USA Swimming Grand Prix, Los Angeles: Dana Vollmer Posts World Best in 100 Fly to Close Curtain

LOS ANGELES, California, July 11. THE last night of action of the USA Swimming Grand Prix circuit featured a top-ranked swim by California's Dana Vollmer in the women's 100 fly. The final swims took place at the Los Angeles Grand Prix, previously the Janet Evans Invitational, in a long course meter format. Meanwhile, Mission Viejo's Chloe Sutton closed down the circuit as the overall winner with a $20,000 check for the win.

Vollmer raced to the top time in the world in the women's 100 fly with a smoking time of 57.39. That effort cleared the previous top-ranked time of 57.67 set by Jiao Liuyang at the Chinese Long Course Nationals held in April. The time is not far off Vollmer's American record of 56.94 set at the World Championships last summer. Tucson Ford's Christine Magnuson placed second in 58.87, while Trojan's Lyndsay De Paul finished third in 59.13.

Tucson Ford's Masayuki Kishida won the men's 100 fly in 52.80, falling short of his swift fourth-ranked season best of 51.98 from the Japanese Long Course Nationals. California's Tom Shields placed second in 53.62, while China's Chen Yin wound up third in 54.10.

California's Natalie Coughlin ripped off a 1:00.52 in the women's 100 back for the win. She improved her 16th-ranked season best of 1:00.77 set in May, and leapfrogged up to 12th in the world. Aquajet Rachel Bootsma placed second in 1:00.91 to grab 18th in the world, while Terrapin Presley Bard gained third in 1:01.03. Bard also cleared her season best of 1:01.24, which had ranked her 24th in the rankings. She moved up to 22nd with tonight's swim.

California's David Russell topped Tucson Ford's Matt Grevers, 54.27 to 54.56, in the men's 100 back. Russell vaulted to 12th in the world rankings, up from his previous season best of 54.65 that ranked 23rd. Grevers has been much faster with a second-ranked 53.05 from the Austin Grand Prix. Pinheiros' Guilherme Guido wound up third in 55.99.

Trojan's Rebecca Soni posted a convincing win in the women's 100 breast with a 1:06.23. She finished a bit off her second-ranked season best of 1:05.90 set at the Charlotte UltraSwim. Only Leisel Jones has been faster with a 1:05.79 in March. Trojan teammate Jessica Hardy snared second in 1:08.61, short of her seventh-ranked season best of 1:07.72 clocked at the Austin Grand Prix. Walnut Creek's Kasey Carlson rounded out the top three in 1:09.55.

Coca Cola's Kosuke Kitajima, by way of the Trojan Swim Club, eased through the men's 100 breast with a winning 1:00.82. Kitajima is one of only two swimmers to clear 1:00 this year with a second-ranked 59.91. Compatriot Ryo Tateishi (59.84) is the only person to swim faster this year. Tucson Ford's Mike Alexandrov took second in 1:01.35, while Pinheiros' Tales Cerdeira placed third in 1:01.81. Alexandrov moved to 21st in the world, while Cerdeira already owns a 15th-ranked 1:01.12 from May.

FAST's Katie Hoff smoked the women's 200 free with a winning time of 1:57.58. That performance jumped her from 13th in the world with a 1:58.06 season best from the Mare Nostrum tour to seventh in the world ahead of China's Tang Yi (1:57.64). FAST teammate Ariana Kukors cruised to second in 1:58.95, while another teammate Kate Ziegler took third in 1:59.77.

In an exciting finale to the individual swims for the meet, Trojan's Markus Rogan touched out FAST's Tyler Clary, 2:00.82 to 2:00.92, in the men's 200 IM. Rogan's top time this year is a fifth-ranked 1:59.12 from the Mare Nostrum circuit, while Clary improved to 21st in the world. Kitajima earned his second podium of the night with a 2:01.66 for third place.

In distance events, Longhorn's Michael Klueh topped the men's 800 free in 8:01.82. That time jumped him to 21st in the world rankings. Island's Jeremy Bagshaw finished second in 8:10.46, while Trojan's Richard Charlesworth took third in 8:12.69. Mission Aurora's Bonnie Brandon won the women's 1500 free with a 16:45.76, while Tucson Ford's Susana Helms touched second in 16:49.65. West Coast's Kelsey Cummings nabbed third in 16:53.97.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x