Eight days after winning the gold medal in the 100 butterfly at the Pan American Games, Giles Smith won the event at the Arizona senior championships at his home pool in Paradise Valley with a lifetime best.
Representing Phoenix Swim Club, Smith clocked a 51.92, his first time under 52 seconds in a career that includes a 2014 USA Swimming short course national title and an appearance in the 2012 Olympic Trials final of the 100 fly. It’s a bit faster than the 52.04 he swam in Toronto at the Pan American Games, and he owes it to slightly faster splits on the first and second 50s.
Comparative splits:
Pan American Games: 24.49, 27.55 (52.04)
AZ championships: 24.47, 27.45 (51.92)
The improvement of 12 hundredths of a second moves Smith up from 20th in the global rankings to a three-way tie for 14th with Italy’s Matteo Rivolta and Australia’s Tommaso D’Orsogna. Smith remains the third-fastest American at this point in 2015, behind the sixth-ranked 51.64 by Jack Conger and the 51.73 by Tom Shields that ranks ninth in the world.
Smith had a bit of competition through 75 meters, as former Japanese national team member Kohei Kawamoto, who trains at Phoenix Swim Club. Kawamoto was out in 24.72 before fading to second with a strong 53.49.
Also participating in the meet was Swimming World senior writer Jeff Commings, who chased the Olympic Trials qualifying time of 1:03.69 in the 100 breaststroke and finished with a 1:03.94. It marks the 41-year-old’s second time under 1:04 as a Masters swimmer, almost beating the 1:03.76 he swam in 2013. Commings was first at the 50-meter mark with a 29.55 split, and placed fourth in the race, with Scottsdale Aquatic Club’s Carl Mickelson winning with a 1:03.09.
Full results available on Meet Mobile under “2015 AZ Swimming LC Senior Championship.”
Great job Jeff– your pacing around the pool worked today! We are proud of you
Thanks, Julie!
Great swim but…did he win? Oh runner- up Kawamoto, who represented Japan in the ’96 Olympics ( 1896!) was runneup, in 53.49. Okay. If Smith can get in low 51s at San Antonio’in a couple of weeks he could become a legit contender to pair w/either Phelps or Shields at Rio,