TYR Pro Series: Katie Ledecky and Andrew Seliskar Look Sharp in 200 Freestyle

TYR Pro Series: Katie Ledecky and Andrew Seliskar Look Sharp in 200 Freestyle

If anything has been proven during the first three days of the TYR Pro Series in San Antonio, it is this simple fact: Katie Ledecky remains dominant. In her first competition in a year, the six-time Olympic medalist recorded her third victory of the meet on Friday night, winning the 200-meter freestyle. Prior to the 200 free, Ledecky prevailed in the 400 free and 1500 free.

Ledecky’s latest first-place finish was a no-doubt-about-it effort, as she surged to the front of the field on the second lap and hit the wall in 1:56.62, a strong performance for this point in the season. Ledecky finished nearly a second ahead of Katie McLaughlin whose runnerup time of 1:57.48 is a tremendous indicator for the 23-year-old on the way to Trials. Ledecky produced splits of 27.66, 29.39, 29.69 and 29.88 for her four laps.

“There are a few things, just technically and how it felt, some things that I was trying to do and wasn’t fully able to execute,” Ledecky said in the virtual mixed zone. “But there were also some good positives that I was able to work through and some changes I was able to make from past races. I think combined with some of the swims I’ve done over the past year, I can take some things away from the race. … I feel good about my coach and my plan moving forward and just always trying to work on the details and refining race strategy and making sure I’m positioned well to be in the hunt this summer.”

With the 1500 freestyle added to the women’s program for this summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Ledecky will chase four freestyle titles, provided everything goes to according to plan at Trials. It is a feat she pulled off at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan and could have managed at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, had the 1500 been part of the program at that point. In Rio, Ledecky collected gold in the 200 free, 400 free and 800 free.

In the men’s 200 freestyle, Andrew Seliskar wiped away a medioce prelim session by the field to win the final in 1:47.01, an excellent showing in the middle of training. Following just one sub-1:50 effort in the morning, Selsikar attacked the race from the start, opening up a large lead and holding on to beat Blake Pieroni, who touched in 1:48.68.

As the United States seeks to regain the global throne in the 800 freestyle relay from Great Britain, it will likely need Seliskar to be a key player. Certainly, Seliskar flirting with a sub-1:47 mark is a step in the right direction and a confidence-building swim.

Pieroni is another big piece in that. In his first long-course 200 free since last March, Pieroni said he was surprised with how much the 200 free hurt, in equal measure to how surprised he was at the ease he felt of the 100 free on Thursday.

“Racing is definitely No. 1,” Pieroni said. “I’m thankful to be here and to be able to race. I don’t know how much emphasis to put on the times because I’ve never swum in this pool, it’s the first long-course race of my season. Some people raced in January but I didn’t race in January. I think the times I went are acceptable and just kind of seeing how everything feels.”

Women’s 200 Freestyle

 Event 11  Women 200 LC Meter Freestyle
=========================================================================
        World: W 1:52.98  7/29/2009 Federica Pellegrini, ITA
     American: A 1:53.61  7/31/2012 Allison Schmitt, USA Olympic Team
    U.S. Open: O 1:54.40  6/25/2012 Allison Schmitt, North Baltimore
     Jr World: J 1:55.43  7/24/2019 Junxuan Yang, CHN
     Pro Swim: P 1:54.43  2016      Katie Ledecky
                 2:00.24  W-II Oly Trials Wave II
                 2:01.69  W-I Oly Trials Wave I
    Name            Age Team              Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Katie Ledecky    23 Nation's Capital  1:57.09    1:56.62        
    r:+0.69  27.66        57.05 (29.39)
        1:26.74 (29.69)     1:56.62 (29.88)
  2 Kathryn McLaugh  23 California Aquat  1:59.35    1:57.48        
    r:+0.73  27.83        57.51 (29.68)
        1:27.38 (29.87)     1:57.48 (30.10)
  3 Leah Smith       25 Unattached        2:00.33    1:58.54        
    r:+0.71  28.03        57.76 (29.73)
        1:28.41 (30.65)     1:58.54 (30.13)
  4 Madisyn Cox      25 Longhorn Aquatic  1:59.74    1:58.85        
    r:+0.67  27.97        58.04 (30.07)
        1:28.19 (30.15)     1:58.85 (30.66)
  5 *Andi Murez      29 Team Elite        1:59.91    1:59.53        
    r:+0.71  27.58        58.00 (30.42)
        1:28.64 (30.64)     1:59.53 (30.89)
  6 Olivia Smoliga   26 Athens Bulldog S  2:00.20    1:59.89        
    r:+0.67  27.35        57.82 (30.47)
        1:28.97 (31.15)     1:59.89 (30.92)
  7 Bella Sims       15 Sandpipers Of Ne  2:00.26    2:00.05        
    r:+0.59  27.96        58.52 (30.56)
        1:29.62 (31.10)     2:00.05 (30.43)
  8 *Joanna Evans    23 Longhorn Aquatic  2:00.00    2:01.85        
    r:+0.71  28.05        58.59 (30.54)
        1:29.73 (31.14)     2:01.85 (32.12)

Men’s 200 Free

 Event 12  Men 200 LC Meter Freestyle
=========================================================================
        World: W 1:42.00  7/28/2009 Paul Biedermann, GER
     American: A 1:42.96  8/12/2008 Michael Phelps, USA
    U.S. Open: O 1:44.10  7/1/2008  Michael Phelps, Club Wolverine
     Jr World: J 1:46.13  12/18/2018Elijah Winnington, AUS
     Pro Swim: P 1:44.82  2016      Sun Yang
                 1:49.65  W-II Oly Trials Wave II
                 1:50.79  W-I Oly Trials Wave I
    Name            Age Team              Prelims     Finals       Points 
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            
 
  1 Andrew Seliskar  24 California Aquat  1:50.96    1:47.01        
    r:+0.67  24.86        51.74 (26.88)
        1:19.02 (27.28)     1:47.01 (27.99)
  2 Blake Pieroni    25 Sandpipers Of Ne  1:50.61    1:48.68        
    r:+0.65  24.91        53.02 (28.11)
        1:20.73 (27.71)     1:48.68 (27.95)
  3 *Khader Baqlah   22 Gator Swim Club   1:50.90    1:48.96        
    r:+0.65  25.10        53.14 (28.04)
        1:21.18 (28.04)     1:48.96 (27.78)
  4 *Marwan El Kama  27 Indiana Swim Clu  1:50.59    1:49.60        
    r:+0.72  25.69        53.47 (27.78)
        1:21.78 (28.31)     1:49.60 (27.82)
  5 Jeff Newkirk     24 Longhorn Aquatic  1:49.84    1:49.93        
    r:+0.74  25.66        53.16 (27.50)
        1:21.72 (28.56)     1:49.93 (28.21)
  6 *Erge Gezmis     23 NC State Univers  1:51.03    1:49.96        
    r:+0.75  25.91        53.64 (27.73)
        1:21.63 (27.99)     1:49.96 (28.33)
  7 Jorge Iga        24 Unattached        1:50.13    1:50.22        
    r:+0.69  25.59        53.47 (27.88)
        1:21.76 (28.29)     1:50.22 (28.46)
  8 Ryan Lochte      36 Gator Swim Club   1:50.72    1:50.27        
    r:+0.67  25.81        53.90 (28.09)
        1:22.29 (28.39)     1:50.27 (27.98)

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