Photo Courtesy: The South African Swim History Project

By Ailish Dougherty, Swimming World College Intern.

Lilly Kings world record-breaking performance in the womens 100-meter breaststroke this past week at the 2017 FINA World Championships in Budapest stunned many in the swimming world. Yet at the same time, it was so unsurprising it was only a matter of time beforeher confidence would drive her to the fastest swim in history.

Kinglowered Lithuanian Ruta Meilutytes previous world record of 1:04.35, set at the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona, to a 1:04.13. Kingsfirst 50 alone was the fifth fastest 50 breaststroke in history, and the second fastest ever (tied with Jessica Hardy) done by an American.

Kinghad her sights set on a world record, and she delivered. Lets take a look at how her performance made history as the fastest 100-meter breaststroke ever swum. Going all the way back to 1921, the first recorded 100-meter breaststroke world record was set at 1:37.60 by E. Van Den Bogaert of Belgium. Thetimes then dropped sharply every one or two years for the next 30 years, getting as fast as a 1:16.90 by Eva Szkely of Hungary in 1951. The next recorded world record was set in 1958 by Karin Beyer of Germany, and it marks a shift in the way breaststroke was regulated.

In 1933, breaststrokers realized that an over-the-water arm recovery was faster and more efficient than an underwater recovery. During thisyear, American Henry Myers became the first swimmer to racewith a breaststroke frog kick paired with what we now call butterfly arms. As you can see at around the 1:40-mark in the video below from 1936, competitors began to use this technique more frequently. In 1952, however, butterfly was established as an individual stroke by FINA, and breaststrokers were forced to go back to an underwater recovery. The archive of world recordsrestarted.

Thus, a new world record was set at 1:20.31 by Germanys Beyer in 1958. However, it didnt take long for breaststrokers to evolve with the stroke, and in the next four years the worlds best timedropped by three full seconds. In the new era,Claudia Kolb became the first American to set the 100 breaststroke world record. In 1964 she set the record with her time of 1:17.90. Agnes Geraghty had been the only other American to hold the world record before 1964. Even at the 1964 Olympics, however, breaststroke looked very different than it does today. As you can see in the video below, from Tokyo in 1964, the widely-held belief at the time was that the closerone held their head to the water, the lower onekeptto the surface, the faster shewould slice through the water.

Since 1964, otherrule changesanddevelopments in techniquehave further affected the evolutionof the stroke. Breaststroke has evolved to be more undulatingand powerfulthan ever. Fourmore American women have held the coveted title since Kolb. Most recently, it wasHardyin 2009. Germany hasheld the world record in the event the most times in history, while Australia and South Africa are also top contenders. Penelope Heyns of South Africa has held the world record five times, as she brought her own record down from 1:07.46 in 1996 to a 1:06.52 in 1999, untilAustralias Leisel Jones took over with a 1:06.37.

In the past 15 years, the world record has dropped from Joness1:06.37 in 1999, to a 1:06.20 by Hardy in 2005, to 1:05.09 by Jones in 2006. In 2009, American Rebecca Soni was the first woman under 1:05.00, swimming to a WR of 1:04.84 in 2009.However, she did not hold the title for long, as Hardy lowered it to 1:04.45 just 11 days later. Finally, Meilutytes 1:04.35 has held strong since 2013. Until now.

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

King is the seventh American woman to ever hold the world record in this event. Why? As we all have seen, Kings stroke rate is incredibly fast, which has been a common theme inrecent history. However, what King does differently is that she retains her energy remarkably throughout her races, allowing her to keep up her stroke count and out-pace her competition. She also gets incredible height during her pull, so that on the recovery, she can drive her hands forward with power getting more distance perstroke than ever before. Kings breakout speed is also incredibly quick, just as Hardys was. Her closing speed, though, is unmatched by any breaststroker.

Elite womens breaststroke has quicklybeen improving over the past century and its only going to get faster. When asked about Kings world-record breaking swim, Meilutyte (the only Lithuanian world record-holder in the event in history) said that she had been expecting it.

Photo Courtesy: NY Times // Womens 100M Breaststroke World Record Progression

Meilutytewas also very hopeful about the future, and her place in it,

Its amazing to see how much womens breaststroke is improving. I think were going to see a 1:03 one day, so its just a matter of time, really. I think withthe progress that the distance is going, its definitely possible. I will certainly do my best to be in the mix.

As for King, she has said that she is never completely satisfied with a swim, so shewill surely be looking to be the first woman in history under 1:04 flat. And when she sets her mind to something, she does it.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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The Evolution of the Women's 100-Meter Breaststroke World Record - Swimming World Magazine