2026 U.S. National Championships: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap ...Middle East

By Sean Griffin on SwimSwam

2026 U.S. National Championships

Happy Friday everyone, it’s time for the fourth day of the 2026 U.S. National Championships! There are just three events on the schedule this morning–the 400 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, and 100 backstroke–but there should be plenty of action.

Stay tuned for live updates.

Women’s 400 Freestyle — Prelims

Championship Final Qualifiers: 

A trio of 4:08-point swims highlighted the prelims of the women’s 400m free.

Virginia rising sophomore Madi Mintenko claimed the top qualifying spot with a time of 4:08.10, with Saint Petersburg Aquatics’ Brinkleigh Hansen (4:08.36) and Texas rising junior Kate Hurst (4:08.84) rounding out the top three qualifiers.

Mintenko, who finished eighth a year ago, was within striking distance of her two-year-old lifetime best of 4:07.53 from the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials. She’s coming off a big-time lifetime best of 1:55.87 in the 200m free earlier in the meet, a swim that earned her bronze.

Hansen’s time this morning sliced over three seconds off her former best of 4:11.73 from the 2025 U.S. National Championships, where she touched 13th.

As for Hurst, she hacked over a second off her career best of 4:10.34 from the 2025 Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series.

Men’s 400 Freestyle — Prelims

Championship Final Qualifiers: 

The second- and third-place finishers from the 2025 U.S. National Championships led all qualifiers into the men’s 400m free final.

17-year-old Luka Mijatovic clocked a time of 3:47.55 to edge out rising Cal sophomore Ryan Erisman, the 200 free champion, (3:47.94) by just under four tenths, with rising Harvard sophomore William Mulgrew (3:48.03) nearly making it three under 3:48.

Mijatovic’s best time rests at the 3:45.20 he swam at the Sacramento Pro Swim Series stop in May, while Erisman boasts a PB of 3:44.20 from the AP Race International in May, and Mulgrew obliterated his former best time of 3:51.28 from the FG SFTL Fort Lauderdale Open in April.

Women’s 100 Breaststroke — Prelims

Championship Final Qualifiers: 

Kate Douglass, the reigning national champion and world championship silver medalist in this 100m breast event, clocked a time of 1:06.25 to advance first to tonight’s finals by exactly eight tenths of a second.

Three swimmers dipped under the 1:08 threshold, with 2024 U.S. Olympian Emma Weber (1:07.05) qualifying second overall and 50 breast champion McKenzie Siroky (1:07.24) right on her heels.

Douglass’ best time remains the 1:05.27 she posted at the 2025 World Championships, while Weber holds a lifetime best of 1:06.10 from the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, and Siroky recently logged 1:06.20 at the Barcelona leg of the Mare Nostrum circuit in May.

Men’s 100 Breaststroke — Prelims

Championship Final Qualifiers: 

There was a trio of sub-1:00 swims in the men’s 100m breast prelims, with all three swimmers clocking new personal bests.

Indiana Swim Club’s Alexei Avakov led the way in 59.29, with Tennessee’s Gabe Nunziata swimming a time of 59.67 to grab the second seed and Texas Ford Aquatics’ Luke Barr notching 59.88 for third overall.

Entering the day, Avakov’s lifetime best rested at the 59.45 he produced at the U.S. Open in December, while Nunziata crushed his former best time of 1:00.36 from the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, and Barr undercut the 1:00.06 PB he swam at the Indianapolis Pro Swim Series last month.

Women’s 100 Backstroke — Prelims

Championship Final Qualifiers: 

The on-fire Isabelle Stadden threw down a time of 58.03 to lead the women’s 100m back prelims by over a full second. The UVA-trained pro leads training partner Claire Curzan (59.15) and the fast-improving Maggie Wanezek (59.21).

Stadden remains ranked second in the world so far this season, courtesy of the 57.55 she threw down at the Fort Lauderdale Open in May to elevate her to the #3 performer in world history.

2025-2026 LCM Women 100 BACK

Curzan, the 2024 world champion, holds a lifetime best of 58.24 from the 2024 World Championships, while Wanezek swam 58.78 at the Indianapolis Pro Swim Series last month.

Men’s 100 Backstroke — Prelims

Championship Final Qualifiers: 

Indiana’s Owen McDonald dropped 64 one-hundredths from his lifetime best in the men’s 100m back, swimming a time of 53.48 to claim the top seed.

Texas pro Jack Wilkening (53.66) and Tennessee rising sophomore Ulises Saravia (53.73) also both broke the 54-second barrier to book their tickets as the #2 and #3 seeds.

Both Wilkening and Saravia missed out on their lifetime bests; Wilkening has been as quick as 53.37 back at the Indy Cup in May 2024, and Saravia just missed out on his 53.58 lifetime best from the Cannet stop of the Mare Nostrum circuit in May.

Of note, 200 back champion David King (54.39), World University Games bronze medalist Daniel Diehl (54.45), and reigning junior national champion Gavin Keogh (54.45) all missed out on the final, finishing ninth and equal 10th.

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