18.74 SECONDS

Swimming World Magazine, Jun 2005 by Whitten, Phillip

Auburn's Fred Bousquet became the first swimmer to crack the 19-second barrier in the 50 yard freestyle.

Unless you were on Mars in March, you already know that Auburn's Fred Bousquet, the "Flying Frenchman," crashed through the 19-second barrier for the 50 yard freestyle at the men's NCAA Championships with a stunning 18.74. Shortly after the meet, Swimming World Magazine sat down to chat with Fred.

Q Coming into the NCAAs, did you have any expectation that you might go history's first sub-19 second 50 free?

A With all the work I did in practice this year, I thought that I might go under 19-especially after my swim at NCAAs last year (where he swam a world record 21.10 for the short course 50 meters). I heard 21.10 converted to short course yards was just under 19, so I knew that I had it in me. But all season long 1 did not swim very fast, so I had some doubts.

Q What were your goals coming into the NCAAs?

A My biggest goal was to walk away from the meet with a third straight national team championship. Individually, my main goal was to defend my title in the 50 free. It's a race that I love, and it's also a race that I haven't lost since I started college, so that was something I really wanted to do, regardless of the time.

Q What did Coach Marsh tell you before the race?

A He pretty much let me go on my own. He knows me very well by now. He didn't say much before the race, at least in the morning. But in the afternoon, he said, "I have no doubts about you and the fact that you're going to win, so win it."

Q How does it feel to have achieved something that eluded all the great swimmers before you?

A I'm proud. Like I said to my dad on the phone the other day, this is the first time since I started swimming that I've been proud of what I accomplished. It's always a very big deal when you break a barrier. As for people missing it (breaking 19 seconds) before, I give them credit. I think (Tom) Jager went 19.05, and I believe at the time he was swimming, they didn't have all these new swimsuits with modern technology I give him credit for going 19.05. I don't know if I could go 19.05 with a regular swimsuit.

Q Earlier this year, John Lohn speculated on our website that someone might go under 19 seconds for the 50 free, and he specifically mentioned you or Duje (Draganja). What was your reaction when you read that?

A I thought that this might be the year 19 could be broken. First of all, the 50 has been very fast, and it got faster this year. And Duje Draganja won the silver medal at the Olympic Games in 21.98. It's pretty amazing to go 21.98 long course.

Q Since the rest of the world swims only metric distances, how meaningful is this accomplishment to you, your family and your compatriots in France?

A To me, it's special because I've learned a lot about yards in the past three years and how it converts to meters. To my family, I think my sister appreciates what I've done the most because she understands the whole timing thing. For my mother and my dad, it's more about the place and the rankings. As for the people in France, it doesn't mean anything. They don't attach any importance to any swims in yards, and they don't give us enough credit.

Q But we make believers of them when we show up for metric events like the Olympics and World Championships.

A Yeah, and a lot of people are surprised when Americans show up and swim very fast. What they don't understand is that these guys swim in college and they have been swimming fast all along, but it's in yards and they just don't see it. They don't realize it until it's long course and, therefore, it's very surprising. They're not expecting that.

Check out Swimming World Interactive at www.SwimmingWorldMagazine.com to hear the full interview with Fred Bousquet.