by Jessica Delos Reyes // USA
Swimming
The 2023 Phillips 66 National
Championships wrapped on a high note Saturday as three U.S. Open records fell
at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis.
Kate Douglass (Pelham, N.Y./NYAC) set
a new U.S. Open record with her winning time in the 200m individual medley.
Clocking a time of 2:07.09, she was .75 seconds faster than the previous record
and recorded the second-fastest time in the world this year.
“I was really excited to swim (the
200 IM) today,” Douglass said. “I hadn’t swum that in a while and took some
time away from that event. I just felt really prepared to swim it today. I felt
strong in prelims, and I knew tonight was just going to be about racing the
person next to me. I think taking some time away from it was good. I haven’t
really focused my training on the 200 IM, but it’s worked out where I’m
training for each of the strokes, and I put it together and it goes well. That
was definitely the strongest 200 IM I’ve swam, and it felt really good.”
Minutes later, Douglass also competed
in the 50m freestyle, earning a bronze finish with a time of 24.48.
Not to be outdone, Bobby Finke
(Clearwater, Fla./St. Petersburg Aquatics/Gator Swim Club) bested his own 800m
freestyle U.S. Open record, set at last year’s Phillips 66 International Team
Trials, by more than three seconds, swimming 7:40.34.
“I was just trying to swim well,”
Finke said. “I didn’t really know where I was, but I could see my teammates
waving on the side telling me to go, and I’m like, I have to be on pace for
something. I thought it was my U.S. Open record. I’m just really pleased with
the time. I was three seconds slower last year, so I’ve got nothing to complain
about.”
Rounding out the trifecta of U.S.
Open records was Abbey Weitzel (Santa Clarita, Calif./California Aquatics), who
set a new personal best as well, going 24.00 to win the 50m freestyle. Her time
is the second fastest in the world this year.
“I'm very excited,” Weitzeil said. “I
honestly didn’t know what I was going to see when I looked up at the board. I
was going for 23, to see a best time was awesome, and to get the U.S. Open
record – also a goal for me in the 100 (freestyle) – it wasn’t the race that I
wanted so to come back and do it in the 50 was awesome. I did no breath for the
first time this morning and tonight at a big meet. I think I’ve always
struggled getting back into the rhythm after my breath so that’s something I’ve
been working on.”
Katie Ledecky (Bethesda, Md./Gator
Swim Club) kicked off the final night of competition in dominant fashion,
winning the 1500m by more than 28 seconds. Ledecky’s time is the fastest in the
world this year and ranks as the sixth-fastest of all time.
“I was really happy with that,”
Ledecky said. “It’s the fastest I’ve been in a couple years – a second faster
than last year. I’m really pleased to be able to finish the meet on that note.
I’m definitely most pleased with my 800 (freestyle) and 1500 (freestyle). The
400 and the 200 were a little off from where I hoped to be this week. I think I
could learn from it, whether it’s just a recovery thing or the 800 and 1500 are
what’s there right now. I think we can do better in a couple weeks and with the
longer meet, we get a little more rest. I’m excited for the next couple weeks. have some work to do and overall, I’m pretty
happy.”
Carson Foster (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mason
Manta Rays) picked up his third win of these National Championships with a time
of 1:59.16 in the 200m individual medley.
“Swimming’s a brutal sport, and I
think I’ve had my fair share of rough meets,” Foster said. “I was talking to my
brother about this. You have to have these rough meets to have the really good
ones. I think it puts everything in perspective. I think after 2021 (Olympic
Team) Trials, there was that period where I was really down, frustrated, and
just didn’t really understand what went wrong. Then you realize how great life
is, even without swimming, and that’s something that’s balanced out a bit.
Swimming is something I get to do, not something I have to do. Though it is my
job now and something I have to do, I still see it as something I get to do.
The doubt will never go away. Even going into this meet – what if it doesn’t go
the way I want? Just remembering 2021 and every NCAA (meet) I went to, that
life is so good, regardless of how you’re swimming and that’s helped me a lot
at these meets.”
The night closed with Ryan Held
(Springfield, Ill./New York Athletic Club) winning the 50m freestyle, touching
the wall at 21.50 for the second-best time in the world this year.
“I was scared,” Held said. “What if
Tuesday happened again? What if I do this? Do that? But I was just trying to
stay behind the blocks and be like, ‘This is fun’. I gave a speech to the NC
State guys before (the meet) and the punchline was ‘Swim for the little kid,
the little 8-year-old you that fell in love with swimming and just be in awe
that you’re at the World Championships Trials for the United States. Don’t swim
for the time, swim for that little kid because that little kid loves it.’”
The Robert J. Kiputh Awards, named
for the former Yale swim coach, go to the highest female and male point
winners. Douglass received the female high point award, while Held and Destin
Lasco (Linwood, N.J./California Aquatics) tied for the male high point award.
This year’s Phillips 66 Performance
Award, presented to the swimmer who achieves the single-most outstanding
performance of the meet, went to Regan Smith (Lakeville, Minn./Sun Devil
Swimming). Smith broke two of her own U.S. Open records on her way to winning
three national titles.
Team awards presented include:
Women
1 – Longhorn Aquatics (209 points)
2 – Sandpipers of Nevada (183 points)
3 – Sun Devil Swimming 166.5 points)
Men
1 – California Aquatics (251 points)
2 – Wolfpack Elite (215.50 points)
3 – Longhorn Aquatics (194 points)
Combined
1 – Longhorn Aquatics (403 points)
2 – Wolfpack Elite (377.5 points)
3 – California Aquatics (352.5
points)
Finals races from the Phillips 66
National Championships are available on demand at www.usaswimming.org/watch.
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