Max McHugh

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Max McHugh
Personal information
Full nameMaxwell McHugh[1]
Born1999[2]
Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, U.S.[3]
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke
College teamUniversity of Minnesota[3]
Medal record
Men's swimming
Representing the Minnesota Golden Gophers
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
NCAA Championships 3 2 1
Total 3 2 1
By race
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
100 y breaststroke 2 0 1
200 y breaststroke 1 2 0
Total 3 2 1
NCAA Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Greensboro 100 y breaststroke
Gold medal – first place 2021 Greensboro 200 y breaststroke
Gold medal – first place 2022 Atlanta 100 y breaststroke
Silver medal – second place 2019 Austin 200 y breaststroke
Silver medal – second place 2022 Atlanta 200 y breaststroke
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Austin 100 y breaststroke

Maxwell McHugh (born 1999) is an American competitive swimmer specializing in breaststroke events. In 2021, he won two Division I NCAA titles at the year's championships, one in the 100 yard breaststroke and one in the 200 yard breaststroke. At the 2022 NCAA Championships, he won the NCAA title in the 100 yard breaststroke. He competes collegiately for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Background[]

McHugh graduated from Sevastopol High School in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin where he competed scholastically as part of the high school team and set a National Age Group record, overall national high school record, and national public high school record in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 51.62 seconds at the 2018 Wisconsin State High School Championships.[4] In 2018, he started attending the University of Minnesota where he is majoring in psychology and competes collegiately as part of the Minnesota Golden Gophers swim team.[3] In the summer of 2019, he was a survivor in a drive-by shooting, receiving a bullet to his right leg and recovering from the wound to return and continue competing collegiately.[5][6]

McHugh has an older brother, Conner McHugh, who is also a competitive swimmer specializing in breaststroke events and who swam collegiately for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.[7]

Career[]

2018–2019 collegiate season[]

In his freshman year, McHugh won the bronze medal in the 100 yard breaststroke at the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships in Austin, Texas with a time of 50.52 seconds in the final after swimming a personal best time of 50.30 seconds in the prelims heats.[8] For the 200 yard breaststroke, McHugh won the silver medal in 1:49.41, finishing 0.71 seconds behind the first-place finisher in the event Andrew Seliskar of the California Golden Bears.[9]

2020–2021 collegiate season[]

Competing at the 2021 Big Ten Conference Championships in March 2021 in Columbus, Ohio, McHugh split a 22.40 for the breaststroke leg of the 4×50 yard medley relay, which was the fastest 50 yard breaststroke relay split in the history of the NCAA.[10][11]

Later in the month, McHugh won the NCAA title in the 100 yard breaststroke at the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships with a personal best time of 50.18 seconds and became the first Minnesota Golden Gopher since 1964 to win an individual NCAA title.[12][13] He also won the NCAA title in the 200 yard breaststroke where he swam a personal best time of 1:49.02 to achieve the first NCAA men's title in the event for the University of Minnesota.[14][15][16] His performances earned him the Big Ten Conference honor of "Swimmer of the Year".[17]

2020 US Olympic Trials[]

At the 2020 US Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, and postponed to June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, McHugh swam a 59.93 in the prelims heats of the 100 meter breaststroke and qualified for the semifinals ranking fourth.[2] In the semifinals later the same day, he lowered his time to a 59.68 and advanced ranking fifth to the final the following day.[18] His times from the prelims and semifinals were both personal best times.[19] For the final of the 100 meter breaststroke the next day, McHugh tied for seventh-place with a time of 1:00.56.[20] Two days later McHugh competed in the prelims heats of the 200 meter breaststroke where he placed 21st overall with a time of 2:13.97.[21] For the 2021 year, his time of 59.68 seconds ranked him in the top 30 performers in the long course 100 meter breaststroke.[1]

2021–2022 collegiate season[]

McHugh earned the honor of being team captain for his senior year competing with the Minnesota Golden Gophers.[3] In a meet against three other colleges in January 2022, McHugh won the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 50.58 seconds, which ranked him first overall in the NCAA for the season.[22]

