TYR Pro Series San Antonio, Day Four Finals (Women’s Events): Regan Smith, Kate Douglass Shine on Star-Studded Night

TYR Pro Series San Antonio, Day Four Finals (Women’s Events): Regan Smith, Kate Douglass Shine on Star-Studded Night

Over the first three days of the USA Swimming TYR Pro Series stop in San Antonio, one thing has been abundantly clear. The athletes competing at the Northside Swim Center are moving toward the upcoming summer with significant momentum and potential.

While Hong Kong’s Siobhan Haughey prepared for July’s Olympic Games in Paris with statement performances in the 100-meter freestyle and 200 freestyle, American Torri Huske – ahead of the U.S. Olympic Trials – scared her American record in the 100 butterfly. More, Regan Smith has continued to look sharp in the 200 butterfly and 200 backstroke.

The final day of competition in San Antonio features action in the 800 freestyle, 100 backstroke, 200 breaststroke, 200 individual medley and 50 freestyle. Here is an event-by-event recap of the competition.

Women’s 800 Freestyle

Already the winner of the 400 freestyle and on the heels of a sub-1:55 effort in the 200 freestyle, Katie Ledecky easily beat the field in the 800 freestyle. The three-time defending Olympic champion in the event registered a winning time of 8:12.95, which was 15 seconds clear of runnerup Jillian Cox.

Ledecky’s time is No. 2 in the world for 2024, trailing only the 8:11.39 that was produced by Canadian Summer McIntosh back in February, The swim is also the 25th time in which Ledecky has gone faster than 8:13, and she now owns 25 of the 26-fastest performances in history. If Ledecky can win the 800 free at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, she will join Michael Phelps (200 IM; 2004-2016) as the only swimmers to win the same event at four consecutive Olympics.

Women’s 100 Backstroke

Regan Smith has been nothing short of sensational during the various legs of the TYR Pro Series, and that top-flight consistency was again on display on Saturday. Competing against a stacked field, Smith secured victory by more than a second in the 100 backstroke, her time of 57.74 just a tenth of a second off of her U.S. Open record from Westmont last month.

Smith was out in 28.19, good for a .70 edge on Claire Curzan, and she pulled away further over the last length to beat Katharine Berkoff (58.77) and Curzan (59.16). Rhyan White was also well under a minute, going 59.20.

Women’s 200 Breaststroke

It’s been quite a year for Kate Douglass in the 200 breaststroke, and for the second time since the calendar flipped to 2024, the American has broken the 2:20 barrier in the event. Blowing away her foes, Douglass took first place with a swim of 2:19.89. That effort complements the 2:19.30 she managed earlier in the campaign and backs up the world title she won in Doha in February.

Douglass went out in 32.33 to build almost a second lead on Lilly King and she touched at the midway point in 1:07.59, which was more than two seconds ahead of eventual runnerup Kotryna Teterevkova. Douglass closed with splits of 35.99 and 36.31 to make her the second woman this week to go under 2:20, joining South Africa’s Tatjana Smith (nee Schoenmaker). Teterevkova was second in 2:24.56.

200 Individual Medley

For the second consecutive stop on the TYR Pro Series, Torri Huske has established a personal-best time in the 200 individual medley. Following a career best in Westmont last month, Huske moved to No. 5 in the all-time United States rankings with a time of 2:08.47. That performance was enough to edge Alex Walsh, who checked in with a time of 2:08.60.

As expected, Huske surged to the lead on the opening butterfly leg, thanks to a 27.11 split. She stayed ahead of Walsh on the backstroke leg, but Walsh used her breaststroke prowess to take the lead at the 150-meter mark, 1:38.21 to 1:38.39. Down the freestyle leg, Huske narrowly pulled ahead, her 30.08 split getting the job done over the 30.39 of Walsh.

Women’s 50 Freestyle

Poland’s Kasia Wasick captured a swift and tight battle in the 50 freestyle to close out action in San Antonio. Wasick, a multi-time international medalist in the 50 free, won her prime event in 24.20, which was one of three performances under 24.30. Wasick edged Americans Abbey Weitzeil (24.27) and Gretchen Walsh (24.29), with Simone Manuel delivering a strong effort of 24.39 for fourth place.

Wasick has medaled in the 50 freestyle on two occasions at both the World Championships and European Champs. Her focus now is to reach the podium in the sprint event at the Olympic Games, an opportunity that is just a few months away in Paris.

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