Bold takeaway: Aimee Canny shifts her NCAA strategy, focusing on the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 breast at the 2026 NCAA Championships instead of her usual freestyle events.
2026 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships
- When: Wednesday, March 18 – Saturday, March 21, 2026
- Where: McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, GA
- Defending champions: Virginia (five-time titleholders)
- Championship details: NCAA announced selection info and schedules (link provided), plus pre-selection psych sheets and live results/video options.
Virginia senior Aimee Canny will compete in the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 breaststroke at the NCAA Championships, opting out of the 200 and 500 freestyle events that she has swum in previous championships.
Her lineup hints emerged at the ACC meet, where she swam the 200 breast and 400 IM, finishing second (200 breast, 2:02.97) and third (400 IM, 4:02.35) and delivering lifetime bests in both. She also swam the 500 free, placing second with 4:34.46, just two tenths off her personal best from October (4:34.26).
Returning to the 200 breast is not surprising; she placed seventh at last year’s NCAA Championships and was the only Cavaliers’ finalist that week. This selection marks the third different NCAA lineup for Canny across her career and her first 200 IM since 2023, when she finished 19th in 1:56.10.
Her absence in the 200 free is notable, given that event has been a staple for her at the past two NCAA Championships, with a fourth-place finish in 2024 (1:42.33) and ninth in 2025 (1:42.57). She recently clocked her best 200 free time of 1:41.81 as the leadoff leg for Virginia’s 800 free relay at ACCs, ranking 10th in a deep field. On the pre-scratch psych sheets, she sits No. 2 in the 200 breast, No. 6 in the 400 IM, and No. 8 in the 200 IM.
The 500 free would have been a strong option for her, given her season-best pace is near the top (ranked 5th this season). However, it is scheduled after the 200 breast on day three, and as noted, she is a favorite in that breaststroke event. Historically, Canny has not found extensive NCAA success in the 500 free; in 2024 she dropped nearly three seconds from her season best to finish 17th (4:39.11 from 4:36.26). In 2025 she followed a similar pattern, adding over five seconds to finish 38th (4:41.96).
This meet will mark Canny’s 400 IM debut at NCAAs and the field is one of the week’s strongest, headlined by top seed Bella Sims (Michigan) and two Stanford swimmers, Lucy Bell and Caroline Bricker. Canny will be joined by Cavaliers teammates Katie Grimes (4th), Leah Hayes (9th), and Sophia Umstead (12th) among the event’s top 12 finishers.
Canny’s best opportunity for an individual NCAA title likely rests with the 200 breast, where Lucy Bell sits just three-tenths ahead with a seed of 2:02.67. These two ACC standouts are the only entrants under 2:05 this season. Virginia’s emphasis on developing versatile breaststrokers is evident here.
In This Story
- Bella Sims
- Katie Grimes
- Leah Hayes
Would you like this rewritten version to emphasize different events or adjust the emphasis on specific athletes and rankings? Also, would you prefer a sharper, more data-driven tone or a more narrative, human-interest focus?
