Katie Grimes Leads Sandpipers Sweep Of 800 Freestyle At TYR Pro Series In Knoxville; Ahmed Hafnaoui Tops Bobby Finke

Katie Grimes Leads Sandpipers Sweep Of 800 Freestyle At TYR Pro Series In Knoxville; Ahmed Hafnaoui Tops Bobby Finke

Action at the TYR Pro Series stop in Knoxville got underway on Wednesday, with the Sandpipers of Nevada and Tunisian Olympic champion Ahmed Hafnaoui delivering impressive performances. The long-course competition is the opening leg of the 2023 Pro Series, with the next three days featuring full schedules and the presence of Olympians Katie Ledecky, Ryan Murphy and Penny Oleksiak, among others.

Here’s what unfolded on the opening day of the meet, which featured distance competition in the 800-meter freestyle.

Meet Results

Women’s 800 Freestyle

Teenager Katie Grimes led a sweep of the top-three positions for the Sandpipers of Nevada, as she won the race by nearly five seconds in a time of 8:27.73. Grimes immediately surged to the lead and built an advantage of three-plus seconds by the midpoint of the race, with that cushion extended over the back half of the race. Grimes went through the 400-meter mark in 4:11.80 and will embrace a busy schedule over the next few days.

Grimes was followed to the wall by fellow Sandpipers teens Claire Weinstein and Bella Sims. Weinstein touched the wall in 8:32.60 while Sims was next in 8:34.04. Weinstein was less than a second ahead of Sims at the halfway mark, but pulled away over the last eight laps.

Men’s 800 Freestyle

A pair of reigning Olympic champions battled in the men’s 800 freestyle, with Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui emerging with a victory over American Bobby Finke. The Olympic titlist from Tokyo in the 400 freestyle, Hafnaoui delivered a swim of 7:53.10 to register a three-plus second triumph over Finke, who was the Tokyo gold medalist in the 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle. Hafnaoui opened with a 200-meter split of 1:56.91, which gave him a .65 edge on Finke. At the 400-meter point, Hafnaoui was timed in 3:56.28, with Finke touching in 3:57.84.

This weekend marks Hafnaoui’s first major meet since the 2021 season, when he raced at the World Short Course Championships. Hafnaoui bypassed last year’s World Championships and is training at Indiana University. The 20-year-old Tunisian is working on his academic eligibility, and has plans to eventually join the Hoosiers in college competition.

Charlie Clark also broke the eight-minute barrier, posting a mark of 7:58.16. He was followed in fourth place by Kieran Smith, who went 8:03.63.

