Gophers senior Michael Richards dominated the field Wednesday night to repeat as the 50-yard freestyle champion at the second day of the Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. Earlier in the day, he shattered every mark for that race in Big Ten men's swimming history.
The championships were held at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center, and Richards did not disappoint the hometown crowd swimming a 19.19 in the finals to defeat Ryan Phelan of Iowa by more than half a second.
Richards' finals time would have set a new Big Ten record but he swam a 19.10 in the preliminary heat to break the previous record of 19.34, which was set by Andrew Langenfeld of Purdue in 2009.
To give context to Richards accomplishment, the distance that is now between Richards and Langenfeld -- .24 of a second -- is one-tenth of a second greater than the distance between Langenfeld and the 10th best 50-yard freestyle in Big Ten history.
Richards was not the only Gopher to swim well in the 50. Junior Zach Bolin finished in sixth place with a 19.99 and freshman Derek Toomey won the consolation final with a 19.94.
Wolverines retain lead The University of Michigan stayed in first place with a team score of 259.5 through seven events. The Gophers remain in fourth place at 159.5. There are fifteen events remaining.
