By Riley Overend on SwimSwam
Ryan Held twice clocked an unofficial pool record of 9.57 swimming the short course meters (SCM) 25 freestyle at Arizona State’s head-to-head tournament this week in Tempe, ultimately prevailing in the final against Jack Dolan by less than a tenth of a second.
Held, a 28-year-old Olympic champion back at Rio 2016, posted a time of 9.63 in the championship round to beat Dolan’s 9.70.
The top overall seed among the 16 swimmers in the bracket, Held blazed a pair of 9.57s to take down ASU graduate Grant House (9.90) in the quarterfinals and rising senior Patrick Sammon (10.15) in the semis. House was slightly faster in the first round at 9.89 during his victory against incoming freshman Tolu Young (10.32) of Fiji.
Dolan eliminated Michigan graduate transfer Cam Peel (10.11) and rising junior Jonny Kulow (10.03) en route to the final with times of 9.78 and 9.84, respectively. Kulow posted his fastest time (10.00) in the first round against rising junior Andy Dobrzanski (10.60).
Held continued his streak of wins at ASU’s 25 free “World Championships” after earning the past three titles in the yards version of the Sun Devils’ tournament. He went 8.4 in the 25-yard free during his victory last October and 8.19 last February, just short of his unofficial record that stands at 7.96.
- Related: Ryan Held Clocks 48.30 100 Free at Sun Devil Open, Beats Fellow Olympic Hopeful Jonny Kulow
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Ryan Held Swims 9.57 SCM 25 Free, Wins Four-Round Tournament at Arizona State