 Event 1  Women 800 LC Meter Freestyle
==================================================================
        World: W 8:04.79  8/12/2016 Katie Ledecky, USA
     American: A 8:04.79  8/12/2016 Katie Ledecky, USA
    U.S. Open: O 8:06.68  1/17/2016 Katie Ledecky, Nation's Capital
     Pro Swim: P 8:06.68  2016      Katie Ledecky
     Jr World: j 8:11.00  6/19/2014 Katie Ledecky, USA
   Oly Trials: T 8:45.79
    Name            Age Team                 Seed     Finals              
==================================================================
  1 Katie Grimes     17 SAND-CA           8:17.05    8:27.73T       
    r:+0.56  29.14      1:00.18 (31.04)
        1:32.22 (32.04)     2:03.95 (31.73)
        2:35.63 (31.68)     3:07.49 (31.86)
        3:39.81 (32.32)     4:11.80 (31.99)
        4:44.11 (32.31)     5:16.20 (32.09)
        5:48.46 (32.26)     6:20.64 (32.18)
        6:52.64 (32.00)     7:24.86 (32.22)
        7:56.69 (31.83)     8:27.73 (31.04)
  2 Claire Weinstei  15 SAND-CA           8:29.34    8:32.60T       
    r:+0.78  29.61      1:01.32 (31.71)
        1:33.39 (32.07)     2:05.65 (32.26)
        2:37.92 (32.27)     3:10.35 (32.43)
        3:42.85 (32.50)     4:15.31 (32.46)
        4:47.56 (32.25)     5:19.70 (32.14)
        5:52.19 (32.49)     6:24.70 (32.51)
        6:57.23 (32.53)     7:29.44 (32.21)
        8:01.44 (32.00)     8:32.60 (31.16)
  3 Bella Sims       17 SAND-CA           8:22.36    8:34.04T       
    r:+0.54  29.16      1:00.47 (31.31)
        1:32.65 (32.18)     2:04.96 (32.31)
        2:37.62 (32.66)     3:10.72 (33.10)
        3:43.57 (32.85)     4:16.07 (32.50)
        4:48.58 (32.51)     5:21.47 (32.89)
        5:54.06 (32.59)     6:26.46 (32.40)
        6:58.76 (32.30)     7:31.28 (32.52)
        8:03.36 (32.08)     8:34.04 (30.68)
  4 Jillian Cox      17 TXLA-ST           8:30.38    8:34.26T       
    r:+0.70  30.31      1:02.84 (32.53)
        1:35.46 (32.62)     2:08.27 (32.81)
        2:41.15 (32.88)     3:13.68 (32.53)
        3:46.31 (32.63)     4:18.96 (32.65)
        4:51.20 (32.24)     5:23.49 (32.29)
        5:55.85 (32.36)     6:27.98 (32.13)
        7:00.16 (32.18)     7:32.28 (32.12)
        8:04.27 (31.99)     8:34.26 (29.99)
  5 Maddie Waggoner  18 JW-MA             8:38.94    8:43.10T       
    r:+0.77  30.69      1:03.82 (33.13)
        1:36.77 (32.95)     2:09.90 (33.13)
        2:42.95 (33.05)     3:16.13 (33.18)
        3:49.14 (33.01)     4:22.24 (33.10)
        4:55.23 (32.99)     5:28.24 (33.01)
        6:01.28 (33.04)     6:34.13 (32.85)
        7:06.82 (32.69)     7:39.48 (32.66)
        8:11.87 (32.39)     8:43.10 (31.23)
  6 Sierra Schmidt   24 SUN-AZ            8:34.80    8:43.12T       
    r:+0.70  30.20      1:02.36 (32.16)
        1:34.74 (32.38)     2:07.41 (32.67)
        2:40.03 (32.62)     3:12.79 (32.76)
        3:45.56 (32.77)     4:18.32 (32.76)
        4:51.34 (33.02)     5:24.47 (33.13)
        5:57.89 (33.42)     6:31.51 (33.62)
        7:04.99 (33.48)     7:38.26 (33.27)
        8:11.11 (32.85)     8:43.12 (32.01)
  7 Kristen Stege    21 Tennessee-SE      8:37.60    8:43.13T       
    r:+0.79  30.24      1:02.61 (32.37)
        1:35.60 (32.99)     2:08.44 (32.84)
        2:41.55 (33.11)     3:14.53 (32.98)
        3:47.57 (33.04)     4:20.45 (32.88)
        4:53.46 (33.01)     5:26.39 (32.93)
        5:59.38 (32.99)     6:32.54 (33.16)
        7:05.60 (33.06)     7:38.83 (33.23)
        8:11.88 (33.05)     8:43.13 (31.25)
  8 Caroline Pennin  19 UNA-FL            8:40.50    8:45.32T       
    r:+0.76  29.87      1:01.98 (32.11)
        1:30.48 (28.50)     2:07.13 (36.65)
        2:39.85 (32.72)     3:12.82 (32.97)
        3:45.81 (32.99)     4:18.96 (33.15)
        4:50.77 (31.81)     5:25.64 (34.87)
        5:57.93 (32.29)     6:32.68 (34.75)
        7:06.02 (33.34)     7:39.69 (33.67)
        8:12.99 (33.30)     8:45.32 (32.33)

