McKenzie Siroky Continuing to Deliver on Breaststroke Potential

McKenzie Siroky Continuing to Deliver on Breaststroke Potential

One year ago, McKenzie Siroky blasted her way onto her first World Championships team with an emphatic one-on-one victory. She had tied for second place in the 50 breaststroke at U.S. Nationals, a poor finish leaving her in a dead-heat with Emma Weber, and she had to wait two more days for her chance to secure her spot on the U.S. team heading to Singapore. Siroky did just that, swimming a time of 30.05 to win by a half-second.

That breakout followed a strong freshman season at the University of Tennessee in which Siroky, once committed to play Division I ice hockey before turning her attention to swimming, had placed third in the 100-yard breaststroke at the NCAA Championships. Siroky ended up struggling at her first World Championships, tying for 17th in the 50 breast and losing a swim-off for first alternate, although she was hardly the only American to swim poorly as the team battled widespread illness.

Following another year of training, only her third in the pool year-round, Siroky has taken further steps toward making an international impact in the sprint breaststroke races. Her collegiate results were strong, including a tie for second in the 100-yard breast at NCAAs and her first-ever sub-57 performance in the event. Her breaststroke splits that ranked among the best in the field helped Tennessee finish second and fourth in the medley relays at the national meet.

Then, Siroky traveled to Europe and picked up five victories in five attempts on the Mare Nostrum circuit. At the first stop in Monaco, she focused on the knockout rounds of the 50 breast and placed first on all five occasions. In prelims, she dropped her best time to 29.73 before going even quicker that evening with a 29.64. The latter effort made Siroky the sixth-fastest woman in history in the event and the second-best American ever, trailing only Lilly King (29.40). A time that quick in last year’s World Championships final would have been good enough for silver.

Siroky added the 100 breaststroke to her lineup in Canet and Barcelona, and she swept her two races at both meets. She did not improve on her 50 breast time, continually swimming in the 30-low range, but she annihilated her previous top mark in the two-lap event. In 2025, Siroky topped out at 1:07.66, a drop of only five hundredths from the previous year, but in Canet, she broke into 1:06-territory with times of 1:06.95 in prelims and 1:06.31 in the final. Days later, she won the Barcelona race in 1:06.20.

That time made Siroky the 15th-quickest American in history, and the only two U.S. swimmers to beat that mark last year were Kate Douglass, who won World Championships silver in the event, and King, who has since retired. Moreover, Siroky still has two months to prepare for the Pan Pacific Championships, and these massive best times suggest further drops to come.

The 21-year-old has positioned herself to contend for medals in both of her events. Currently, she tops the world rankings in the 50 while sitting third in the 100, trailing only Great Britain’s Angarhad Evans and Japanese veteran Satomi Suzuki. Only two American swimmers are eligible to qualify for A-finals at Pan Pacs, but with King no longer competing, Siroky appears to be the clear top U.S. swimmer in the 50. Douglass will be tough to beat in the 100, but Siroky might have an edge on domestic competitors such as Weber and Alex Walsh.

Siroky might not have risen through the ranks in swimming according to the traditional path, but her raw strength and speed allowed her to rapidly develop into a contender and World Championships team member. Following another year of refinement, Siroky continues to trend upward.