Georgia’s Jake Magahey Finds Fifth Straight A Final in ‘Baby’ 500 Free Rewarding
Jake Magahey calls the 500 free “my baby.” Like any baby, the nurturing process isn’t uniform or smooth.
There have been sleepless nights, frustration, struggles to maintain context on a bad day. The Dacula, Georgia native’s memory of his first 500 when he was 13 years old remains vivid. And there’s been joy, maybe not any that matched the on-paper pinnacle of Magahey’s NCAA title as a freshman in 2021, but efforts that have brought fulfillment.
And along that occasionally uneven journey, Magahey has earned his way into five consecutive NCAA Championships A finals in his signature event, a special streak that is nonetheless complicated in its emotional resonance.
“It’s hard to put into words,” Magahey said Friday. “It’s a lot of different things.”
The Georgia fifth-year has authored a fascinating career. He won an NCAA title in his first championships swim, claiming gold in 2021 in 4:07.97. His fastest time in the 500 was set at SECs his freshman season at 4:06.71.
Jake Magahey; Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Seen one way, Magahey has been chasing that high since. He finished second to teammate Matt Sates in 2022, then third in 2023 and 2024, the latter with Leon Marchand deciding to go outside his comfort zone to Magahey’s misfortune.
Seen another, Magahey may not have matched that freshman speed, but he’s refused to go away, turning in remarkable consistency in a grueling event that included a fourth-place finish on Thursday.
“It was tough going into that race,” Magahey said. “It’s a tough event, it hurts, it’s a competitive event. It’s way different than it was when I won it in 2021, and so it took a lot of mental preparation and just realizing this is my last 500, there’s a lot of good memories that come with it, and just enjoy it. Enjoy your last one.”
The 500 has brought Magahey both joy and pain, though the overarching feeling is a sense of hard-earned peace. Winning as a freshman with no expectations, more than anything, “gave me more confidence than anything, just knowing I’ve been here, I’ve been successful in this.” Some of the results have been tough to swallow – third in 2023 stands out to him – but the emotions are nuanced.
Magahey’s response has been similarly complex. It’s fallen to other events, around the pillar of the 500, to “kind of revive my swimming career in ways that I didn’t really expect.” Magahey finished second in the 1,650 freestyle as a freshman, then fourth in 2022 and third in 2023. He paired that with the 200 free, where he finished no better than 12th in his first three years. As a senior, he switched to the 400 individual medley and the 200 butterfly, earning second swims in each, with a fifth-place result in the IM.
As a fifth-year, Magahey has made three individual A finals for the first time, matching his fourth-place in the 500 free with fourth in the IM. He was seventh in the 200 fly Saturday.
Those new frontiers have helped make up for the stagnation in the 500. They’ve added dimensions to his college experience, new goals to aim at. And coupled with how Magahey has processed the changes in the 500, they’ve added up to that sense of equanimity about his career.
“It’s not worth getting upset about where you’re at,” he said. “There’d be some situations where you have a swim where you didn’t do your best, but I can honestly say, in every situation, I’ve done my best and really given it my all. So if that’s all, then I’m fine with the result.”