 Event 2  Men 800 LC Meter Freestyle
==================================================================
        World: W 7:32.12  7/29/2009 Lin Zhang, CHN
     American: A 7:39.36  6/21/2022 Bobby Finke, USA
    U.S. Open: O 7:43.32  4/28/2022 Bobby Finke, USA
     Pro Swim: P 7:49.96  2014      Michael McBroom
     Jr World: j 7:43.37  8/13/2022 Lorenzo Galossi, ITA
   Oly Trials: T 8:09.69
    Name            Age Team                 Seed     Finals              
==================================================================
  1 Ahmed Hafnaoui   20 Tunisia           7:45.54    7:53.10T       
    r:+0.79  28.01        57.64 (29.63)
        1:27.36 (29.72)     1:56.91 (29.55)
        2:26.86 (29.95)     2:56.52 (29.66)
        3:26.29 (29.77)     3:56.28 (29.99)
        4:26.24 (29.96)     4:56.25 (30.01)
        5:25.77 (29.52)     5:55.41 (29.64)
        6:25.09 (29.68)     6:54.84 (29.75)
        7:24.78 (29.94)     7:53.10 (28.32)
  2 Bobby Finke      23 SPA-FL            7:39.36    7:56.97T       
    r:+0.74  27.84        57.84 (30.00)
        1:27.72 (29.88)     1:57.56 (29.84)
        2:27.63 (30.07)     2:57.74 (30.11)
        3:27.81 (30.07)     3:57.84 (30.03)
        4:27.96 (30.12)     4:58.07 (30.11)
        5:28.05 (29.98)     5:57.92 (29.87)
        6:27.79 (29.87)     6:57.85 (30.06)
        7:27.86 (30.01)     7:56.97 (29.11)
  3 Charlie Clark    20 Ohio St-OH        7:50.07    7:58.16T       
    r:+0.68  28.40        58.60 (30.20)
        1:29.24 (30.64)     1:59.80 (30.56)
        2:30.37 (30.57)     3:00.92 (30.55)
        3:31.41 (30.49)     4:01.59 (30.18)
        4:31.64 (30.05)     5:01.63 (29.99)
        5:31.57 (29.94)     6:01.51 (29.94)
        6:31.26 (29.75)     7:00.84 (29.58)
        7:29.98 (29.14)     7:58.16 (28.18)
  4 Kieran Smith     22 Ridgefield Aq-CT  7:59.27    8:03.63T       
    r:+0.70  27.56        57.69 (30.13)
        1:26.13 (28.44)     1:58.69 (32.56)
        2:29.22 (30.53)     2:59.64 (30.42)
        3:30.27 (30.63)     4:00.88 (30.61)
        4:31.48 (30.60)     5:01.91 (30.43)
        5:32.22 (30.31)     6:02.99 (30.77)
        6:33.70 (30.71)     7:04.42 (30.72)
        7:34.92 (30.50)     8:03.63 (28.71)
  5 Michael Brinega  23 Ohio St-OH        7:49.94    8:03.69T       
    r:+0.74  27.95        58.44 (30.49)
        1:28.74 (30.30)     1:59.20 (30.46)
        2:29.80 (30.60)     3:00.49 (30.69)
        3:31.50 (31.01)     4:02.27 (30.77)
        4:32.20 (29.93)     5:02.63 (30.43)
        5:33.35 (30.72)     6:04.31 (30.96)
        6:35.04 (30.73)     7:05.59 (30.55)
        7:36.33 (30.74)     8:03.69 (27.36)
  6 Jack Little      22 Tennessee-SE      9:17.07Y   8:12.40        
    r:+0.67  28.19        59.26 (31.07)
        1:30.11 (30.85)     2:00.87 (30.76)
        2:31.54 (30.67)     3:03.09 (31.55)
        3:33.71 (30.62)     4:05.11 (31.40)
        4:35.94 (30.83)     5:07.27 (31.33)
        5:38.19 (30.92)     6:09.64 (31.45)
        6:40.97 (31.33)     7:12.47 (31.50)
        7:42.95 (30.48)     8:12.40 (29.45)
  7 *Rafael Ponce d  22 Tennessee-SE      8:21.65    8:13.03        
    r:+0.71  28.04        58.57 (30.53)
        1:29.87 (31.30)     2:00.99 (31.12)
        2:32.54 (31.55)     3:03.70 (31.16)
        3:35.41 (31.71)     4:06.69 (31.28)
        4:38.36 (31.67)     5:09.55 (31.19)
        5:41.00 (31.45)     6:11.94 (30.94)
        6:43.30 (31.36)     7:14.46 (31.16)
        7:44.86 (30.40)     8:13.03 (28.17)
  8 Luke Whitlock    16 FAST-IN           8:14.60    8:15.06        
    r:+0.70  28.58        59.28 (30.70)
        1:30.50 (31.22)     2:01.95 (31.45)
        2:33.15 (31.20)     3:04.34 (31.19)
        3:35.54 (31.20)     4:06.61 (31.07)
        4:37.88 (31.27)     5:09.18 (31.30)
        5:40.46 (31.28)     6:11.85 (31.39)
        6:43.26 (31.41)     7:14.48 (31.22)
        7:45.53 (31.05)     8:15.06 (29.53)

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