University of North Carolina Athletics
Luchsinger Nabs 5th In 200 Fly At Worlds
July 31, 2013 | Swimming & Diving
BARCELONA, SPAIN - Tom Luchsinger of the University of North Carolina captured fifth place Wednesday in the 200-meter butterfly at the 15th FINA World Aquatics Championships.
Swimming in his first international meet for the United States, the Mt. Sinai, N.Y. native and 2013 UNC alumnus went faster in each of the three rounds of competition from prelims through finals. He was the last qualifier for the championship final but moved up three spots to fifth place, finishing as the highest ranked American in the field. He clocked a 1:55.70, just .13 of a second off his career best of 1:55.57 when he won the U.S. Swimming national championship in the event in June in Indianapolis.
Chad le Close of South Africa blistered the field to win the gold medal in 1:54.32. Pawl Korzeniowski of Poland grabbed the silver in 1:55.01 and Peng Wu of China claimed bronze in 1:55.09. Luchsinger's USA teammate Tyler Clary finished seventh in 1:56.34.
This was the first international team Luchsinger qualified for in his senior level career. He was slated to attend the World University Games in Russia earlier this month but was elevated to the World Championships Team after winning the U.S. title in June.
Luchsinger was the 2013 ACC Swimmer of the Year, a three-time All-America at Carolina and he won three ACC titles in the 200-yard butterfly and two in the 400-yard individual medley.
