Alabama Swimmer Kensey McMahon Wins National Championship in 500m Freestyle

McMahon set a school record for her first individual NCAA title.

Alabama Athletics

Another title is coming back to Tuscaloosa. 

Alabama fifth-year swimmer Kensey McMahon won the 500m freestyle race with a time of 4:36.62 at the NCAA Championships in Knoxville, Tennessee. It is her first individual national title. 

McMahon had already set a school record in the preliminary race to earn the 4-seed in the race, and won a narrow race over Wisconsin's Abby Carlson. She entered the meet as the 23-seed in the event and defied the odds to win the national championship. 

"I knew I wanted to take out the race really strong this morning," McMahon said in her post-race interview on ESPN+. "Those middle three 100s are definitely a big turning point for me, and I was feeling so good. I've been practicing that last wall all season, so glad I could execute it."

McMahon is a two-time all-American in the 500m freestyle and multi-time member of Team USA. 

Competition continues at the women's NCAA Championships through Saturday. The Crimson Tide’s 200 medley relay contingent of Rhyan White, Avery Wiseman, Emily Jones and Kalia Antoniou (1:34.83) earned first team All-America honors with a seventh-place finish in Wednesday's races. 

From Alabama press release:

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Alabama super senior Kensey McMahon opened the first full day of competition at the 2023 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships by becoming the first UA woman to win an individual NCAA title since 2004 and the first swimmer since 1983.

McMahon dropped over a second from her preliminary school-record time to earn the 500 freestyle win (4:36.62) and become the first UA woman to break the 4:37.00 barrier in the event.

2023 NCAA 500 FREESTYLE CHAMPION KENSEY MCMAHON SAID

““I definitely felt a lot of energy. It was really fun walking out with everyone and carrying that excitement into the race. I had a strategy for the last 150 (yards) that I was able to execute. To get the win was unreal. My coach (Reed Fujan) and I have been working for this not just this past season, but for the past several years, so it was really exciting that we were able to do this together.”

CRIMSON TIDE HIGHLIGHTS

• Kensey McMahon touched first in the 500 freestyle with a time of 4:36.62 to claim gold in the event, breaking her own school record, previously set in Thursday morning’s prelims
• McMahon’s win marks the first time an Alabama woman has won an individual NCAA championship since diver Lane Bassham won off the 3-meter springboard in 2004
• McMahon won Alabama’s first NCAA swimming title since Angelika Knipping took top honors in the 50 breaststroke in 1983
• Kalia Antoniou earned an 11th-place finish in the 50 freestyle, clocking a 21.85 to earn Second Team All-America status
• Antoniou, Emily Jones, Diana Petkova and Kailyn Winter closed the night for Alabama with a 14th-place finish (1:28.40) in the 200 freestyle relay, earning Second Team All-America honors along with the way

UP NEXT

• All sessions of the 2023 Women's NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live results available via the MeetMobile app
• Friday and Saturday will feature a full slate of events with prelims getting underway at 9 a.m. CT and finals starting at 5 p.m.
• Friday’s prelims session will feature the 100 butterfly (Rhyan White and Emily Jones), 200 freestyle (Kalia Antoniou), 100 breaststroke (Jocelyn Fisher, Diana Petkova, Avery Wiseman and Cat Wright) and the 100 backstroke (Jones and White)

See also:

Kensey McMahon's Alabama Swimming Career Defined by Patience

No. 1 Alabama Handles Texas A&M-CC in NCAA Tournament First Round

Mark Sears is Returning to Form at the Perfect Time for No. 1 Alabama