As if the night hadn’t produced enough historic swims, Leonardo de Dues of Brazil became the third person to win three Pan American titles in the same event (200 fly). 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.
