SHEFFIELD, England – Freshman Izzy Jones out-swam the Toledo long-course school record in the 200-meter backstroke when she competed in the 2017 British Swimming Championships last week. The championships were held on April 18-23 at the Ponds Forge International Sports Center in Sheffield, England.
 
As a member of the City of Milton Keynes Swim Club, Jones competed in the 200 back preliminaries on April 21 and stopped the clock at 2:16.48 for 16^th place. She moved up three spots for a 13^th-place finish in the final heat.
 
Later that evening, Jones won the "Target Tokyo" 200 back finals with an impressive time of 2:14.99, which was just under .5 seconds slower than her lifetime-best finish of 2:14.50. The previous Toledo long-course 200 back record of 2:15.37 was set by former Rocket Rachel Johnson in 2011.
 
"I was so surprised when I looked up at the scoreboard and saw my time and place!" said Jones. "I hadn't been feeling too confident from the 200 free two days before, but I had nothing to lose so I just swam my own race. I knew that winning this final would put me on the radar and in a really good position for the future. I know that if I continue to work hard as I have been then I can achieve any new sights and goals I set for myself."
 
The Ivinghoe, England native had an outstanding freshman season at Toledo and was named to the 2016-17 All-Mid-American Conference second-team for her stand-out efforts. Jones holds four spots in Toledo's All-Time Top-10 performance list. The freshman Rocket ranks second in the 200-yard back (1:56.63), third in the 200 free (1:48.05), fifth in the 100 back (55.71) and sixth in the 500 free (4:50.10).
 
"I'm very impressed with Izzy's performance at the British Championships," said Head Coach Jonas Persson. "Her 200 back keeps getting better and better, and she is really enjoying that race as well. Racing another meet just a few months after a very successful MAC Championships meet is difficult, but Izzy kept training hard and it paid off. She wanted to break a school record at MACs but didn't quite get there, so the fact that she got Toledo's long-course meters record was very special for her. In addition, winning the Target Tokyo final shows that she is a contender for the 2020 Olympic Games."