ATLANTA – One day after becoming a national champion, University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas tied for fifth place in Friday’s 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA swimming championships at McAuley Aquatic Center.
Stanford junior and Canadian Olympian Taylor Ruck claimed the title, out-touching Cal senior Isabel Ivey at the wall in 1 minute, 41.12 seconds to set a McAuley Aquatic Center record. It was the second time a pool record was set in the 200 freestyle at the NCAA championships. Ruck’s time was 2.02 seconds off Missy Franklin’s NCAA record of 1:39.10 set in 2015.
“I’m so glad to have my teammates behind me,” Ruck said in a post-race interview with Elizabeth Beisel on ESPN. “This whole season has just been a blast being back. I’m so grateful to have them here.”
On Thursday, Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win a Division I national championship when she won the 500…
