TYR Pro Series: Back-Half Charges Lift Chase Kalisz and Melanie Margalis to 400 IM Titles

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)

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