COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State swimmer and Dover native Hunter Armstrong is now a world record holder after winning the 50-meter backstroke at the Phillips 66 International Team Trials on Thursday.
Armstrong, who just finished his junior year at OSU, recorded a time of 23.71, besting the previous world record by .09 seconds and winning the event by over two-tenths of a second, according to a news release from the university.
“Based on how Hunter was training leading up to the meet we, as a staff, discussed the possibility of him making a run at the world record in the 100 back,” Ohio State director of swimming and diving Bill Dorenkott said. “To make the team in the 100 free, set the world record in the 50 back with the 100 back still to come is pretty surreal”
Thursday was Armstrong’s first time finishing in under 25 seconds; he also clocked a time of 24.01 in a preliminary session earlier in the day.
“I told Hunter after the swim to stay humble and stay hungry,” Dorenkott said. “He will always be the small-town kid from Dover, Ohio. Now, he also happens to be a world record holder.”
Armstrong is now qualified to race the 50m backstroke at the 2022 FINA World Championships in Budapest, taking place from June 18 through July 3.
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