Ilya Kharun Blasts Personal Best in 100 Butterfly at U.S. Nationals; Caeleb Dressel Shines Again
Only seven men in history have broken the 50-second barrier in the 100-meter butterfly. An eighth almost joined the club at the United States National Championships on Thursday night at the William Woollett Awuatics Center. While Ilya Kharun fell just short of visiting 49-something territory, his performance was nonetheless superb and signified a personal best.
Trailing world-record holder Caeleb Dressel at the turn, Kharun unleashed a monster back half and walked away with the victory in 50.05. That time bettered Kharun’s previous best of 50.07, which he delivered for the bronze medal at last summer’s World Championships in Singapore. More, the effort handed Kharun a second straight decision over Dressel, who touched in 50.45 while continuing his excellent week.
Kharun carried plenty of momentum in the final of the 100 fly, as his win in the 50 butterfly on Wednesday night arrived in U.S. Open record time. When Dressel went out in 23.42, compared to the 23.56 of Kharun, there was no panic from the Arizona State star. By the midway point of the homecoming lap, Kharun had drawn even with Dressel, and then pulled away over the closing 25 meters.
It’s been a stellar meet for Kharun, whose shift from Canadian sporting nationality to American will be completed in October. He opened the week with a runnerup finish in the 200 butterfly, and has now posted back-to-back best times in the shorter butterfly distances. Really, it’s a matter of time before Kharun, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist in 2024 in Paris, looks to a scoreboard and sees “49.xx” next to his name.
Dressel followed up a terrific morning swim of 50.55 with an even better outing at night. The titlist in the 100 freestyle on the opening evening of Nationals, Dressel has shown more than a few flashes of the brilliance that made him a three-time individual Olympic champion at the Tokyo Games. When the 29-year-old leaves Irvine and returns to training, he should be accompanied by a surge in confidence and the knowledge his work with coach Steve Jungbluth is paying off.
