Isabelle Stadden Chasing Mighty American Backstroke Standard at Nationals
With the United States selecting its team for the 2026 Pan Pacific Championships based on summer 2025 results, there were always going to be omissions. Some swimmers would certainly emerge during the 12-month gap, only for no selection meet to take place this year. Few would have expected Isabelle Stadden to be among that group.
Stadden does not fit the profile as a traditional up-and-comer; rather, she is 24 years old, having completed five years of NCAA eligibility at Cal. Stadden placed seventh in the 200 backstroke at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials and ninth in the 100. In 2025, her lone A-final appearance at U.S. Nationals came in the 50 backstroke, where she finished fifth.
But after moving her training base to the University of Virginia, Stadden has annihilated her lifetime bests to quickly join the ranks of world’s best backstrokers. In three competitive appearances this year at USA Swimming Pro Series meets in Westmont, Ill., and Indianapolis plus the Fort Lauderdale Open. Her drops from before this year to 2026 have included:
- 50 Backstroke: 27.64 (2023) to 27.14
- 100 Backstroke: 58.99 (2021) to 57.55
- 200 Backstroke: 2:07.28 (2021) to 2:04.37
Isabelle Stadden — Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Your eyes do not deceive you: Stadden had really not dropped time in the 100 or 200 back in five years before this season. Moreover, she has done those times consistently throughout the year. Having not gone under 59 in the 100 back since the Olympic Trials for the Tokyo Games, Stadden has done so on seven different occasions this year, most notably when she blasted a 57.55 in Fort Lauderdale in early May to make herself the third-fastest performer in history behind Regan Smith and Kaylee McKeown.
Similar story in the 200, with Stadden now fourth all-time behind McKeown, Smith and Missy Franklin. As for the 50, her 27.14 ranks 11th on the all-time list. As for this year’s world rankings, Stadden is currently second in the 100 and 200 behind the respective world-record holders and fourth in the 50.
Now, she will conclude her stellar season at U.S. Nationals, hoping to put up times that compare favorably to her domestic and international rivals. Mostly domestic, actually, considering the ridiculous strength of American women’s backstroke.
Last year, the United States became the first nation ever to win six medals in one stroke at the World Championships. That is the maximum possible haul considering the two-per-country limit. Smith won silver medals in all three distances while Katharine Berkoff was the 50 back world champion and 100-meter bronze medalist and Claire Curzan won bronze in the 200 back. Smith, Berkoff and Curzan all qualified for the Pan Pacs team. So did Leah Shackley, who won gold or silver in all three backstroke races at the World University Games. Shackley’s time in the 200 was actually quicker than Curzan’s bronze-medal time from Worlds.
In addition to those rivals, Stadden will have plenty of top-notch competition at Nationals, the sort of swimmers who would be contending for international medals if not for stumbling blocks ahead of them on the American roster. Entered alongside Stadden in the 200 back are five swimmers with seed times between 2:06.05 and 2:07.05, with surging Maggie Wanezek leading the way. The 100-meter field has four women, including Curzan and two-time Olympian Phoebe Bacon, in the 58-second range.
But Stadden has already shown so much this year, and simply matching her best times at Nationals would reinforce her status as a serious contender for the 2027 World Championships team. Any further improvement, and Stadden will find herself in the conversation for finishing 2026 atop the world rankings.
