Penn’s Matt Fallon is headed to the Paris Olympics as an American record holder in swimming

When Matt Fallon touched the wall in the finals of the 200-meter breaststroke at the Olympic trials last month, three things happened.

He won the race. He toppled a U.S. record that had stood for eight years. And he became Penn’s first American Olympic swimmer.

Fallon, who just finished his junior year at Penn, had entered the trials seeded first in the 200 breast. The possibility of Paris loomed. The single week in Indianapolis at the all-or-nothing U.S. trials had been his focus all year.

“No matter how good you are, it has to be that two minutes of your life,” said Mike Schnur, Fallon’s coach at Penn. “And to be able to put it all on the line when it mattered the most was just exactly what any coach wants, for anyone that they’ve worked with.”

Fallon’s finals time of 2 minutes, 6.54 seconds was more than two seconds ahead of second place, and cleared Josh Prenot’s national record of 2:07.17 set at the 2016 trials. Prenot went on to win silver in the event at the Rio Olympics that year.

“I still have times now where I’m thinking, it’s not really real,” Fallon said.

But the Olympics are no longer just a possibility for Fallon. And, since his time also happened to be the fastest in the world this year, he is ranked first as they approach.

Penn swimming is in Fallon’s blood. He wouldn’t exist without it. Both his parents swam there, and met on the team. His older siblings were swimmers, too, and his brother Billy was his teammate for a year as a Quaker.

Before Matt was chasing American records, he was chasing house records. His father, William, had the fastest 500 freestyle time in the family for years, until Billy eclipsed that during his first year of college. Then, it became Matt’s mission to best it.

“[Billy and Matt] were both much better swimmers than I was. They started earlier and trained harder and did more,” William Fallon said. “I have tremendous admiration for them and what they’ve done, and I don’t think what I did really compares to them, but it’s certainly very gratifying to see.”

Even with all the familial connections, it wasn’t a guarantee that Matt would end up a Quaker. The Warren, N.J., native was ranked eighth in his recruiting class, and was wooed by many Power Five programs. But he said it was the environment and the people at Penn, particularly Schnur, that tipped the scales.

William and Billy were both distance freestylers. In high school, Matt had one of the top 1,000-yard freestyle times for his age group, although his current specialty is a middle distance event.

But that family affinity for long-distance swimming is still there, and is one of the reasons for his success. At Penn, Fallon has developed a reputation for his strong back-half talent and his ability to come from behind at the end of a race.

“Being able to come back in events that aren’t super long events is definitely an asset to have when you’re racing against people that kind of take it out,” Fallon said. “So if you can take it out with them, and you’re able to bring it home, then it’s definitely just something to have up your sleeve that no one else has.”

It stems from his natural aerobic ability, which his coaches have helped take to a different level.

“Other breaststrokers don’t train like he does,” Schnur said. “A lot of them train a lot more speed work, and they’re trying to turn over their tempo a lot faster. Matt doesn’t do that. He trains like he’s swimming much longer races. He, in other words, trains a lot harder and a lot longer, with a lot more volume than any other 200 breaststroker does, probably in the world.”

All year, Fallon and Schnur trained under the banner of 2:07.17.

Prenot’s American record was their benchmark of success. Without being able to predict how fast Fallon’s opponents would swim at the trials, the fastest time ever in the country was the only tangible goal he could target.

“There’s no defense in our sport,” Schnur said. “If you do the best you can and you swim the greatest race of your life, but two other people swim even faster, then you just tip your cap to them and say, ‘Well done.’ But we had a pretty good feeling all year that if he did his goal time, he would win and make the team.”

Fallon swam toward that 2:07.17 all year, skipping holidays and school breaks to stay and train at Penn. Even the biggest meets of the Penn season, the Ivy League championships and NCAA championships, were just tune-ups.

The trials were held in Lucas Oil Stadium, and because of the unique setup of the pool on the Indianapolis Colts’ home field, the swimmers couldn’t see the pace clock during the race. In the 200 breast semifinals, Fallon’s time of 2:07.39 was 0.22 seconds away from Prenot’s record, and he had no idea.

Fallon told Schnur afterward that he’d pulled up in the final 15 yards to save his energy for the finals — something he wouldn’t have done if he’d known he was that close to his goal.

But the result proved that he had 2:07.17 in him. And it set up a storybook ending for Fallon in Indianapolis, where he qualified for his first Olympics and wrote his name in the record books all at once.

“I call it a father’s confidence. I knew he had it in him to do that swim,” said William Fallon, who was watching with his wife, Norma, in the stands. “To me, he was owed that on the basis of the amazing volume of work that he has put in over that period of time, and how arduous I know his workouts are.”

The Olympics will be a bit of a different animal than the trials. While the competition won’t be as deep, it will be stiffer at the top.

Fallon does have experience on the international stage to draw from, having won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Japan last summer. China’s Qin Haiyang swam a 2:05.48 to take gold and set a world record. Qin is also set to compete in Paris.

“I think the both experiences from Japan and this last Olympic trials are going to help me,” Fallon said. “They were both rehearsals for what’s going to happen in the Olympics. Obviously, the Olympics is a much bigger stage. The people are going to be faster, I believe, but I think I’ll still be able to keep up.”

Fallon and Schnur never talked about Paris until he actually qualified. Their focus was only on Indianapolis, and they didn’t want to get ahead of themselves. But Fallon was back in the pool working with Schnur the next day after the trials. William Fallon calls them a match made in heaven.

“He loves to train, and that’s why he and Schnur are hand in glove, because Schnur loves to give out hard workouts and just talk about sports, and so those two are often inseparable,” he said.

Fallon spent another week in Philadelphia after the trials working out with the Penn coaches, and then he was off to U.S. training camps, first in Raleigh, N.C., and then in Croatia.

His family will be supporting him in Paris. While Schnur will stay back in Philadelphia, he’s hoping to set up a Zoom call for the Penn team to watch Fallon’s races together.

Because Fallon, who has Penn swimming in his blood, will make history for his school just by stepping up to the blocks in Paris.

“I think Ivy League swimming is definitely being put on notice this summer,” Fallon said. “I’m excited to see where that takes it, and to watch it grow.”