Wednesday, March 25
Atlanta, GA
10 A.M. Prelims | 6 P.M. Finals
Florida Gators
vs
NCAA
Ahmed Jaouadi sets an NCAA, U.S. Open, Meet and Program record in the 1,650 Freestyle and become the second Gator in history to win the event after going 14:10.03 on day one of the 2026 Division I Men's Swimming & Diving NCAA Championships on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, GA.(Photo by Audrey Djuricich)
Jaouadi Rewrites Record Books with 1,650 Freestyle National Title
Thursday, March 26, 2026 | Men's Swimming & Diving
ATLANTA, Ga. – No. 4 Florida men's swimming and diving delivered a dominant showing on day one of the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming & Diving Championships at the McAuley Aquatic Center, highlighted by a record-shattering performance and national title from freshman Ahmed Jaouadi in the 1,650 freestyle.
Following three events, the Gators are tied for first with Indiana in the team standings with 86 points.
Jaouadi became just the second Gator in program history to capture the NCAA title in the mile, touching in 14:10.03 to set NCAA, U.S. Open, meet and program records. His time surpasses Bobby Finke's previous mark of 14:12.08 from 2020, sealing the victory with a 22.17 in the final 50 yards to take down two-time defending champion Zalan Sarkany from Indiana.
Florida went four-for-four in the mile with all four swimmers scoring in the top-16, including three podium performances. Ahmed Hafnaoui placed fourth in 14:22.64 to reset his No. 3 mark on UF's all-time top-10 list, while Gio Linscheer finished fifth in 14:34.18 after dropping 12.06 seconds in the morning to win heat two and earn the top seed heading into finals. Eric Brown, seeded 22nd, shaved 4.49 seconds off his entry time to place 14th overall in 14:46.41, earning his first career All-America honor.
In relay action, Jonny Marshall (20.76 back split), Koen de Groot (22.76 breast split), Scotty Buff (19.06 fly split) and Josh Liendo (17.58 free split) combined for a runner-up finish in the 200 medley relay, stopping the clock at 1:20.16.
The 800 freestyle relay team of Alexander Painter (1:32.60), Charlie Hutchison (1:33.07), Aiden Norman (1:33.63) and Devin Dilger (1:33.63) closed out the morning session with a time of 6:12.93 in the second heat to finish 19th overall.
HEAR FROM THE WINNING GATOR AHMED JAOUADI
On what this win does for the Gators heading into the rest of the meet…
"Even if I didn't win the race, I want to win it all with these guys, my teammates and my coaches. A special thank you to Coach Nesty for the opportunity and I hope we keep going… Fun Fact, Bobby told me how to swim the mile in this one"
UP NEXT
Individual swimming and diving events kick off tomorrow with the 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free and 100 breast early heats beginning at 10 a.m. One-meter diving prelims will be split into six rounds, as rounds 1-3 follow the 400 IM, while rounds 4-6 take place after the 100 breast. The 200 free relay will close out the morning session, with the top-eight finishers in each event and the top-eight seeded relays advancing to the 6 p.m. finals session.
Top -10 TEAM STANDINGS (Following day one)
Podium (Top-8 finishes)
Swimmers qualified for the championships either by winning their conference championship in an event with an established minimum time in that swim or by meeting the established minimum time for the events in which they entered. The invited divers earn their automatic spot at zone meets in the weeks prior.
Stay Connected
Fans can stay up to date with the Florida Gator swimming & diving teams by following @GatorsSwimDv on X and catch up with the latest news and content of the team. Like the team's Facebook page at Florida Gators Swimming & Diving Fans can also keep up with the team by following them on Instagram at @Gatorsswimdv
New ruler 👑 pic.twitter.com/AhwiGz0Pnk
— Gators Swimming & Diving (@GatorsSwimDv) March 26, 2026
Following three events, the Gators are tied for first with Indiana in the team standings with 86 points.
Jaouadi became just the second Gator in program history to capture the NCAA title in the mile, touching in 14:10.03 to set NCAA, U.S. Open, meet and program records. His time surpasses Bobby Finke's previous mark of 14:12.08 from 2020, sealing the victory with a 22.17 in the final 50 yards to take down two-time defending champion Zalan Sarkany from Indiana.
