COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Penn State senior Ally McHugh (Philadelphia, Pa.), who was named to the USA Swimming National Team for 2018-19 last week, added another honor Wednesday, as she was officially named to represent the U.S. at the 2019 FINA World Championships in Gwangju, South Korea, USA Swimming announced.
McHugh, the reigning U.S. National Champion in the women's 400-meter individual medley, is one of 22 selected to the 2019 World Championships women's team and one of two slated to compete in the 400 IM for Team USA. Team members qualified to represent the United States based on the combined results of the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships and the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships.
At U.S. Nationals in July, McHugh's personal-best time of 4:34.80 in the 400m IM earned her gold and was the fourth-fastest time in the world in the event for the year. It also made her Penn State's first women's swimming U.S. National Champion. In the 1500m freestyle, McHugh shaved off more than 13 seconds from her previous best to win the silver medal in 16 minutes, 2.56 seconds, a time which ranks as the 10th fastest in the world for the year. At PanPacs, McHugh recorded three top-10 finishes with qualifying times in both the 400m IM and freestyle. McHugh was able to cut her personal-best in the 400m free by three seconds, finishing the race in 4:08.72.
McHugh has seen dramatic improvement in long course events since arriving in Happy Valley.
The FINA World Championships are scheduled for July 21-28, 2019. The event is the final major international aquatics event before the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
McHugh will be the first Penn State women's swimmer to compete at the World Championships since Alyson Ackman joined Team Canada's 4x200 free relay team at the 2015 championships in Kazan, Russia, and the first to do so for Team USA since Margy Keefe earned a silver medal in the outdoor 5K race at the 2005 championships in Montreal.
400m IM
Before Penn State: 4:52.05
At Penn State (2017): 4:40.23 (6th USA/30th World)
At Penn State (2018): 4:34.80 (1st USA/4th World)
Difference (Before PSU to 2018): 17.25 seconds
Difference (2017-2018): 5.43 seconds
400m Free
Before Penn State: 4:28.19
At Penn State (2017): 4:11.74 (17th USA/69th World)
At Penn State (2018): 4:08.72 (9th USA/30th World)
Difference (Before PSU to 2018): 19.47 seconds
Difference (2017-2018): 3.02 seconds
800m Free
Before Penn State: 9:24.12
At Penn State (2017): 8:35.01 (12th USA/46th World)
At Penn State (2018): 8:24.22 (4th USA/9th World)
Difference (Before PSU to 2018): 59.90 seconds
Difference (2017-2018): 10.79 seconds
1500m Free
Before Penn State: 18:25.83
At Penn State (2017): 16:16.20 (6th USA/15th World)
At Penn State (2018): 16:02.56 (4th USA/10th World)
Difference (Before PSU to 2018): 2:23.37
Difference (2017-2018): 13.64 seconds
McHugh's 2017-18 season for Penn State before the summer was highlighted by her standout performances at both the Big Ten and NCAA Championships. Shattering her own Penn State record of 15:59.03 in the 1650-yard freestyle, McHugh claimed her first Big Ten title and also set a new meet record with a swim of 15:43.34. She also won silver in the 400 IM. McHugh improved in the mile at the NCAA Championships, breaking her own record again with a historic swim of 15:36.27 to place second. The swim made her Penn State's highest-finishing swimmer all-time at the NCAA Women's Swimming & Diving Championships and the program's third NCAA medalist.
Check GoPSUSports.com for coverage of the Penn State swimming and diving teams during the season. Follow the team on Twitter at @PennStateSWIM and on Facebook at facebook.com/pennstateswimminganddiving.
