Summer McIntosh out-races Katie
Ledecky to set new World Junior Record; Flickinger takes overall World Cup lead
It had been nearly 16 years since the
last time the FINA Swimming World Cup was in North America, and with the
circuit returning to Toronto, Canada this weekend, the athletes from Canada and
the United States utilized the short travel to get up and race short course
meters.
And the Canadians came to race.
Rising superstar Summer McIntosh, who
now may be able to take away the “rising” part in her title, wasn’t born yet
the last time the World Cup was in North America, but she perhaps had the best
swim of the day in the 400m freestyle Friday with a 3:52.80 for the second best
time of all-time.
McIntosh, who took the race out hard
with American Katie Ledecky, considered by many to be the greatest to ever do
it, swam the second best time of the week after Li Bingjie set the world record
in China with a 3:51 just yesterday. McIntosh out-touched Ledecky on the final
25 as the 2016 Olympic champion improved her own best time with a 3:52.88.
“I’m a little bit in shock right
now,” McIntosh said of her swim. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to do tonight.
I was really happy with my morning swim. I’m really happy with that and would
never imagine I’d get that time.”
The time is a new world cup and world
junior record for McIntosh.
“I didn’t really have any time in
mind that I thought I could go, but that’s definitely not what I would've
thought if you had asked me,” the Canadian said.
Ledecky, who doesn’t race short
course meters often, moved up to third all-time as all three of those swims
came in a matter of 48 hours on two different continents.
“I didn’t know what to expect from
this meet,” Ledecky said. “I don’t really have a good sense of what good short
course times are for me right now. So, I’m just trying to not put limits on
myself and just go for it.
“I wanted to just get some racing in.
I really feel like I’m just trying to hit my rhythm in training so It’s nice to
just break up training right now and get a couple of races in.”
McIntosh gave something the Canadian
crowd could cheer about on Friday evening in Toronto, not far from where she
grew up.
There’s nothing like it; the energy
from the crowd and knowing that all these people are cheering us all on,
By Summer Mcintosh
“I’ve never had a meet like this in
my hometown. I live like 30 minutes away from here and all my friends and
family are in the stands.”
Canada’s lone Olympic swimming gold
medalist from 2021, Maggie Mac Neil, won the 50m backstroke for Canada’s second
win on the night with a 25.96 as she led a 1-2-3 finish with teammates Kylie
Masse (26.02) and Ingrid Wilm (26.18). Mac Neil and Masse used to train
together in this very pool in Toronto, and expressed their comfort in swimming
such a high quality meet at home.
It feels amazing,” Masse said. “Not
many people get to experience this in a home pool for us, in a pool that I get
to train in all the time. To have family in the stands and to see so many
familiar faces between officials, who I’ve known since growing up in club
swimming. It's really special to be here and to see everyone proud and support
the Canadians and the rest of the world as well.”
The Veterans Showed Out
This is the second stop of the
Swimming World Cup, with many swimmers coming over from Berlin last week, while
many will continue on to Indianapolis next week. Those that are able to move
from each city to each heat to each race, and manage their energy the best, are
the ones that will see success in the Swimming World Cup, and we saw those come
out on top on Friday.
Poland’s Kasia Wasick repeated her
50m freestyle win from Berlin with a new national record of 23.27 in Toronto as
she is now tied for fifth all-time in the event, inching closer and closer to
Ranomi Kromowidjojo’s 22.93 world record. Wasick will be going for a clean
sweep of the 50m freestyle next week in Indianapolis, and eventually in
December at the World Short Course Championships in Melbourne, as she is
swimming faster than ever at age 30.
“I am really excited for the World
Championships (in December),” Wasick said. “I didn’t expect to start the season
this strong so that makes me happy. I just want to keep working hard because
this is not the end. So I’m going to put my head down and train.”
The current overall World Cup leader,
Matthew Sates of South Africa, won the 400m freestyle with a 3:37.52 to repeat
his win from Berlin as he currently has 92 points while American Shaine Casas,
who won two events in Toronto to close the gap on Friday, has 87 points.
Casas’s wins in the 200m backstroke
(1:48.99) and 100m IM (51.03) brought him back in the mix for the overall title
as his 100m IM put him tenth on the all-time list. The 200 back for Casas was a
faster time than in Berlin
“Yeah of course, that was the goal,”
Casas said of his season best. “You want to get faster every meet so I’m glad
I’m going in the right direction. Honestly, the morning swim, I was confused as
I felt terrible and it hurt a lot, so that was interesting. But the only thing
that matters is my time.”
The women’s overall World Cup leader
is now American Hali Flickinger, despite the fact she was second in the 200m
butterfly to fellow American Kelly Pash (2:03.61).
Flickinger swam 2:04.00 to nearly run
down Pash on the final 25, and was also fourth in the 400m freestyle.
Flickinger currently has 78.2 points
ahead of Louise Hansson (76.3) and Beata Nelson (74.5).
However, neither Hansson nor Nelson
won the 100m IM final where they both competed, as France’s Beryl Gastaldello
won that event for the second straight World Cup. Gastaldello used the unique
combination of speed and versatility to swim a 57.97 on the outside while
Nelson (58.06) placed second and Hansson (58.31) took third.
It was a good swim for Gastaldello
considering she wasn’t feeling her best.
“To be honest, it’s really mental. I
don’t really feel fresh. I had a Thai massage, which I’ve never had before, and
it destroyed me. It’s more about bringing that confidence in even if it's not
there. Even if I doubt myself, using my toolbox that I’ve built over the years.
And I would always tell myself I’m here because I love swimming. I love racing
and competing. So I’m going to step up and it's what I do.
Veteran swimmers Chad Le Clos (100m
butterfly), Nic Fink (100m breaststroke), and Dylan Carter (50m freestyle) each
successfully repeated their wins from Berlin to put themselves in contention
for a hat trick next week when we get to Indianapolis.
Le Clos’s time was perhaps the most
impressive as he went 48.88 in the 100m butterfly, while Fink recorded a 56.39
to win the 100m breaststroke, and Carter swam a 20.91 to win the 50m freestyle.
American Lilly King, who won the 200m
breaststroke World Championsihps title this summer, won that same event on
Friday with a 2:18.43 over Canada’s Sydney Pickrem (2:19.71).
No comments:
Post a Comment