No surprise, just confirmed 🏆
— Gators Swimming & Diving (@GatorsSwimDv) March 25, 2026
Ahmed Jaouadi sets a new 1,650 free NCAA record (14:10.03) and is crowned your NATIONAL CHAMP pic.twitter.com/g5qPfcDmDO
Florida went four-for-four in the mile with all four swimmers scoring in the top-16, including three podium performances. Ahmed Hafnaoui placed fourth in 14:22.64 to reset his No. 3 mark on UF's all-time top-10 list, while Gio Linscheer finished fifth in 14:34.18 after dropping 12.06 seconds in the morning to win heat two and earn the top seed heading into finals. Eric Brown, seeded 22nd, shaved 4.49 seconds off his entry time to place 14th overall in 14:46.41, earning his first career All-America honor.
In relay action, Jonny Marshall (20.76 back split), Koen de Groot (22.76 breast split), Scotty Buff (19.06 fly split) and Josh Liendo (17.58 free split) combined for a runner-up finish in the 200 medley relay, stopping the clock at 1:20.16.
The 800 freestyle relay team of Alexander Painter (1:32.60), Charlie Hutchison (1:33.07), Aiden Norman (1:33.63) and Devin Dilger (1:33.63) closed out the morning session with a time of 6:12.93 in the second heat to finish 19th overall.
HEAR FROM THE WINNING GATOR AHMED JAOUADI
On what this win does for the Gators heading into the rest of the meet…
"Even if I didn't win the race, I want to win it all with these guys, my teammates and my coaches. A special thank you to Coach Nesty for the opportunity and I hope we keep going… Fun Fact, Bobby told me how to swim the mile in this one"
UP NEXT
Individual swimming and diving events kick off tomorrow with the 100 fly, 400 IM, 200 free and 100 breast early heats beginning at 10 a.m. One-meter diving prelims will be split into six rounds, as rounds 1-3 follow the 400 IM, while rounds 4-6 take place after the 100 breast. The 200 free relay will close out the morning session, with the top-eight finishers in each event and the top-eight seeded relays advancing to the 6 p.m. finals session.
Top -10 TEAM STANDINGS (Following day one)
- Florida & Indiana – 86
- Texas – 72
- Arizona St. – 62
- NC State – 61
- Kentucky – 49
- Michigan – 48
- Stanford – 46
- California – 45
- Ohio State - 32
Podium (Top-8 finishes)
- National Champions
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle
- Second Place
- Jonny Marshall, Koen de Groot, Scotty Buff, Josh Liendo – 200 Medley Relay (2nd)
- Fourth Place
- Ahmed Hafnaoui – 1,650 Freestyle
- Fifth Place
- Gio Linscheer – 1,650 Freestyle (5th)
- First Team
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle
- Ahmed Hafnaoui – 1,650 Freestyle
- Gio Linscheer – 1,650 Freestyle
- Jonny Marshall, Koen de Groot, Scotty Buff, Josh Liendo – 200 Medley Relay
- Second Team
- Eric Brown - 1,650 Freestyle
- 1,650 Freestyle
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 14:10.03 – No. 1
- Ahmed Hafnaoui - 14:22.64 – No. 3
- NCAA
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle - 14:10.03
- U.S. Open
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle - 14:10.03
- Meet
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle - 14:10.03
- Program
- Ahmed Jaouadi – 1,650 Freestyle - 14:10.03
- All prelim and final sessions will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required)
- Live scoring will be available on the Meet Mobile app, Dive Meets and via the live results link on the women's swimming page on FloridaGators.com
- Men's championship: Wednesday, March 25 - Saturday, March 28 | Watch on ESPN+
- Thursday, March 26 | Live results
- 100-yard butterfly
- 400-yard individual medley
- 200-yard freestyle
- 100-yard breaststroke
- 200-yard freestyle relay
- One-meter diving
- Friday, March 27 | Live results
- 100-yard backstroke
- 200-yard breaststroke
- 500-yard freestyle
- 50-yard freestyle
- 400-yard medley relay
- Three-meter diving
- Saturday, March 28 | Live results
- 200-yard individual medley
- 100-yard freestyle
- 200-yard butterfly
- 200-yard backstroke
- 400-yard freestyle relay
- Platform diving
- Thursday, March 26 | Live results
Swimmers qualified for the championships either by winning their conference championship in an event with an established minimum time in that swim or by meeting the established minimum time for the events in which they entered. The invited divers earn their automatic spot at zone meets in the weeks prior.
Stay Connected
Fans can stay up to date with the Florida Gator swimming & diving teams by following @GatorsSwimDv on X and catch up with the latest news and content of the team. Like the team's Facebook page at Florida Gators Swimming & Diving Fans can also keep up with the team by following them on Instagram at @Gatorsswimdv
Players Mentioned
Free/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Back/Fly/Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breast
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Fly/Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Breast/Free/IM
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Back
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Back/Free
/ Men's Swimming & Diving
Free
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