Anna Moesch Joins Sub-1:40 Club With No. 3 All-Time 200 Free
The 1:40 mark in the women’s 200-yard freestyle is hallowed for its roundness and its rarity. When Missy Franklin went 1:39.10 in 2015 to found the sub-1:40 club, it was a swim that seemed a generation ahead of its time.
A decade later, no one has caught up to it yet. But Anna Moesch staking her claim to a place in the club is an indication of progress.
Moesch turned in the third-fastest time in history Thursday night at the ACC Championships, clocking in at 1:39.72. The Virginia sophomore is the second Cavalier in as many years to get under 1:40, with Gretchen Walsh going 1:39.34 at ACCs last year.
Walsh’s swim came off the front of the 800 free relay, but Walsh did not swim on that relay at NCAAs. The NCAA title went to Anna Peplowski at 1:40.50 last year, with two other 1:40-points and Moesch fifth in 1:42.39.
Splits for Walsh last year:
r:+0.77 22.40 47.14 (47.14)
1:12.77 (1:12.77) 1:39.34 (1:39.34)
And Moesch this year:
1 Moesch, Anna SO UVA 1:41.67 1:39.72&IV25 32
r:+0.72 23.54 49.15 (25.61)
1:14.58 (25.43) 1:39.72 (25.14)
The 1:40 mark has proven resistant through the years. Walsh was 1:40.23 at ACCs in 2024. Comerford went 1:40.26 at NCAAs in 2019 after having been 1:40.36 in 2017. Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel went 1:40.36 and 1:40.37, respectively, in collegiate competition. That’s some pretty good swings that the standard has been able to withstood.
Moesch is in pretty impressive company. She went 1:40.25 at the CSCAA Dual Meet Challenge in December to state her case in what was then the No. 5 all-time performance. She split 1:40.42 off the end of the 800 free relay at ACCs on Tuesday night as an indication of her form. She has the chance at NCAAs to get another two flat-start looks at the mark via the relay.
Either way, she’s found her way into a select group.
Sub-1:40 NCAA Women’s 200 Freestyles
- 1:39.10 – Missy Franklin, California, 2015
- 1:39.34 – Gretchen Walsh, Virginia, 2025
- 1:39.72 – Anna Moesch, Virginia, 2026
- 1:39.80 – Mallory Comerford, Louisville, 2018
