Texas Ex Sets American Record at Swimming World Championships

By Andrew Roush in 40 Acres on August 1, 2013 at 4:29 pm | 1 Comment

When former Texas Longhorn swimmer Michael McBroom, BA ’13, set a new American record and took the silver medal in the 800-meter freestyle in Barcelona last week, he probably wasn’t thinking of the godfather of Texas swimming and diving, Tex Robertson, BS ’42, Life Member. He was just thinking about shaving tenths of a second from his turns.

“I’ve been working on my turns,” McBroom told Swimming World‘s “The Morning Swim Show” last month. “My turns were pretty bad at nationals.”

It would seem that McBroom did improve those turns. His FINA World Championships time of 7 minutes, 43.60 seconds broke the previous American record and earned him second place behind China’s Sun Yang, who won gold in the 2012 London Olympics.

McBroom is in good company among UT swimmers and divers. Since Robertson—who also invented the now ubiquitous tumble turn—started the program in 1935, Longhorn swimming and diving has enjoyed consistent, long-term success, including 10 NCAA national championships and multiple Olympic medals under coach Eddie Reese, who’s led the team since the late 1970s.

Another former Longhorn, San Antonio native Jimmy Feigen, ’08, took silver in the 100-meter and helped fellow Texas Ex Ricky Berens, BBA ’10, earn silver for the United States in the 4×100-meter freestyle relay.

Also at the world championships, former UT women’s swimmer Karlee Bispo, BS ’13, made Longhorns everywhere proud as she helped the United States capture gold in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.

Watch UT Athletics’ preview of the 2013 FINA World Championships below. Can’t view the video? Click here.

Photo courtesy UT Athletics.