TYR Pro Series: Back-Half Charges Lift Chase Kalisz and Melanie Margalis to 400 IM Titles
Which Chase Kalisz will we see in a few months? Will it be the athlete who established himself as the world’s elite individual medley performer in 2017? Or, will it be the Kalisz who struggled during the 2019 campaign to match his previous excellence?
If nothing else, the former world champion and reigning Olympic silver medalist provided reason for optimisim during the USA Swimming Pro Series stop in San Antonio on Friday night. Benefiting from a back-half charge that has been part of his arsenal during his peak years, Kalisz got to the wall ahead of the competition and won in 4:16.53. His training partner, Jay Litherland, was second in 4:18.03.
If Kalisz can continue to progress and use his most-recent performance as a boost toward the summer, there is little doubt Kalisz will be a contender for Olympic gold and involved in – likely – another class with longtime rivals Daiya Seto and Kosuke Hagino. While Seto is the reigning world champion, Hagino is the reigning Olympic titlist.
On the women’s side, Melanie Margalis unleashed a superb back half to capture first place in the women’s 400 individual medley, and has stamped herself as the favorite in the event for the Olympic Trials. En route to a winning time of 4:37.81, Margalis was eighth after the opening butterfly leg and seventh at the midway point. But the veteran split 1:16.22 on the breaststroke leg and was 1:02.25 on the freestyle leg to overhaul the field.
Margalis overcame what she said was a rough day of nerves ramping up to the swim Friday.
“I just had a lot of anxiety going into the race, honestly,” Margalis said on the virtual mixed zone. “Having it be the first one of the season, I was meditating all day and doing breathing exercises to calm myself down. And when I dove in for finals, I’ll be honest, I was just paralyzed with fear almost, so that was kind of what was happening on the first 200. … But then I always feel pretty good about my breast and free, so I was able to work the second half, which I was happy about.”
Ally McHugh (4:39.11) and Emma Weyant (4:39.18) also registered solid efforts for this point in the campaign, and will surely be in contention at the Olympic Trials, where the 400 medley is an opening-night event.
Women’s 400 Individual Medley
Event 15 Women 400 LC Meter IM
=========================================================================
World: W 4:26.36 8/6/2016 Katinka Hosszu, HUN
American: A 4:31.12 6/29/2008 Katie Hoff, North Baltimore
U.S. Open: O 4:31.07 6/19/2015 Katinka Hosszu, HUN
Jr World: J 4:35.94 12/31/2020Yiting Yu, CHN
Pro Swim: P 4:31.07 2015 Katinka Hosszu
4:47.72 W-II Oly Trials Wave II
4:51.79 W-I Oly Trials Wave I
Name Age Team Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Melanie Margali 29 Saint Petersburg 4:44.52 4:37.81
r:+0.77 30.70 1:05.29 (34.59)
1:42.82 (37.53) 2:19.34 (36.52)
2:57.18 (37.84) 3:35.56 (38.38)
4:07.24 (31.68) 4:37.81 (30.57)
