Van Mathias Sets World Record in First International Relay

Van Mathias walked onto the pool deck in Irvine, California as an American record holder, but he left Wednesday night as a world champion.

The Indiana University director of operations helped Team USA smash the world record in the mixed 4x100-meter medley relay at the Pan Pacific Championships. Swimming the breaststroke leg in just 57.3 seconds, Mathias and his teammates finished in 3:36.70, nearly a full second faster than the previous record set in 2024.

What makes this achievement even sweeter? This was Mathias's first senior international meet representing Team USA.

Indiana native Will Modglin started the relay strong, and Olympic stars Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass brought it home. But Mathias's breaststroke split was the engine that powered the team to history.

The record-breaking swim wasn't even Mathias's only highlight of the day. Earlier Wednesday, he earned a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly with a personal best time of 22.84 seconds. Not bad for someone competing outside his specialty events.

Why This Inspires

Mathias came into these championships already holding American records in both the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke. But setting a world record on your first international relay? That's the kind of debut that announces you've arrived on the biggest stage.

The achievement also highlights the depth of Indiana University's swimming program. Four Hoosiers competed on opening day, with Anna Peplowski finishing as the top American in the women's 200-meter freestyle and Alex Shackell placing fifth in the women's 200-meter butterfly.

Mathias still has three individual events ahead this week: the 50 freestyle, 50 breaststroke, and 100 breaststroke. If his opening day performance is any indication, more records could fall before he heads back to Bloomington.

Sometimes the best debuts exceed even the highest expectations.