2022 Big Ten Championships[]

In his first event of the 2022 Big Ten Conference Championships in February, the 4×50 yard medley relay, McHugh and his relay were disqualified in the final for more than one reaction time registering as negative in value, -0.01 seconds specifically.[23][24] The second day, he was declared a false start, a form of disqualification, in the prelims heats of the 50 yard freestyle and was disqualified in the 4×100 yard medley relay when a swimmer other than McHugh registered a negative reaction time, -0.10 seconds by the butterfly swimmer.[25] Pre-relay disqualification, he split a 50.51 for the breaststroke leg of the relay, which was the fastest breaststroke split out of all the finals relays.[26] On day three, McHugh ranked third in the prelims heats of the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 52.06 seconds and advanced to the final.[27] He won the final with a time of 50.67 seconds, breaking the pool record of 51.54 seconds set by Ian Finnerty in 2018.[28][29] He swam a 1:52.92 in the prelims heats of the 200 yard breaststroke on the fourth day, qualifying ranked first for the final with a time 0.24 seconds ahead of second-ranked swimmer Josh Matheny.[30] Finishing the Championships with the 200 yard breaststroke, McHugh concluded his senior collegiate conference championships by defending his title in the event from the 2021 Championships, finishing first in 1:49.45 and 1.20 seconds ahead of second-place finisher and freshman Josh Matheny.[31][32] His time of 1:49.45 set a new Championships record, lowering the former record set by Ian Finnerty in 2019 with a 1:50.30 by 0.85 seconds.[33] Following his performances, swimming news outlet SwimSwam reported McHugh planned to compete for a fifth year in the collegiate system, the 2022–2023 season.[34]

2022 NCAA Championships[]

2022 NCAA Championships
Gold medal – first place 100 yd breaststroke 49.90
Silver medal – second place 200 yd breaststroke 1:48.76

On the third day of the 2022 NCAA Championships in Atlanta in March, McHugh swam a personal best time of 49.95 seconds in the prelims heats of the 100 yard breaststroke, qualifying for the final ranking first, setting a new pool record, and becoming the second American to swim the event faster than 50.00 seconds, only after Ian Finnerty.[35][36][37] He lowered his pool record with another personal best time in the final, winning the NCAA title with a 49.90.[38] On the fourth and final day, he ranked second across all prelims heats of the 200 yard breaststroke with a 1:50.31 and advanced to the evening final.[39] In the 200 yard breaststroke final, he placed second with a personal best time of 1:48.76.[40]

Personal best times[]

Long course meters (50 m pool)[]

Event Time Meet Location Date Ref
100 m breaststroke 59.57 Minnesota Senior State Championship Minneapolis, Minnesota July 30, 2021 [3]
200 m breaststroke 2:12.61 Minnesota Senior State Championship Minneapolis, Minnesota July 31, 2021 [3]

Short course yards (25 yd pool)[]

Event Time Meet Location Date Ref
100 yd breaststroke 49.90 2022 NCAA Championships Atlanta, Georgia March 25, 2022 [38]
200 yd breaststroke 1:48.76 2022 NCAA Championships Atlanta, Georgia March 26, 2022 [40]

Awards and honors[]

