Matthew Fallon of the men’s swimming and diving team won the 200-meter breaststroke on Saturday at the U.S. Open Swimming Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. The third-year swimmer was one of 845 of the world’s top swimmers—including 34 U.S. Olympians and 29 American record holders—competing at the Championships from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center.
Fallon, from Warren, New Jersey, was victorious in the 200-meter breaststroke by virtue of a time of 2:09.49. He beat back second-place Cody Miller (2:09.84), thwarted third-place Josh Matheny (2:10.49), and dominated fourth-place Denis Petrashov (2:10.61). Fallon’s 2:09.49 mark also set a new U.S. Open meet record.
Matheny led in the front half of the race. Fallon was in seventh place at the 50-meter turn before he powered up and pulled ahead.
Fallon has been riding a tidal wave of success so far this year. In June, he won the national championship in the 200-meter breaststroke for the second year in a row at the USA Swimming Phillips 66 National Championships in Indianapolis. His first-place time of 2:07.71 was the sixth-fastest time in U.S. history.
In July, Fallon won bronze in the 200-meter breaststroke at the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan. Representing the United States, he placed third with a time of 2:07.74. Haiyang Qin of China won gold with a world-record time of 2:05.48 and Zac Stubblety-Cook of Australia took silver with a time of 2:06.40. At 20 years old, Fallon was the youngest of the top three finishers.