2 Ally McHugh 23 Wisconsin Aquati 4:45.96 4:39.11
r:+0.90 30.80 1:05.18 (34.38)
1:41.10 (35.92) 2:15.96 (34.86)
2:55.66 (39.70) 3:35.66 (40.00)
4:08.15 (32.49) 4:39.11 (30.96)
3 Emma Weyant 19 Sarasota Sharks 4:42.42 4:39.18
r:+0.77 30.19 1:04.39 (34.20)
1:39.79 (35.40) 2:14.67 (34.88)
2:54.62 (39.95) 3:35.44 (40.82)
4:08.02 (32.58) 4:39.18 (31.16)
4 Katie Grimes 15 Sandpipers Of Ne 4:46.37 4:42.51
r:+0.68 29.96 1:03.63 (33.67)
1:38.89 (35.26) 2:13.76 (34.87)
2:56.71 (42.95) 3:39.64 (42.93)
4:11.20 (31.56) 4:42.51 (31.31)
5 *Bailey Andison 23 Una ISC 4:48.39 4:43.07
r:+0.70 30.25 1:04.93 (34.68)
1:43.10 (38.17) 2:19.06 (35.96)
2:58.55 (39.49) 3:38.63 (40.08)
4:11.41 (32.78) 4:43.07 (31.66)
6 Haley Anderson 29 Mission Viejo Na 4:48.35 4:47.43
r:+0.81 29.99 1:04.04 (34.05)
1:42.90 (38.86) 2:20.25 (37.35)
3:01.57 (41.32) 3:43.12 (41.55)
4:15.73 (32.61) 4:47.43 (31.70)
7 Katie Crom 17 Mission Viejo Na 4:53.89 4:54.40
r:+0.75 29.93 1:04.50 (34.57)
1:44.05 (39.55) 2:20.96 (36.91)
3:05.45 (44.49) 3:49.65 (44.20)
4:22.51 (32.86) 4:54.40 (31.89)
-- Brooke Forde 21 Alto Swim Club 4:48.18 DNF
Did not finish - Misc
Men’s 400 IM
Event 16 Men 400 LC Meter IM
=========================================================================
World: W 4:03.84 8/10/2008 Michael Phelps, USA
American: A 4:03.84 8/10/2008 Michael Phelps, USA
U.S. Open: O 4:05.25 6/29/2008 Michael Phelps, Club Wolverine
Jr World: J 4:11.50 10/29/2020Ilia Borodin, RUS
Pro Swim: P 4:08.92 2018 Chase Kalisz
4:23.24 W-II Oly Trials Wave II
4:25.99 W-I Oly Trials Wave I
Name Age Team Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===
1 Chase Kalisz 26 Athens Bulldog S 4:24.54 4:16.53
r:+0.71 26.88 58.38 (31.50)
1:32.66 (34.28) 2:06.16 (33.50)
2:41.52 (35.36) 3:17.18 (35.66)
3:47.50 (30.32) 4:16.53 (29.03)
2 Jay Litherland 25 Dynamo Swim Club 4:25.09 4:18.06
r:+0.77 27.03 58.45 (31.42)
1:31.67 (33.22) 2:04.77 (33.10)
2:41.17 (36.40) 3:18.77 (37.60)
3:49.56 (30.79) 4:18.06 (28.50)
3 *Jacob Heidtman 26 Team Elite 4:24.59 4:18.11
r:+0.70 27.51 58.68 (31.17)
1:33.55 (34.87) 2:07.68 (34.13)
2:43.55 (35.87) 3:19.65 (36.10)
3:49.44 (29.79) 4:18.11 (28.67)
4 Abrahm DeVine 24 Team Elite 4:22.43 4:22.40
r:+0.70 26.67 57.87 (31.20)
1:31.67 (33.80) 2:05.06 (33.39)
2:41.82 (36.76) 3:19.84 (38.02)
3:52.06 (32.22) 4:22.40 (30.34)
5 Grant Sanders 23 Gator Swim Club 4:24.97 4:22.45
r:+0.73 27.59 59.48 (31.89)
1:33.72 (34.24) 2:07.37 (33.65)
2:44.41 (37.04) 3:21.52 (37.11)
3:52.99 (31.47) 4:22.45 (29.46)
6 Will Licon 26 Longhorn Aquatic 4:26.33 4:24.76
r:+0.74 28.05 1:00.12 (32.07)
1:35.41 (35.29) 2:10.39 (34.98)
2:46.17 (35.78) 3:22.66 (36.49)
3:54.21 (31.55) 4:24.76 (30.55)
7 Sam Stewart 24 YMCA Hub Fins 4:27.70 4:25.64
r:+0.68 26.99 58.61 (31.62)
1:32.14 (33.53) 2:05.95 (33.81)
2:44.03 (38.08) 3:23.05 (39.02)
3:54.74 (31.69) 4:25.64 (30.90)
8 Alexander Gusev 20 Sarasota Sharks 4:28.29 4:25.84
r:+0.72 27.75 1:00.25 (32.50)
1:35.76 (35.51) 2:10.68 (34.92)
2:47.96 (37.28) 3:25.22 (37.26)
3:56.38 (31.16) 4:25.84 (29.46)
