After impressive performances in prelims, Americans Margo Geer and Madison Kennedy reserved center lanes in the championship final, hoping to capture momentum early. While this meet marks Kennedy’s third time participating in the Pan American Games, the talented sprinter has yet to achieve the coveted victory. As top seed, the veteran entered with hopes of attaining America’s first gold medal in this event since 2011, but this historically unpredictable event took a different turn.
While Kennedy’s dreams failed to come to fruition, Etiene Medeiros’ blossomed, as she sprinted to a 24.88 finish to earn Brazil’s first medal in this event at the Pan American Games. The only woman under 25 seconds, Medeiros bettered Geer’s (25.03) time by over a tenth, while Kennedy stroked in with a 25.14 for third.
Brazil’s Lorrane Versiani and Canada’s Kyla Leibel tied for fourth with a time of 25.52, swimming identical races all the way down to their matching reaction times. Bolivia’s Karen Guzman (25.56) put forth a solid effort for sixth, edging out Colombia’s Isabella Arcila (25.61) and Canada’s Alyson Ackman (25.87).
