Incoming freshman Madison Broad of The University of Toledo swimming and diving team represented her home country, Canada, in the 100 and 200 backstroke at the 2019 Pan-American Games last week in Lima, Peru.
“This meet was a great stepping stone in Madison’s international and upcoming NCAA career,” said Head Coach Jonas Persson, . “She raced some really fast swimmers, which helped her gain experience and will make the transition to competing in big collegiate meets easier. Two sixth-place finishes at a meet like this is a big deal, and it was great to see her have so much success.”
On Aug. 7, Broad competed in the preliminary round of the 200 backstroke, touching the wall in 2:14.25 and securing a place in the A-finals. Swimming in lane seven, Broad was able to drop nearly two seconds off her time to finish sixth. The Wallaceburg, Ontario, native clocked a 2:12.82 in the final round, finishing nearly four seconds ahead of Florencia Perotti from Argentina who took seventh.
Finishing up at the Pan-Am Games Aug. 8, Broad saw herself in the A-finals of the 100 backstroke, after clocking in at 1:02.99 during the third heat of the preliminary round. Competing in lane one of the A-finals, Broad posted a time of 1:02.44 to finish in sixth place, less than a second behind Fernanda De Goeij from Brazil.
Broad’s personal best time of 2:09.45 in the 200 backstroke is ranked 18th in the world and is the 88th-fastest time in history.
She will be joining the Rockets this fall, looking to make an immediate impact in the backstroke events.
