NCAA Men’s Championships: Ilya Kharun Blasts Off Final Wall to Secure 200 Fly Title
Through the first three days of the NCAA Championships, Ilya Kharun had everything but an individual title. Kharun had already helped Arizona State to three relay victories, but kept coming up against stars performing at their peak in his other races. Josh Liendo and Hubert Kos needed to crush the existing NCAA record to beat Kharun in the 100 butterfly as Kharun became the fourth man ever under 43.
“I was very proud of that, but I was also disappointed,” Kharun said Thursday. “Hubi comes out of nowhere and does things like that. I expect that from Josh, but it was very disappointing that I got third. Being part of the 42 group is very special to me because I’ve looked up to (Caeleb) Dressel a lot in the 100 fly, and really happy that I finally got under the 43 barrier. If I only had 10 more meters, I could have been there. It just means that I have to train more and work harder.
The next day, Kharun became the fifth-fastest man ever in the 50 freestyle, only for Liendo and Gui Caribe to be even better. It took until the final day, but in the 200 fly final, Kharun reached the top.
Following the withdrawal of defending NCAA champion Luca Urlando, Kharun was the heavy title favorite, but he ended up needing to fend off a group of challengers swimming faster than ever before. Florida State’s Logan Robinson led through the first half of the race, and Minnesota’s Jacob Johnson issued a challenge in the middle. The biggest threat, though, came from Thomas Heilman down the stretch.
The Virginia freshman stayed close enough to Kharun in the early portions of the race, and he was merely 0.16 down with 50 yards remaining. The two men touched nearly even at the final wall, but Kharun’s underwaters would make the difference. Going so deep he nearly disappeared from sight, Kharun emerged an arm-length ahead of Heilman. That put him into the wall four tenths ahead.
Kharun finished in 1:37.66, a tenth behind his lifetime best from November that ranks third all-time behind Urlando and Jack Conger. This marked Kharun’s second individual triumph at the NCAA Championships after previously taking first place in this event in 2024.
“It was very exciting. I took it one step at a time. It was a very calm heat. I never usually talk to the guys behind the curtains, and this time, everyone was chill. We all laughed. It was a very calming heat, and the way I swam it, it was very smart. I’m just happy I finally got the win, even if I really didn’t have the master opponent,” Kharun said, with a nod to Urlando’s absence.
Kharun finished off a season in which he swam personal-best times in all his main events, marking a bounce back following a tougher sophomore season. Kharun is currently in the process of switching his sporting nationality, planning to represent the United States in the future after previously winning two Olympic bronze medals for Canada. He will not compete internationally this year, but he still plans to take his lessons from this season into a long course racing campaign.
“I kind of just have to take all of this in, and of course there’s always details that I can improve on and probably my splits, especially taking out the race,” Kharun said. “I have to take it all in and improve in practice.”
Heilman cut eight tenths from his best time on the way to a second-place finish in 1:38.16, jumping to seventh on the all-time list in the process. Third went to Michigan’s Tyler Ray in 1:38.47, good for eight-best in history. Johnson and Robinson both faded at the finish, ending up fourth and fifth, respectively.
Event 18 Men 200 Yard Butterfly
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NCAA: N 1:36.41 11/25/2025Luca Urlando, Georgia
Meet: M 1:36.43 3/29/2025 Luca Urlando, Georgia
American: A 1:36.41 11/25/2025Luca Urlando, Georgia
U. S. Open: O 1:36.41 11/25/2025Luca Urlando, Georgia
Pool: P 1:37.92 2/18/2022 Nicolas Albiero, Louisville
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
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=== Championship Final ===
1 Kharun, Ilya JR ASU 1:38.49 1:37.66P 20
r:+0.71 22.16 47.23 (25.07)
1:12.71 (25.48) 1:37.66 (24.95)
2 Heilman, Thomas FR Virginia 1:39.26 1:38.16 17
r:+0.66 22.19 47.38 (25.19)
1:12.87 (25.49) 1:38.16 (25.29)
3 Ray, Tyler SR Michigan 1:38.55 1:38.47 16
r:+0.68 21.82 47.48 (25.66)
1:13.31 (25.83) 1:38.47 (25.16)
4 Johnson, Jacob SO Minnesota 1:39.54 1:39.20 15
r:+0.59 22.14 47.35 (25.21)
1:12.93 (25.58) 1:39.20 (26.27)
5 Robinson, Logan SO FSU 1:39.48 1:39.44 14
r:+0.59 21.73 46.98 (25.25)
1:13.29 (26.31) 1:39.44 (26.15)
6 Noel, Raekwon SO Indiana 1:39.55 1:39.54 13
r:+0.73 22.25 47.34 (25.09)
1:13.15 (25.81) 1:39.54 (26.39)
7 Schott, Mitchell SR Princeton 1:39.71 1:40.67 12
r:+0.71 22.13 47.52 (25.39)
1:13.63 (26.11) 1:40.67 (27.04)
8 Youssef, Abdalla FR Auburn 1:39.59 1:40.68 11
r:+0.68 22.74 48.04 (25.30)
1:13.69 (25.65) 1:40.68 (26.99)
