Van Mathias Clocks 26.39 To Lower Nic Fink’s 50 Breast American Record, Now #8 All-Time

By Sam Blacker on SwimSwam

2026 Bergen Swim Competition

Friday, April seventeenth – Sunday, April nineteenth
Prelims at 9:00am native (3:00am ET)/Finals at 6pm native (Midday ET)
Bergen, Norway
Alexander Dale Oen (AdO) Enviornment, Bergen (50m Olympic pool)
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Van Mathias set the primary American document of his profession this morning, reducing Nic Fink’s mark of 26.45 within the 50 breast with a 26.39 swim in prelims on the 2026 Bergen Swim Competition.

That sliced 0.18 seconds off Mathias’ earlier better of 26.57, swum on the Professional Swim Sequence in January. It was his third PB in breaststroke at this meet, after reducing his 100 breaststroke greatest in each heats and finals on Friday to clock 58.19, the #2 swim by an American in historical past.

Mathias has been on an absolute tear in breaststroke since returning to racing on the Indy Cup Time Trials final June. He had stepped away from racing after wrapping up his NCAA profession with silver within the 100 breast on the 2023 NCAA Championships, taking up the place of Director of (dr)Ops at Indiana

Nevertheless, after U.S. nationals final June the coaching workers at Indiana believed he had the chance to make his mark on the nationwide stage. That was justified when he clocked a large lifetime better of 26.76 at U.S. summer season nationals within the 50 breast, the quickest swim by a U.S. man throughout the Pan Pacs qualifying window.

That noticed him make the group for the championships in Irvine this summer season. Though he made that group by advantage of the 50 breast, he may have the chance to enter a number of occasions so we are going to seemingly see him within the 100 breast and 50 fly as nicely, each of which he has swum PBs on this week.

His swim this morning led the sector by 1.25 seconds, with fellow Indiana alum Finn Brooks 2nd in 27.64. Mathias has gained the 100 breast and 50 fly thus far, clocking lifetime bests of 58.19 and 22.99 respectively.

Mathias strikes as much as take over high spot on this planet rankings this season, overtaking the 26.51 that Simone Cerasuolo swam on the Italian Championships final evening. World document holder Adam Peaty is third with the 26.64 he swam on the Aquatics GB Championships on Wednesday.

Mathias leapfrogs Michael Andrew (26.52) and Nic Fink (26.45) within the U.S. rankings, and now owns the quickest swim by a U.S. man within the final two years by over half a second. Campbell McKean (26.90) and Andrew (26.92) took the highest two spots at U.S. Nationals final June.

Amongst swimmers who will seemingly be swimming on the Pan Pacific Championships this summer season, Mathias now ranks second behind Australia’s 2024 world champion Sam Williamson (26.32). Nevertheless, Williamson remains to be on the comeback path after struggling a severe knee damage final summer season, and has solely been 27.08 thus far this season.

Mathias strikes as much as develop into the Eighth-fastest man in historical past. He sits 0.42 seconds away from Adam Peaty’s world document of 25.95 with finals nonetheless to come back tonight.

Males’s 50 Breast, All-Time High Ten

Adam Peaty (GBR) – 25.95, 2017 World Championships
Qin Haiyang (CHN) – 26.20, 2023 World Championships
Ludovico Viberti (ITA) – 26.27, 2025 Sette Colli
Ilya Shymanovich (BLR) – 26.28, 2023 Belarus Championships
Sam Williamson (AUS) – 26.32, 2024 World Championships
Nicolo Martinenghi (ITA)/Felipe Lima (BRA) – 26.33, 2022 European Championships/2019 Mare Nostrum
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Van Mathias (USA) – 26.39, 2026 Bergen Swim Competition
Simone Cerasuolo (ITA)/Joao Gomes Junior (BRA) – 26.42, 2025 World Championships/2019 Maria Lenk Trophy

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