Ryan Murphy becomes first swimmer to sweep backstroke events at world championship

At the 2022 Short Course World Championships, Ryan Murphy won the 200 backstroke event to complete his triple, making history as the first man or woman to win all three backstroke competitions in a single world championship.

On the last day of the six-day short course worlds on Sunday, Ryan Murphy won the 200m backstroke. He also won two backstroke events at the 2016 Olympics. In a US one-two, he beat Shaine Casas by six-tenths of a second with a time of 1:47.41. Murphy has won 50-meter and 100-meter backstroke events in the past.

Melbourne 2022 FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships - Day 6

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Ryan Murphy's performance at World Championships

In the US men's 4x100 medley relay squad, the 27-year-old American equaled Australia's brand-new world-record time. Ryan Murphy received Swimmer of the Meet recognition for his five gold medals from Melbourne.

On Wednesday, Murphy won a 100 backstroke in a Championship-record time of 48.50, shattering the previous record held by Russia's Stanislav Donetc back in 2010. He won 50m back in a contentious 22.64 seconds on Friday before winning 200m back in 1:47.41 on Sunday.

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What's next for Ryan Murphy

Ryan Murphy intends to continue training aggressively into the summer of 2023 despite his demanding schedule and stellar results at the Short Course Worlds. He was able to return to condition in time for the Short Course Worlds after having a long hiatus this past summer, but his result at the back of the 200 made him realize he still has to improve on his endurance.

“I like the 50 and the 100 a lot better than the 200. I know what I am going to work on over the next few months going into the long-course season. I’m not going to take a few days off over Christmas. For me, it will be head down, one foot in front of the other. I will lift my head up in June and see how it goes.”

In January, Knoxville, Tennessee will host a Pro Series competition to continue the swimming season.

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Over The Years

Since Ryan Lochte won the IMs in 2010 and 2012, Ryan Murphy has been the only guy to accomplish a triple gold at any stroke in the past ten years. On the women's side, in 2016 and 2018, Katinka Hosszu won all three IMs. When 50 new strokes were added to the program for the first time in 1999, Masami Tanaka tripled her previous record in the women's breaststroke.

In 2016 (the Olympics do not include the 50m), Murphy won both backstroke events. Yevgeny Rylov of Russia won both backstroke events at the Tokyo Olympics last year. Due to the continuing conflict in Ukraine, all Russian swimmers are prohibited from competing internationally; however, Rylov was singled out for a 2022 ban after participating in a pro-Putin demonstration in March.

Thomas Ceccon of Italy, who in the summer in Budapest broke Murphy's 100m backstroke world record, chose to compete in the non-backstroke category this week.

Melbourne 2022 FINA World Short Course Swimming Championships - Day 6

Nic Fink, a teammate of Murphy's, almost completed a breaststroke triple with victories in the 50 and 100 breast. In the 200 breast, he finished second to Daiya Seto.