  • Big Ten Conference, Swimmer of the Year (Men's): 2021[17]
  • SwimSwam, Swim of the Week: January 29, 2021[41]
  • Big Ten Conference, Swimmer of the Week (Men's): December 11, 2019,[42] January 27, 2021,[43] February 10, 2021,[44] December 8, 2021,[45] February 2, 2022[46]
  • Big Ten Conference, Freshman of the Week (Men's): January 16, 2019,[47] January 23, 2019,[48] February 6, 2019[49]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "World Rankings 2021: Men 100 Breaststroke Long Course Metres". FINA. February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  2. ^ a b USA Swimming (June 13, 2021). "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 100m Breaststroke Heats Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "2021-22 Men's Swimming & Diving Roster: Max McHugh". Minnesota Golden Gophers. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  4. ^ Keith, Braden (February 16, 2018). "Max McHugh Breaks National High School Record In 100 Breaststroke". Minnesota Golden Gophers. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  5. ^ Hart, Torrey (July 28, 2019). "Minnesota Swimmers Max McHugh And Nick Saulnier Injured In Shooting". SwimSwam. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  6. ^ Rieder, David (February 4, 2020). "Learning From Adversity: Minnesota's Max McHugh Perseveres After Drive-By Shooting". Swimming World. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  7. ^ Shaw, Mike (February 27, 2018). "Conner McHugh swims to NCAA's second-best breaststroke time for Minnesota". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  8. ^ "McHugh Earns Bronze at NCAA Championships". Minnesota Golden Gophers. March 29, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  9. ^ Ross, Andy (March 30, 2019). "Andrew Seliskar Wins Third Event of NCAAs to Move to Third All-Time in 200 Breast". Swimming World. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  10. ^ Ortegon, Karl (March 2, 2021). "Max McHugh Unleashes Fastest 50-Yard Breast Split Ever – 22.40". SwimSwam. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  11. ^ Ross, Andy (March 2, 2021). "Max McHugh Splits All-Time Fastest 50 Breaststroke at Big Ten Men's Swimming Championships". Swimming World. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  12. ^ Ross, Andy (March 26, 2021). "Wins Minnesota's First NCAA Men's Swimming Title Since 1964 With 100 Breast". Swimming World. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  13. ^ "Gophers junior Max McHugh wins 100-yard breaststroke in NCAA swimming meet". Star Tribune. March 26, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  14. ^ "Gophers Swimming: Max McHugh is a NCAA Champion!—AGAIN". The Daily Gopher. March 26, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  15. ^ Ross, Andy (March 27, 2021). "Max McHugh Upsets Reece Whitley in 200 Distance to Sweep NCAA Breaststroke Titles". Swimming World. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  16. ^ "Sturgeon Bay's McHugh celebrates 2 NCAA swimming titles". WBAY-TV. March 31, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Purdue Earn Big Ten Men's Swimming and Diving Awards". Big Ten Conference. March 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  18. ^ USA Swimming (June 13, 2021). "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 100m Breaststroke Semifinals Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  19. ^ "Gophers swimmer Max McHugh swims two personal-best times at U.S. Olympic swimmings trials". Star Tribune. June 13, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  20. ^ USA Swimming (June 14, 2021). "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 100m Breaststroke Final Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  21. ^ USA Swimming (June 16, 2021). "2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Wave II: Men's 200m Breaststroke Final Results Summary". Omega Timing. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  22. ^ Penland, Spencer (January 29, 2022). "McHugh Clocks NCAA-Leading 50.58 100 Breast, 22.53 Relay Split On Friday Night". SwimSwam. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  23. ^ De George, Matthew (February 23, 2022). "2022 Big Ten Men's Championships: Ohio State Starts with 200 Medley Record". Swimming World. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  24. ^ Keith, Braden (February 23, 2022). "2022 Big Ten Men's Swimming & Diving Championships: Day 1 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  25. ^ Hy-Tek (February 24, 2022). "2022 B1G Men's Swimming & Diving Championship: Meet Results". sidearmstats.com. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  26. ^ Berman, Sarah (February 24, 2022). "2022 Men's B1G Championships: Day 2 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  27. ^ Miller, Nicole (February 25, 2022). "2022 Men's Big Ten Championships: Day 3 Prelims Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  28. ^ De George, Matthew (February 25, 2022). "2022 Big Ten Men's Championships, Day 3 Finals: Alex Quach Breaks 45 in 100 Fly". Swimming World. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  29. ^ Edmund, Emma (February 25, 2022). "2022 Men's Big Ten Championships: Day 3 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  30. ^ Pelshaw, Anya (February 26, 2022). "2022 Men's Big Ten Championships: Day 4 Prelims Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  31. ^ De George, Matthew (February 26, 2022). "2022 Big Ten Men's Championships: Brendan Burns Wins Twice as Indiana Seals Title". Swimming World. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  32. ^ Keith, Braden (February 26, 2022). "2022 Men's Big Ten Championships: Day 4 Finals Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  33. ^ Pelshaw, Anya (February 26, 2022). "Max McHugh Swims 1:49.45 200 Breast, B1G Meet Record". SwimSwam. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  34. ^ Keith, Braden (February 28, 2022). "NCAA Champion Max McHugh Plans To Use 5th Year Of Eligibility". SwimSwam. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  35. ^ Hamann, Michael (March 25, 2022). "2022 NCAA Division I Men's Championships: Day 3 Prelim Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  36. ^ D'Addona, Dan (March 25, 2022). "2022 NCAA Men's Championships: Max McHugh Breaks 50 in 100 Breaststroke Prelims". Swimming World. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  37. ^ Penland, Spencer (March 25, 2022). "Max McHugh Blast 29.95 100 Breast In Prelims To Become 2nd Man Under 50 Seconds". SwimSwam. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  38. ^ a b Rieder, David (March 25, 2022). "NCAA Men's Championships: Max McHugh Hits 49.90 to Defend 100 Breast Title". Swimming World. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  39. ^ Hamann, Michael (March 26, 2022). "2022 M. NCAA Division I Championships: Day 4 Prelim Live Recap". SwimSwam. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  40. ^ a b Rieder, David (March 26, 2022). "NCAA Men's Championships: Leon Marchand Takes Down Max McHugh For 200 Breast National Title". Swimming World. Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  41. ^ Anderson, Jared (January 29, 2021). "Swim of the Week: Max McHugh's 22.6/50.6 Breaststroke Combo". SwimSwam. March 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  42. ^ "Michigan, Minnesota and Penn State Earn Men's Swimming and Diving Weekly Honors". Big Ten Conference. December 11, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  43. ^ "Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin Earn Weekly Swimming and Diving Honors". Big Ten Conference. January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  44. ^ "Minnesota and Wisconsin Earn Weekly Swimming and Diving Honors". Big Ten Conference. February 10, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  45. ^ "Big Ten Announces Weekly Swimming and Diving Honors". Big Ten Conference. December 8, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  46. ^ "Big Ten Announces Weekly Swimming and Diving Honors". Big Ten Conference. February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  47. ^ "Minnesota and Purdue Earn Men's Swimming and Diving Weekly Honors". Big Ten Conference. January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  48. ^ "Indiana and Minnesota Earn Men's Swimming and Diving Weekly Honors". Big Ten Conference. January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  49. ^ "Indiana and Minnesota Earn Men's Swimming and Diving Weekly Honors". Big Ten Conference. February 6, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
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