Eight National Team Athletes Claim Titles on Night Two of TYR Pro Swim Series Westmont

 

by Jessica Delos Reyes//USA Swimming

Eight members of the USA Swimming National Team claimed titles on the second night of competition of the TYR Pro Swim Series in Westmont, Illinois.

Kieran Smith picked up his first win of 2023 with his finish in the men’s 200m freestyle with a time of 1:47.45.

“The biggest goal was to get my hand on the wall first,” Smith said. “I haven’t won all year. I’ve been second or third every time I’ve raced in 2023, so to just really dig in that last 15 and get my hand on the wall was reassuring.”

Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby posted her best time since the Olympic Games in the women’s 100m breaststroke with her time of 1:06.09. Current world record holder Lilly King finished second with a time of 1:06.39.

“It’s been fun to be this tired and have such a hard training week, then come in to race like this feels really good,” Jacoby said.

Katharine Berkoff (NC State) won the women’s 50m backstroke in a time of 27.40. She was joined in the top three by fellow national team members Isabelle Stadden (27.80) and Abbey Weitzeil (27.95).

“I’m just happy to get some good long course racing in after NCAAs,” Berkoff said. “I’m excited for the new long course season.”

In the 100m butterfly races, Regan Smith (56.92) and Shaine Casas (51.05) took victories.

"I always like doing the 100 fly – it’s always a lot of fun,” Smith said. “It’s not an event I feel under pressure in and I just kind of go for it. I’m really happy with how I executed it. Two 56 (performances) within like six weeks of each other? I’m psyched about that.”

Indiana University's Anna Peplowski snagged her first TYR Pro Swim Series title with her win in the women’s 200m freestyle with a time of 1:58.08. Local favorite Leah Hayes finished second in a time of 1:58.27 and her teammate on the USA Swimming National Team, Erin Gemmell, finished in third with a time of 1:58.42.

“It was a great race,” Peplowski said. “I was definitely racing some top dogs out there so just trying to get my hand on the wall first against some awesome people.”

Hayes also won the 400m individual medley in a time of 4:39.58.

“I had a plan going into it,” Hayes said. “I was going to swim each 100 by itself and just try my best. I really wanted to make my family proud. They came to see me, so I had to give it my all.”

Competition continues through Saturday at the FMC Natatorium. All prelim sessions and Saturday’s finals can be viewed on www.usaswimming.org/watch. Prelims begin at 9 a.m. ET with finals at 6 p.m. ET each night. A full schedule of broadcasts on Peacock and CNBC can be found here. For more on the competition, visit the event page.