, in the semifinals, Fallon swam in the second heat, with Pouch next to him in lane four. Fallon got off to a faster start in this race compared to prelims. In his first 50, he was third at the wall — splitting 29.59 seconds. Notably, this is the fastest Fallon has ever opened the race.
At the 100, Fallon moved up to second. His 100 split was 1:01.74 seconds, which is notably two seconds faster than his afternoon swim. Fallon’s front-half speed work from his past season was clearly paying off. However, he was still behind Pouch for first. In his third 50, Fallon made his move and maintained his speed — splitting almost the exact same time in his third 50 from earlier that day to overtake Pouch for the lead.
Fallon never looked back in his last 50 meters. He touched the wall in first in a time of 2:07.39 for a new lifetime best — shaving off 0.32 seconds from his previous best from the 2023 Philipps 66 National Championships. When Fallon looked up at the scoreboard after, his jaw dropped in shock. His time is a mark that is mere tenths of a second away from the American Record of 2:07.17, and it notched him as the second-fastest American in the event all-time.
The current American record holder, Josh Prenot — who set the time at the 2016 Olympic Trials and won a silver in Rio — seems confident that Fallon will break his record. He tweeted out a meme claiming that Fallon clocking in at sub-2:07 is “inevitable.”
Records aside, a ticket to Paris is on the line this Wednesday for Fallon. NBC will begin coverage of the 200-meter breaststroke finals, as well as several other events, tomorrow at 8:00 p.m EDT.
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