Bermudian Olympian Emma Harvey capped off a stellar desert campaign at the prestigious 2026 AZ Sun Devil Open, securing a bronze medal on the final day of competition in Tempe, Arizona.
Having already rewritten the history books with a record-breaking gold in the 50m backstroke earlier in the meet, the versatile speed specialist shifted her focus to the grueling butterfly discipline at the Mona Plummer Aquatic Center. Competing against a stacked field of elite collegiate and international athletes in the Women’s 13 & Over 100m Butterfly A-Final, Harvey produced a masterclass in metronomic pacing to touch the wall in 1:01.01 to claim third place overall.
What left spectators and coaches marveling down the stretch was Harvey’s astonishing, mechanical consistency. During the early morning preliminary sessions, she clocked a blistering 1:01.02 to comfortably qualify third fastest. Returning to the blocks under the stadium floodlights for the grand finale, she replicated her morning performance almost to the exact hundredth of a second, touching just 0.01 seconds faster.
Tracking the blistering early pace set by race winner Lindsay Looney, Harvey executed a powerful underwater phase at the turn. As the lactic acid took its toll in the final ten meters, she dug deep into her reserves to hold off a furious late surge from the chasing pack. The podium finish provides an ideal baseline as the junior standout transitions into the peak of her international summer schedule.
