Two Rare Bright Spots for U.S. at FINA World Championships

Photo Courtesy: Delly Carr

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The Americans ended an extremely disappointing meet at the FINA World Championships in Kazan with a whimper, as the women placed fourth in the 400 medley relay. The Americans ended up with just 23 medals, their lowest total at a Worlds since 1994 when they won 21 (in just 32 events, as opposed to the current 42), and they won a mere eight gold medals in Kazan, five fewer than they won in Barcelona two years ago.

Along with those 23 medals, the Americans had an endless slew of fourth and ninth place finishes. Many of those who qualified for the U.S. team last summer did not swim up to their fast times from a year ago that earned them spots on the team in the first place, while many top swimmers like Missy Franklin and Ryan Lochte dealt with subpar meets in Kazan.

Still, the meet did not end without its bright spots, including two on the final day of competition. Two Americans entered the evening’s session as strong medal contenders, and they each posted a new personal best to earn a silver medal. One such highlight came in one of the strangest races in recent memory at the Worlds in the men’s 1500 free, when world record-holder Sun Yang did not show up for the final for which he qualified third, claiming later he was dealing with health issues.

Connor Jaeger took advantage of the strange circumstances to earn a silver medal in the mile. Jaeger entered with a personal best time of 14:51.06, but he crushed that time by almost ten seconds as he touched in 14:41.20, clobbering the American record in the event that Larsen Jensen had held for 11 years. Jensen’s record (14:45.29) had been the oldest mark in the books.

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Photo Courtesy: Maria Dobysheva

Jaeger swam from behind at the outset as he trailed both Italy’s Gregorio Paltrinieri and Canada’s Ryan Cochrane, but he slowly reeled in and then passed the Canadian Olympic bronze medalist just after 1000 meters. Although Jaeger trailed Paltrinieri by almost four seconds at points during the race, he battled back, and although he never managed to completely reel in his Italian rival, he finished only a second and a half behind Paltrinieri’s European record time of 14:39.67.

The swim marks a big breakthrough for Jaeger to finally get back on the World Champs podium. He earned bronze in his first ever race at Worlds (the 400 free in 2013) but had finished fourth in each of his four finals since then. Timewise, he moved up to seventh in the all-time rankings in the event, ahead of Australian legend Kieran Perkins. Two years after establishing himself as the best distance swimmer in the country, Jaeger delivered a signature performance on the biggest of stages.

Meanwhile, the American women won their only medal of the final day when Maya DiRado put together a fantastic effort in the women’s 400 IM. DiRado tied for fourth in the prelims of the event in 4:36.11, and she ended up as the only American in the final after Elizabeth Beisel’s disappointing morning swim. In a wide open field behind defending gold medalist Katinka Hosszu, DiRado looked like a contender for a medal.

In the final, she swam out ahead of everybody else besides Hosszu and maintained that bodylength advantage for the remainder of the race. DiRado clocked 4:31.71 in winning the silver medal, a full second ahead of her previous lifetime best time of 4:32.70. The time leaves her just outside of the all-time top ten in the event, but she now trails just Katie Hoff (4:31.12) and Beisel (4:31.27) on the all-time list for Americans.

That wraps up a strong week for DiRado, who also took fourth in the 200 IM. In that race, as well, she cut almost a second from her best time, dropping to a 2:08.99, and likewise, she now ranks third all-time among Americans behind just Ariana Kukors and Caitlin Leverenz. DiRado did win two medals in the IMs at Pan Pacs last summer, but with her first World Championships medal should be a boost of confidence headed into the Olympic year.

Back in the States

*Day four finals action at U.S. Nationals in San Antonio features finals of the men’s 100 free and 200 IM and the women’s 200 back and 200 fly. The 100 free ranks among the most interesting events of the day as the U.S. looks for promising young talent that can step up to fill spots on its 400 free relay that missed out on the final at Worlds. For more about some of the contenders in that race, check out today’s Morning Blast.

*After a rough start to his meet on Thursday, two-time NCAA Champion Will Licon returned to the pool to clock the top qualifying time for tonight’s final of the men’s 200 IM. Licon, who will be bracketed by Michael Phelps and fellow Texas Longhorn Austin Surhoff in the final, talked after his race about what he did to right the ship and knock three seconds off his previous lifetime best.

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