University of Minnesota Athletics
Plummer Wins 100 Backstroke National Title
8/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming & Diving
Former Gopher All-American swimmer David Plummer won the 2010 National Championship in the 100-meter backstroke this evening at the 2010 ConocoPhillips U.S. National Championships in Irvine, Calif. Plummer upset world record holder and multiple Olympic gold medalist Aaron Peirsol by touching him out at the wall. Plummer clocked a time of 53.60 to beat Peirsol by .03 seconds.
Plummer emerged the victor in a star-studded field in the 100 backstroke. Following Peirsol (53.63) was Nick Thoman (53.78), Olympic gold medalist Matt Grevers (54.00), David Russell (54.46) and former NCAA champion Ben Hesen (55.01).
Plummer earned a spot on the Team USA roster for the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships and likely a berth on the 2011 FINA World Championships roster. The Pan Pacs will be held August 18-22 in Irvine.
Plummer becomes Minnesota's first United States national champion since 2004 and the ninth overall. Plummer, Plummer, who currently competes nearby for Minnetonka Swim Club, was a 14-time All-American for the Gophers from 2005-08. He is the varsity record holder in the 100 and 200 backstroke events.
Several other current and former Gophers have been in action at the ConocoPhillips National Championships through two days of action. Alex Wold, a 2010 Minnesota graduate and All-American, finished 12th in the 400 individual medley on Tuesday in 4:22.59. He returned to place 21st in the 200 butterfly on Wednesday with a time of 2:02.76 and also placed 31st in the 200-meter free on Wednesday in 1:51.85. Senior Curt Carlson also placed 52nd in the 200 free in 1:53.30. Senior Kevin Baseheart placed 24th in the 200 fly in 2:03.41. He also factored in Schroeder YMCA's national title in the 4x100 free relay on Tuesday evening, swimming the leadoff leg.
Senior David Hawker competed in the 400-meter freestyle, finishing 98th in 4:10.74. In the 100 breaststroke, sophomore Josh Hall placed 37th with a time of 1:04.16 and sophomore Evan Lee-To was 81st in 1:06.86.
Minnesota's 4x100 freestyle relay team of Michael Richards, Zach Bolin, Matt Papenfuss and Wold placed seventh on Tuesday night in 3:26.70.
Players Mentioned
