Stanford Freshman, Nolan, would've won NCAAs with his High School 200 I.M.

David Nolan, Stanford's newest and greatest asset in swimming. 

via www.stanforddaily.com:  "In his (David Nolan) signature event, the 200 individual medley, Nolan lowered the national high school record, which he set the previous year, by over two seconds–a ridiculous drop considering that a tenth of a second is a sizeable margin at the elite levels.

But the most stunning fact about his performance is that his time of 1:41.39 in the 200 IM would’ve won NCAAs by almost two tenths of a second. In any sport, a high school senior performing better than the top collegiate level is phenomenal. In swimming, it’s almost unheard of."

Comments

[jean-michel]

great new swimmer , along with Missy franklin 's amazing performances this year ! Us has some great time ahead ! love that

[Jimmy]

We quickly forget that while Nolan's IM time seems ridiculous for a high school athlete and beat NCAA times, those are not the only swimmers he needs to beat. In fact, Lochte's best IM time in yards I believe is 1:40.00, which would clearly dominate Nolan. That was when Lochte was in college. He's gotten so much better since then, and with the feeling of "my last Olympics", I'm sure he'll bring everything he has. Same with Phelps. Both of these guys are hovering at the 1:54 LCM in this event. Nolan has yet to break 2:00 I believe. While I am sure at trials he'll be a solid 1:57, that's not going to get it done against these two superstars in teh event. It's nothing against Nolan, but the IM is not going to be an option in London. Back has a chance, but it's also the deepest field. 200 Free might have a chance, but as good as he is, he just doesn't have that extra bit to go mid 1:40's or better. It's amazing to think Nolan is so good, but won't get a chance to be in London.

[gmm]

Roger...I think Nolan could bust out in 2012. Young guys do it every generation. I think it's a lot harder now with titans like Phelps and Lochte, but it could be done......

I agree about 2-back, even 100 back for Nolan. He's got a solid shot in those events.

And Skip deserves a smiles these days, doesn't he. I've known Skip since I was 15 years old.

[Roger von Oech]

Impressive time indeed. But what do you do if you're an emerging 200 IM star (like Nolan) gunning for a spot on the 2012 Oly team and the best two swimmers in the world (Phelps and Lochte) are already firmly established in the two 200 IM slots?

I'm thinking focus on the 200 backstroke or perhaps 100 fly.

One thing Nolan does do is put a smile on Skip's face — especially heading into the short course yard season.