The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
McBroom awarded NCAA record in 1,000-yard freestyle
02.05.2013 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Feb. 5, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas - The NCAA has awarded University of Texas senior swimmer Michael McBroom the NCAA record in the 1000-yard freestyle by way of his performance in UT's Senior Day meet against Arizona and SMU (Feb. 1).
McBroom (The Woodlands, Texas) kicked off UT's double-dual meet against Arizona and SMU by winning the 1,000-yard freestyle in 8 minutes, 43.48 seconds. The swim broke the school record previously held by Michael Klueh, who finished the initial 1,000 yards of the 1,650-yard freestyle in 8:46.88 at the 2008 NCAA Championships.
The 1,000-yard freestyle is not contested at the NCAA Championships. A review of NCAA records during Friday's competition did not reveal a listing of a NCAA record in the 1,000-yard freestyle. However, the NCAA informed UT officials on Saturday (Feb. 2) that McBroom's performance did indeed set a NCAA record.
The performance was to be certified as a NCAA record upon the NCAA Swimming and Diving Secretary-Rules Editor's review of additional documentation, which included copies of the official meet results and bulkhead measurements for the pool lane in which the performance took place.
Tuesday, the NCAA awarded McBroom the record, which eclipsed the previous mark of 8:44.11 set by Michigan's Chris Thompson in 2001. Likewise, the NCAA also recognized North Carolina's Stephanie Peacock as the NCAA record holder in the women's 1,000-yard freestyle.
"It's great to get the NCAA record," McBroom said. "I'm trying to get faster and faster and see what I can do in the mile (1,650 freestyle). I told (UT head men's swimming and diving coach) Eddie Reese before the race I thought I could go 8:52 in that race. I didn't think I was ready to break a record that night. I just went for it and put some intensity behind that race, and it worked out well for me."
McBroom swam at The University of Minnesota as a freshman before transferring to Texas in time for the 2010-11 season. In March of 2011, McBroom returned to his old home pool for the first time as a Longhorn and won the national title in the 1,650-yard freestyle.
McBroom is a five-time All-American who represented the United States in December at the FINA Short Course World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey.
McBroom enjoyed a tremendous month of January before taking off on his record-breaking swim on Feb. 1. He won his primary events in UT's meets at Auburn and Georgia and added a win in the 1500m freestyle at the USA Swimming Austin Grand Prix.
CollegeSwimming.com tabs Texas No. 1
CollegeSwimming.com lists Texas at the top slot in its men's college swimming rankings, which takes into account meets completed over the last four weeks.
In that four-week span, Texas defeated Georgia and TCU on the road before coming home to sweep Arizona and SMU on Feb. 1.
Texas hosts the Big 12 Championships beginning Feb. 27 at UT's Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center.
