Gators Well Represented at Swimming National Championships

Twenty-two current and former Florida Gators swim team members are taking part in the 2022 Phillips 66 National Championships starting Tuesday.

The Gators have 11 men and 11 women competing over the course of the five-day event.

Here’s what we can expect from those representing the orange and blue.

Ledecky Leading the Way

Without any surprise, Katie Ledecky headlines the long list of Gators representatives. While her tie to UF comes through coaching, she is still one of the most accomplished female swimmers in history.

Just days after being awarded “Best Female Athlete” at the 2022 ESPYs, Ledecky will return to the pool to compete in the 100m free, 800m free, 200m free, and 400m IM events.

All eyes will be on her for the 800m event, where she has found much success over her storied career including winning her fifth straight World Championship in the event last month.

The 10-time Olympic medalist has broken 37 American swimming records and will look to add to that tally in Irvine this week.

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All-American Talent

Although Ledecky headlines the list of the Gators’ representatives, there is certainly no lack of talent in the rest of the field.

Three All-Americans also take to the pool to compete in nine different events at the National Championships.

Junior Talia Bates, a Gainesville native, will take on more events than any of the other women as she competes in the 100m free, 200m free, 200m back, 100m fly, 100m back, and 50m free events.

Katie Mack and Kathleen Golding will also be in the spotlight, competing in a combined six events.

High Hopes on the Men’s Side

Turning to the men’s field, there is tremendous potential for the Gators to perform well, with multiple Olympians and All-Americans taking part in several events.

Bobby Finke will be the center of attention come the 800m and 1500m freestyle events. The eight-time All-American won Gold in both of these events at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, setting an American record in the process.

Kieran Smith will look to build off of his Bronze at the 2020 Tokyo games in the 400m event. He will take part in the 400m on, along with five other events.

All-Americans Brennan Gravley and Dillon Hillis will compete in a total of seven different events, including the 100m breast event in which Hillis earned Silver at the 2021 NCAA Championships.

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