Katy Freeman struck gold in Serbia on Saturday, as the UCSB All-American made it to the top op the podium with the United States’ 4×100 medley relay team at the World University Games.
The American team clocked in at 4:01.90, narrowly defeating Italy (4:02.75). In the process, the American team established a new meet record, shattering the mark set by Japan in 2007 at 4:03.11. Freeman, swimming with Gregg Wilson and the Santa Barbara Aquatics Club in domestic competitions, split a blistering 1:05.83 for the breaststroke leg of the relay. That time (if contested as a flat start and not a relay start) would rank her 2nd in the country behind only Olympic champion and American Record holder Rebecca Soni.
Freeman’s split makes her only the second American female to break the 1:06 barrier all-time, and it would have qualified her for the Beijing Olympics this past summer.
