by Jessica Delos Reyes // USA
Swimming
The 2023 Phillips 66 National
Championships kicked off Tuesday with a record-setting performance from
distance specialist Bobby Finke at the Indiana University Natatorium in
Indianapolis.
Finke (Clearwater, Fla./St. Peterburg
Aquatics) set a U.S. Open record in the 1500m freestyle with a time of
14:42.81, besting the 15-year-old record by Peter Vanderkaay at the 2008 U.S.
Olympic Team Trials.
“I wasn’t too sure what I was out
at,” Finke said. “At about the 800, I was going to try and look back at the
board somewhere in there but then I realized the swimming part of me was on the
side I was breathing so if I wanted to, I was going to have to really work and
realized it wasn’t worth it. After the race, I saw my splits and realized I
died a bit at the end.”
Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Sun
Devil Swimming) started the night off in fast fashion with a decisive win in
the 200m butterfly (2:05.79). She came away with the victory but proved to be
more excited to share the podium with her teammate.
“I touched the wall, and I knew I
died really bad on that last 50,” Smith said. “I didn’t need to see my splits
to realize it was a rough last 50. You saw I was a little bummed but the second
I saw number two (for second-place finishing teammate Lindsay Looney), that went
away. It was just about celebrating with my teammate and being super happy for
her. She’s had a tough season, had some hip problems and has worked through it
like a champ so it was really awesome to share that with her.”
On the men’s side, Carson Foster
(Cincinnati, Ohio/Mason Manta Rays) picked up his first national title with a
time of 1:54.32 in the 200m butterfly.
“For four weeks out from where I want
to be, I think that’s a really good spot to be,” Foster said. “First 100 –
obviously I wasn’t aware of my splits during the race – but it was my fastest
150 I’ve had, and I honestly think I could have pulled out a good time at the
end, but I got out of my lane a little bit. When you have someone next to you
running you down, it’s hard to stay in your lane so it was good practice for me
to just stick to my race plan and focus on my technique and my rhythm.”
Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y./NYAC) won
the 100m freestyle in a personal-best time of 52.57, good for her first U.S.
title.
“That morning swim felt really good,
and I never thought I was capable of going under 53 so I was really happy with
that,” Douglass said. “I knew tonight was going to be about racing the people
next to me and that’s what I did.”
Jack Alexy (Mendham, N.J./California
Aquatics) won the 100m freestyle, his first U.S. title, in a time of 47.93.
“This morning was my best time by
about a second,” Alexy said. “I just wanted to do my own thing tonight. Stay in
my process, do my own thing and I knew the results would show. Just take the first
50 out pretty smoothly, then keep my head down the last 50.”
Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Gator
Swim Club) won her fifth national title in the 800m freestyle, clocking a time
of 8:07.07, the third-fastest time ever in the event.
“I’ve been feeling good,” Ledecky
said. “I think I did pretty good tonight. I didn’t expect the world record or
anything. I definitely felt like I could be at least where I was last summer at
Worlds, so I’m really pleased with that and how it’s all went.”
More than 640 swimmers from across
the country have descended on Indianapolis to compete for national titles and
the opportunity to represent the United States overseas later this summer at
the World Aquatics Championships, the World Aquatics Junior Championships, the
LEN (European Swimming Federation) U23 Championships or the Pan American Games.
Fast facts about this week’s entries:
32 Olympic medalists contributing 69
Olympic medals (32 gold, 22 silver and 15 bronze) – led by Katie Ledecky with
10, Caeleb Dressel (seven) Ryan Murphy (six), Lilly King (five) and Abbey
Weitzeil (four)
41 LCM World Championships medalists,
contributing 169 medals (97 gold, 37 silver and 35 bronze)
40 Olympians
48 former LCM World Championships
Teams members, led by five-time team members Ledecky and Chase Kalisz
The 2023 Phillips 66 National
Championships continue through Saturday with prelims beginning at 10 a.m. ET
and finals at 7 p.m. ET daily. Coverage starts at 6:30 p.m. ET on
www.usaswimming.org/watch https://www.usaswimming.org/utility/landing-pages/streaming
and 7 p.m. ET on Peacock.
Keep up with all the latest USA
Swimming news by following @usaswimming on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Check out our News Notebook https://www.usaswimming.org/coaches-leaders/connect-learn/news-notebook
which details programs, athletes and clubs that have made the headlines.
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