The 2019 Pan American Games entered its first night of competition in Peru, as athletes from the Americas convened for an intracontinental showdown. Positioned at the end of a climactic summer, the Games had much work to do in the immediate aftermath of the World Championships. In true form, however, the athletes delivered, kicking off the event in a way that sent shockwaves throughout the swimming community. A mere tease of what is to come, tonight’s events showcased the strength of the Americas, as Lima revs up for a historic week of competition.
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Women’s 400 Free
As foretold by the heat sheets, Delfina Pignatiello cinched the women’s 400 free victory with ease, dropping a time of 4:10.86 to nab Argentina’s first gold in this event since 1951. The distance stalwart declined an invitation to this year’s World Championships in South Korea, choosing to take her talents to Lima two weeks later. There was certainly a method to the madness, as she gained a commanding lead early on, surging ahead of Canada’s Danica Ludlow (4:11.97) for a historic win.
Ludlow’s compatriot, Patiricia Ackman crashed the pads with a time of 4:12.05 for third, edging out America’s Mariah Denigan (4:12.23) for a spot on the podium. Teammates Aline Rodrigues and Viviane Jungbl created outside smoke, turning in times of 4:12.79 and 4:15.35, respectively. As a result, Mexico’s Allison Ayumi Alba and America’s Rebecca Mann fell in the rankings, clocking in at 4:15.39 and 4:15.51, respectively.
Men’s 400 Free
Andrew Abruzzo tallied the U.S.’s first gold with an impressive 3:48.41 to start the men’s schedule. Despite getting a slow start off the block–he boasted a reaction time of 0.82–Abruzzo managed to cinch a decisive win, bettering Fernando Scheffer’s (3:39.60) mark by over a second. Brazil’s Luiz Melo barely conceded the silver to his teammate, throwing up a 3:49.91 for third ahead of the America’s Christopher Wieser (3:50.39).
Latin America continued to impress, as Venezuela’s Rafael Davila made one of his first big appearances since NCAA’s, crashing the pads with a 3:52.27 to edge out Mexico’s Ricardo Vargas (3:52.68). El Salvador’s Marcelo Acosta and Columbia’s Santiago Corredor (a current University of Florida Gator) brought up the rear with times of 3:54.20 and 3:56.00, respectively.
Women’s 100 Breast
Despite adding some time from prelims, Olympic hopeful Annie Lazor brought home another gold for the U.S. in the women’s 100 breast, cruising to a 1:06.94 on a full stroke to cinch the win. After breaking the top twenty in the world this morning, Julia Sebastian (1:07.09) chased Lazor in the final, barely eclipsing the sub-1:07 mark to nab silver over Canada’s Faith Knelson (1:07.42).
Penn State alumnus Melissa Rodriguez represented Mexico from lane 6, clocking in at 1:07.74 to just miss the podium. J Alves went stroke for stroke with her at the flags, crashing the pads with a 1:08.00 to break into the top five over America’s Molly Hannis (1:08.32). Medina Gonzalez edged out her bookend in the first lane, Mercedes Toledo (1:10.20), for the penultimate spot with a time of 1:10.04.
Men’s 100 Breast
The Brazilians flanked the United States’ best breaststrokers, as Joao Gomes narrowly took down Cody Miller (59.57) with a 59.51 for the victory. Kevin Cordes made sure to reserve the last spot on the podium with a 1:00.27, as Felipe Ferreira fell short of joining his compatriot at the medal ceremony (1:00.27).
Jorge Murillo of Colombia slashed his time from the World Championships, as he stroked to a season best of 1:00.91. Mexico’s Miguel de Lara Ojeda (1:01.12) engaged in a climactic stroke race with his teammate, Mauro Castillo Luna (1:01.15) to round out the heat, while Martin Malconian (1:02.09) brought up the rear with a time of 1:02.09.
Women’s 200 Fly
Argentina continued to manhandle the competition with another gold, as Virginia Bardach earned top honors with a 2:10.87 in her premier meet of the summer. Shaving nearly a second off her time from prelims, Bardach put herself within striking distance of breaking the top 50 in the world this year.
Mary-Sophie Harvey of Canada was her closest competitor, as she represented North America with a 2:11.68 of her own, gaining a healthy advantage over the U.S.’s Meghan Small (2:12.51). Diana Luna of Mexico missed the podium by half a second, but defended her place in the top four with a 2:13.02, punting the States’ Sarah Gibson (2:13.08) to fifth.
Maria Mata Cocco touched in close behind, dropping a 2:13.12 to take down Danielle Hanus (2:13.95) and Isabella Paez (2:15.53) for sixth.
Men’s 200 Fly
As if the night hadn’t produced enough historic swims, Leonardo Gomes de Dues of Brazil became the third person to win three Pan American titles in the same event. Surging down the center of the lane to a 1:55.86 finish, Gomes dusted the rest of the field, leaving America’s Samuel Pomajevich (1:57.35) and Colombia’s Jonathan Gomez (1:57.75) to chase him.
It was Brazil’s Luiz Melo (1:57.78) who experienced the night’s heartbreaker, as he fell to fourth by 0.03 and eclipsed the podium. Jose Martinez of Mexico barely beat his compatriot to the finish, clocking in at 1:59.23 to mark the last man under 2:00. Hector Ruvalcaba put forth a nearly identical swim to prelims, tallying points for his country with a 2:00.69.
While Thomas Shields appeared to be a viable contender for a medal, the eager American ultimately fell short, conceding seventh to Argentina’s Nicolas Deferrari (2:01.84) with his 2:06.65.
Women’s 400 Free Relay
America’s lethal quartet of Lia Neal, Claire Rasmus, Kendyl Stewart, and Margo Geer proved more than enough for the championship win, as the four sprinted to a 3:39.59 finish to gain a healthy advantage over Brazil’s Etiene Pires de Medeiros, Larissa Martins de Oliviera, Manuella Duarte Lyrio, and Daynara Lopes Ferreira (3:41.01).
It was far from easy, however, as the States found themselves at the disadvantage halfway through the race before Stewart narrowly out-split Lyrio to gain the slight lead. It was Geer who won the race, turning in the second fastest split in the field (54.36) to give the Americans enough closing speed to seal the deal. Canada clocked in at 3:41.01 to clinch third, despite possessing the fastest woman in the heat in Alexia Zevnik, who split 54.03 at anchor.
Men’s 400 Free Relay
Brazil came out on top on the men’s side, as Breno Martina Correia, Marcelo Chierighini, Bruno Fratus, and Pedro Spajari combined forces to throw down a 3:12.61 in the men’s 400 free relay to slash the meet record. With every man holding under :49, the quartet was wholly unstoppable, jumping to an immediate lead that only extended with each leg.
The United States’ dynamic combination of Michael Chadwick, Drew Kibler, Grant House, and Nathan Adrian was good enough for silver, as the men clocked in at 3:14.94 to put distance between themselves and Mexico’s A-team of Gabriel Garcia, Carranza Ramirez, Andres Cesar, and Feng Gutierrez (3:17.70).
Nathan Adrian, who has made a recent return to the sport after a battle with testicular cancer, dropped one of the fastest splits in the field with a 47.70 anchor leg, second only to Chierighini’s 47.45. One of the marquee players in this year’s Pan American Games, Adrian will surely be nurturing his comeback with more fast times in the coming days, as his road to recovery may point in the direction of Tokyo.
Remembering the 1967 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg and sending a shout out to all my old teammates ! I hope you are still swimming….I am ! By the way….. Happy Birthday to Pam Carpinelli today !