Jack Alexy Backs American Record Speed with Relay Reliability in Singapore Star Turn
The reality for the United States swim team at the 2025 World Championships dawned a little too late on the relays.
The margin for error, thanks to acute gastroenteritis and the degree to which the world of swimming has caught up to the American men in recent years, has vanished. A mixed medley relay in which the U.S. finished 10th and embarrassingly didn’t make it back even to the final confirmed that.
From that point on Wednesday, the thinking shifted to leave little to chance. The mixed freestyle relay would put its best swimmer out front. The men’s medley relay would use its most reliable leg to anchor both prelims and finals.
And since both of those people happened to be Jack Alexy, things worked out just fine for the U.S.
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Alexy once again cemented himself as the best American male swimmer this side of Bobby Finke. It’s far too late for the Singapore Worlds to constitute an arrival – silver in the 50 and 100 free in Fukuoka in 2023 did that. After a Paris Olympics that didn’t yield an individual medal, he pulled a relative bonanza for this U.S. delegation, striking silver in the 100 free and bronze in the 50 against daunting fields.
Jack Alexy; Photo Courtesy: Emily Cameron
“Some things didn’t go our way in the past two weeks, but I think it’s a testament to Team USA’s resiliency and just the hard work we put in,” Alexy said at the meet’s conclusion. “Not only in the past two months but also the past year, I think there’s a standard of excellence we’re expected to bring. We had a lot of great swims, some not great swims and it’s just going to fuel us for the next meet and the next few years for LA.”
Alexy, who is quietly up to 10 World Championships medals, has delivered time and again in the relays. His leadoff leg of 46.91 in the mixed free put the U.S. into clean water, seven tenths up on everyone in the field. Patrick Sammon’s 46.70 off a relay pickup was the fastest of the race, but Alexy’s flat-start time was second of the 16 men in the race.
Given the headwinds the U.S. faced, of not having a relay gold midway through the meet and the mixed medley relay miss, the mixed free win was magnified. Alexy made them the team to beat. He assured they’d get through to the final of the 400 medley relay by splitting 46.73 in prelims, backstopping a squad that included a guy who didn’t make the 100 back final, a guy who didn’t make the 100 breast final and a guy who didn’t swim the 100 fly. He assured they’d get a medal with his silly split of 45.95, the second-fastest in history. (The fact that bronze in worth celebrating for a program that once went 15-for-15 in Olympic medley relay golds is another matter that doesn’t concern Alexy.)
“He’s just had an incredible week and an incredible couple of years,” relay breaststroker Josh Matheny said. “Him and I have been swimming for the national team since Budapest Junior Worlds, and watching him climb the ranks as well to become America’s premier sprinter, it’s just an honor to be there every step of the way and to be his friend while he just throws down splits that you would not believe.”
“Watching that swim in the last 30 meters, I knew he was going to pull it together and do what he needed to do, and I’m very grateful to be a part of this relay and stand next to these guys as well,” Tommy Janton said. “It was an honor to be up there with them, and he pulled through and got a 45. Second person to ever go 45, it’s truly an accomplishment.”
Alexy’s relay chops augments the fact that he’s been outstandingly fast, the kind of combination that makes for American stardom. Alexy cracked 47 seconds in Singapore three times and has done it four times overall. He took down Caeleb Dressel’s 100 free American record with a time of 46.81 in semifinals that was the fifth-fastest performance and made him the No. 3 performer all-time, under the once-hallowed world record from 2009 set by Cesar Cielo. With the finals 46.92 and the 46.91 on the relay, he owns three of the top-11 swims in history.
It’s a cornerstone that a program in need of them can build around.
