Katie Ledecky Among Victors at Night 2 of 2017 arena Pro Swim Series Mesa

by Taylor Brien

14 April 2017, 04:30pm

The 2017 arena Pro Swim Series continued with top swims in finals of day two.

Day two finals were highlighted by gold-medal swims from Olympians Katie Ledecky, Chase Kalisz, and Simone Manuel. Ledecky delivered an impressive night of double swims with a first place finish in the 200 free and a close second place finish in the 400 IM.

For complete coverage, including interviews, check out Swimming World’s event landing page.

Events: 

• Women’s 400 IM
• Men’s 400 IM
• Women’s 200 Free
• Men’s 200 Free
• Women’s 200 Back
• Men’s 200 Back
• Women’s 50 Free
• Men’s 50 Free

Women’s 400 Individual Medley

It was a battle for first in the women’s 400 individual medley (IM) with multiple swimmers exchanging the lead throughout.

The race began with Ella Eastin of Stanford grabbing an early lead with the fly leg, before Stanford teammate Katie Ledecky edged ahead in the back. Ledecky fought to maintain her lead, but Canada’s Mary-Sophie Harvey was hungry for it and pulled away for a strong lead going in to the free.

Ledecky fought back and succeeded in closing the gap, swimming stroke-for-stroke with Harvey into the finish. At the touch it was Harvey who found victory with a 4:38.05. Ledecky settled for second with a 4:38.16, moving the two of them to eighth and ninth, respectively, in the world rankings.

Madisyn Cox turned in a third place finish of 4:40.37, just ahead of Olympian Melanie Margalis’ 4:40.47.

Eastin slipped to fifth with a final time of 4:41.19, followed by Haley Anderson’s 4:49.54.

Brooke Forde and Vien Nguyen rounded out the top eight with times of 4:50.00 and 4:50.90 respectively.

Men’s 400 Individual Medley

Chase Kalisz, the 2016 Olympic silver medalist, cruised to an easy victory in the men’s 400 individual medley (IM) final. Kalisz held off fellow Olympian Josh Prenot in the first half of the race, picking up a solid lead by the back-to-breast turn. Kalisz continued to build upon that lead, finishing the race with a solid 4:11.01, touching 6.5 seconds ahead of the competition.

Kalisz’s time moves him to fourth in the world rankings for 2017, behind David Verraszto (4:10.01), Daiya Seto (4:10.22), and Kosuke Hagino (4:10.45).

Prenot picked up a strong second place finish with a 4:17.72, sitting just a few seconds off his 2017 best of 4:14.74 from the Indy stop of the Pro Series.

Sean Grieshop turned in a third place finish of 4:22.07, followed by Etay Gurevich and his time of 4:23.18.

Jarod Arroyo (4:27.34), Hector Ruvalcaba Cruz (4:30.59), and Mark Jurek (4:37.06) rounded out the top heat.

Jonathan Gomez suffered a disqualification.

Women’s 200 Free

Stanford teammates Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel pushed each other throughout the start of the women’s 200 free. While fellow distance queen Leah Smith hung close throughout the race.

Ledecky pulled ahead at the 100-meter mark, slowly pulling away from the field to post a final time of 1:56.31. Her time moves her to fourth in the 2017 world rankings, behind Michelle Coleman (1:55.64), Emma McKeon (1:55.68), and Federica Pellegrini (1:55.94).

Smith picked up the silver medal, just ahead of Manuel, with a time of 1:58.47. Manuel settled for the bronze with a 1:58.98.

Louisa Hansson grabbed fourth overall with a 1:59.68, while Katie Drabot turned in a 2:00.38, good for fifth.

Melanie Margalis (2:02.08), Kelsi Worrell (2:03.47), and Lauren Case (2:03.98) completed the top heat.

Men’s 200 Free

Dylan Carter claimed victory in the men’s 200 free, holding off a fast moving Joao de Luca in the final 50 meters. Carter, who represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2016 Rio Olympics, stopped the clock at a 1:48.45 for the gold.

De Luca settled for second with a 1:49.51, just ahead of Cristian Quintero and his time of 1:49.59.

Matias Koski posted a 1:50.36 to finish fourth overall, while Long Gutierrez was fifth with a 1:50.44.

Michael Weiss (1:50.75), Marcela Acosta (1:50.96), and Trevor Carroll (1:52.01) were sixth through eighth respectively.

Women’s 200 Back

Young-gun Eva Merrell continued to impress in the women’s 200 back, posting the fastest time of the evening by close to half a second. Merrell, who trains with the Aquazots, delivered a final 2:11.63 for the gold, sitting just outside of the top twenty world rankings.

Erin Voss, swimming unattached, posted a 2:12.01, followed by Claire Adams and her time of 2:13.93.

Alice Treuth picked up a fourth-place finish of 4:14.70, while Callie Dickinson turned in a 2:17.70 for fifth.

The ‘A’ field was completed by Eleanna Koutsouveli (2:17.99), Annabelle Paterson (2:18.29), and Vien Nguyen (2:19.94).

Men’s 200 Back

Jacob Pebley delivered a smooth victory in the men’s 200 back final, claiming first by close to two seconds. Pebley, a 2016 Rio Olympian for Team USA, finished just off his 2017 world best of 1:55.56.

Arkady Vyatchanin, representing New York Athletic Club, grabbed second overall with a 1:58.61 to be the only other athlete beneath the two-minute mark. Vyatchanin’s time ties him for nineteenth in the world rankings.

Sean Lehane turned in a 2:00.66 for third, while Singapore’s Zheng Wen Quah was fourth overall with a 2:03.04.

Petter Fredriksson (2:03.19), David Cespedes Echeverry (2:04.64), Barkley Perry (2:06.14), and Omar Pinzon (2:08.80) completed the top heat.

Women’s 50 Free

Stanford’s Simone Manuel dominated the women’s splash and dash with a top showing of 24.66. Manuel commented that while her 50 felt “more like a 100” she was pleased with her swim. Manuel’s time ties her for seventh in the world rankings with Australia’s Shayna Black.

Madison Kennedy turned in a 24.99 to be the only other swimmer beneath the 25-second mark. Kennedy’s swim improves upon her 2017 world best of 25.16 from the Indy stop of the Arena Pro Series.

Lia Neal finished third overall with a 25.14, followed by New Zealand’s Gabrielle Fa’Amausili and her time of 25.36.

Etiene Medeiros picked up fifth with a 25.38, while Canyon Aquatics’ Amanda Kendall was sixth with a 25.83.

Cardinal Aquatics’ Kelsi Worrell swam a 50 fly, finishing seventh with a 25.59.

Men’s 50 Free

Ari-Pekka Liukkonen of Finland topped the competition in the men’s splash and dash, turning in the only sub-22 second time of finals. Liukkonen posted a 21.94 to move to sixth in the world rankings for 2017.

Olympic gold medalist Nathan Adrian turned in a second place finish of 22.25, close to his 2017 world best of 22.09 from the Indy stop of the Arena Pro Series.

Daniel Hunter of New Zealand turned in a third place finish of 22.53, followed closely by Cullen Jones’ 22.56.

Race Pace Club’s Michael Andrew grabbed fifth with a 22.62, followed by Dillon Virva’s time of 22.77.

Josh Schneider and Luke Pechmann completed the top heat with times of 23.10 and 23.12 respectively.

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