More High Profile Olympic Hits (And Misses) Highlight The Week That Was

Photo Courtesy: FINA

This week was highlighted by the continuation of Olympic qualifying meets across the world in Brzail, Russia, and Italy, as well as a high profile commitment and an honor for an American distance star. Read below to catch up on all the major stories from the past week in this week’s edition of The Week That Was!

The Week That Was #5 – Katie Ledecky Named To TIME’s 100 Most Influential People List

Photo Courtesy: Brooke Wright

This week, Olympic gold medalist and freestyle phenom Katie Ledecky was named to the TIME list of 2016’s Most Influential People List. The list features a profile on Ledecky by distance legend Janet Evans, where Evans’ notes the young star’s sweep of the 200, 400, 800, and 1,500 freestyle at this past summer’s World Championships. The distance legend also comments on Ledecky’s maturity and confidence in the face of great expectations, noting “What I like most is that Katie doesn’t worry about the expectations that others may put on her. She has a maturity and singular focus that is an inspiration for people of all ages, in all walks of life.” Ledecky has already broken a world record this year (the first in January in over a decade), setting a new mark in the 800 freestyle in Austin, and will compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team starting June 26th.

The Week That Was #4 – Ryan Hoffer Verbally Commits To California

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

In NCAA news this week, the biggest story had to be high school junior Ryan Hoffer’s verbal commitment to swim at UC Berkeley. At just 17 years old, Hoffer is one of the fastest 100-yard freestylers of all time, recording a 41.23 at the U.S. Juniors – West back in December. That time broke Caeleb Dressel’s 17-18 NAG record. Hoffer also has solid times in the 100 back (45.58), 100 fly (45.46), and 50 free (19.06), and has internationally competitive long course times as well. His current LCM bests in the 50 and the 100 freestyle are 22.80 and 49.73, respectively, as well as a 52.89 in the 100 butterfly. According to collegeswimming.com, Hoffer is the #1 ranked recruit for his class. Hoffer is exactly the kind of swimmer Cal will be looking to add to their program, as their one major hole this year was in the sprint freestyle events. With his current best time, Hoffer should be able to contribute both individually and in relay action at NCAA’s, and can help Cal continue to challenge for a team championship in the coming years.

The Week That Was #3 – Federica Pellegrini Qualifies For Fourth Olympics At Italian Nationals

FINA World Championships Federica Pellegrini

Photo Courtesy: R-Sport / MIA Rossiya Segodnya

Italian Nationals, which also acted as a selection meet for the Italian Olympic Team, were held this week, with some old names and several new ones coming onto the scene. Veteran Federica Pellegrini qualified for her fourth Olympic Games, putting up the fourth fastest 200 freestyle in the world this year (1:55.30). Pellegrini is still the current world record holder in the event, and has earned a gold and silver medal at the Olympics in the event, but was left off the podium in 2012. Coming off a silver medal performance at Worlds in Kazan behind Katie Ledecky, Pellegrini will be looking to get back into the top 3 this summer.

Other notable swims included Simone Sabbioni setting an Italian national record in the 100 backstroke (53.34), Matteo Rivolta moving to 5th best in the world in the 100 fly (51.54), Gabriele Detti moving to 3rd best in the world in the 400 free (3:43.97), and Martina Carraro setting a national record in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.41).

For full recap and results of Italian Nationals, head over to our Event Landing Page.

The Week That Was #2 – Russian Nationals Serves As Olympic Qualifier

surface-tension-world-championships-2015-russia-2015

Photo Courtesy: R-Sport / MIA Rossiya Segodnya

While Russia is in the midst of a national doping scandal, this past week served as their Olympic qualifying meet. Despite the controversy surrounding many of the nation’s most high-profile athletes, there were many world-class times posted by Russian swimmers. Standing out was Evgeny Rylov, who posted a European record in the 200 backstroke when he touched in 1:54.21. That time makes Rylov the second fastest performer this year only after Australia’s Mitch Larkin from Aussie Trials. His time also moves Rylov up to be the sixth-fastest performer of all time. Vlad Morozov also made an impact on the world rankings, taking the 100 freestyle in an 8th ranked 48.09 and the 50 freestyle in a 4th ranked 21.69.

Other notable swims included Daria Ustinova in the 200 backstroke (2:06.92), Grigory Tarasevich in the 100 backstroke (53.03), and Svetlana Chimrova in the 100 butterfly (57.79). Meanwhile, FINA maintained this week that breaststroke star Yuliya Efimova’s suspension will remain in effect for her positive test for meldonium. However, Russian swimming President Vladimir Salnikov explained there still may be a way for Efimova to join the Russian Olympic Team if her temporary suspension is lifted prior to July 3rd. Swimming World will continue to update Efimova’s eligibility as we continue to move towards Rio.

For a full recap of all eight days of Russian Nationals, head over to our Event Landing Page.

The Week That Was #1 – Cesar Cielo Misses Qualifying For Home Olympics

Photo Courtesy: FINA

Maria Lenk Trophy served as the Olympic Qualifier for Brazil this past week. All told, 29 men and women qualified for the Rio Olympics. Undoubtedly the biggest story from that meet is what name is missing from the Brazilian roster: Cesar Cielo, the current world record holder in the 50 and 100 meter freestyle and the Olympic Gold Medalist from 2008. Although he posted the 52nd 21 second 50 freestyle of his career, it was not enough to qualify for the Olympic Team. Finishing third behind Bruno Fratus and Italo Duarte, Cielo missed his last chance of qualifying, having pulled out of the 100 freestyle earlier in the meet. Cielo is Brazil’s only swimming gold medalist.

Despite Cielo’s miss on making the Olympic team, there were several bright spots for the Brazilian team. Highlights from that meet include Leonardo De Dues posting the 5th fastest 200 fly in the world this year (1:55.54), Larissa Oliveira breaking the 200 freestyle national record (1:57.37), Thiago Pereira and Kaio Almeida qualifying for their fourth Olympic Games, and Joao Gomes Jr. nearly breaking the 100 breaststroke national record (59.06) to move to second in world.

You can see a full list of qualifiers here, and head over to our Event Landing Page to check out stories from all 8 days of the competition.

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