2023 Speedo Atlanta Classic: Day 2 Finals Live Recap

2023 SPEEDO ATLANTA CLASSIC

• Friday, May 12 – Sunday, May 14, 2023
• McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• Live Stream
• Day 2 Prelims Live Recap
• Day 2 Finals Heat Sheet

In Saturday’s finals session at the 2023 Speedo Atlanta Classic, the women’s and men’s 200 fly, 50 free, 100 back, 200 breast, and 400 free will be contested.

Both Josh Liendo and Caeleb Dressel took on the 200 fly/50 free double during this morning’s prelims session. Both have also scratched the 200 fly tonight in favor of the 50 free A final. Liendo earned the win between the two training partners on night one in the 100 fly.

Kate Douglass holds the top seed in both the 50 free and 200 breast in tonight’s finals. World Record holder Summer McIntosh will compete in three events tonight as she is in the A final of the 50 free, 100 back, and 200 breast.

Headlining the 400 free will be Katie Ledecky, who was the top seed in prelims by a significant margin with a quick 4:01.80.

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY — FINALS

• American Record: 2:04.14, Mary DeScenza (2009)
• U.S. Open Record: 2:05.05, Summer McIntosh (2023)

Top 10:

1. Mabel Zavaros — 2:11.33
2. Callie Dickinson — 2:11.47
3. Leah Gingrich — 2:11.54
4. Amadna Ray — 2:12.08
5. Mia Abruzzo — 2:13.97
6. Addison Reese — 2:14.55
7. Elise Bauer — 2:15.76
8. Emma Weyant — 2:18.12
9. Casey Cullen — 2:18.38
10. Zora Ripkova — 2:20.88

While Callie Dickinson led for the majority of the women’s 200 fly, being ahead by over a second at the 150-meter mark, Mabel Zavaros and Leah Gingrich started to close the gap on the final lap. Eventually, it was Zavaros who out-touched Dickinson by 0.14 seconds to take the win, while Gingrich was only 0.07 seconds shy of second.

Zavaros and Gingrich had final 50 splits of 34.12 and 33.96 respectively, while Dickinson closed in 35.16.

The top three were the only swimmers in the field under the 2:12 mark.

MEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY — FINALS

• American Record: 1:51.51, Michael Phelps (2009)
• U.S. Open Record: 1:52.20, Michael Phelps (2008)

Top 10:

1. Martin Espernberger — 1:57.20
2. Bobby Finke — 1:57.58
3. Mason Laur — 1:57.65
4. Jace Crawford — 2:01.16
5. Ryan Erisman — 2:01.82
6. Utku Kurtdere — 2:03.58
7. Evan McInerney — 2:04.32
8. Brennan Hammond — 2:04.81
9. Mason Mathias — 2:05.03
10. Iago Moussalem — 2:05.13

The men’s 200 fly was a SEC podium sweep, as Tennessee swimmer Martin Espernberger won, Florida alum Bobby Finke took second, and Florida’s Mason Laur was third. These three swimmers were the only three under two minutes.

Laur lead at the halfway point, with Espernberger not too far behind. Finke made his move in the back half of his race, and at the 150-meter mark the top three was only separated by 0.65 seconds with Laur still leading. However, on the final 50, Espernberger passed Laur to take the win. Finke had a 28.83 closing lap (his overall splits were 27.15/30.81/30.79/28.83), but it was not enough to catch Espernberger.

Finke’s time was a near two-second drop from his previous best time of 1:59.22 set in prelims. In one day, he has improved almost six seconds from his pre-meet PB of 2:03.21. Espernberger also dropped a lot from his PB of 1:59.28. Laur, meanwhile, was just 0.03 seconds off of his own.

WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE — FINALS

• American Record: 23.97, Simone Manuel (2017)
• U.S. Open Record: 24.10, Simone Manuel (2018)

Top 10:

1. Kate Douglass — 24.40
2. Maxine Parker — 24.94
3. Natalie Hinds — 25.55
4. Summer McIntosh — 25.78
5. Rylee Erisman — 26.02
6. Izzy Ivey — 26.04
7. Emma Harvey — 26.10
8. Julianna Stephens — 26.19
9. Tjasa Pintar — 26.39
10. Amber Myers — 26.41

From the start it was clear that Kate Douglass was winning this race, and she did so in best-time fashion, dropping 0.14 seconds off her best time of 24.54 to go 24.40. Her time makes her tied as the fourth-fastest performer of the 2022-23 season alongside Zhang Yufei and Abbey Weitzeil. In addition, she also would have been fast enough to win the 50 free at the 2022 U.S. International Team trials.

Also getting under the 25-second barrier was Virginia swimmer Maxine Parker, who went a 24.94. She was 0.19 seconds off her best time of 24.74 from August 2019, but her swim on Saturday was her first time breaking 25 since setting her PB.

In third was Natalie Hinds in 25.55, while Summer McIntosh followed her with a 25.78 for fourth. McIntosh improved 0.2 from her PB of 25.98 set in prelims.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE — FINALS

• American Record: 21.04, Caeleb Dressel (2019/2021)
• U.S. Open Record: 21.04, Caeleb Dressel (2021)

Top 10:

1. Macguire McDuff — 22.42
2. Josh Liendo — 22.50
3. Caeleb Dressel — 22.57
4. Adam Chaney — 22.61
5. Zane Grothe — 22.89
6. Julian Smith/Kalle Makinen — 23.10
8. Michael Houlie — 23.31
9. Michael Arnold — 23.40
10. Kamal Muhammad — 23.41

Florida gators took over the podium in the 50 free, with Macguire McDuff, Josh Liendo, and Caeleb Dressel going 1-2-3.

McDuff swam a best time, dropping 0.02 seconds off the 22.44 he swam this February. Meawhile, Liendo was just 0.08 seconds behind with a 22.50.

Dressel, who was swimming arguably his best event for the first time since the 2022 U.S. Trials, went 22.57—nearly half a second faster than his prelims time of 22.92.

Another Florida gator, Adam Chaney, was fourth in 22.61. Behind him in fifth was Zane Grothe, who clocked a 22.89 to break 23 seconds for the first time in his career. Better known as a distance swimmer, he has dropped a significant amount at this meet from his pre-meet PB of 23.46 set back in 2017.

WOMEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE — FINALS

• American Record: 57.57, Regan Smith (2019)
• U.S. Open Record: 57.76, Regan Smith (2022)

Top 10:

1. Summer McIntosh — 1:00.06
2. Josephine Fuller — 1:00.37
3. Ellie Waldrep — 1:01.41
4. Eboni McCarty — 1:01.87
5. Catie Choate — 1:02.07
6. Rylee Erisman — 1:02.18
7. Gabby DeLoof — 1:02.42
8. Emma Harvey — 1:02.89
9. Finnly Jollands — 1:03.57
10. Lila Lillie – 1:04.11

Summer McIntosh picked up her first win of this meet with a 1:00.06 100 back, though Josephine Fuller was catching up to her towards the end of the race. This swim marks best time for McIntosh, who had previously been as fast as 1:00.25.

Fuller, meanwhile, was just 0.37 seconds off her own best time set at the U.S. Open.

Placing third over a second behind was Ellie Waldrep, who went 1:01.41.

MEN’S 100 BACKSTROKE — FINALS

• American Record: 51.85, Ryan Murphy (2016)
• U.S. Open Record: 51.94, Aaron Piersol (2009)

Top 10:

1. Jack Aikins — 54.61
2. Nick Simons — 54.90
3. Christopher Thames — 55.11
4. Sam Powe — 56.37
5. Zach Franklin — 56.64
6. Zach Hils — 56.76
7. Adam Chaney — 57.06
8. Sam Parker — 57.29
9. Andrew Simmons — 58.44
10. Kamal Muhammad — 1:02.11

Leading from start to finish, Jack Aikins touched the wall first to win the men’s 100 back. He was just 0.03 seconds off his prelims time of 54.58.

Adam Chaney was just 0.15 seconds behind Aikins at the 50 mark, but he ended up fading all the way to seventh at the finish. Instead, it was Nick Simons and Christopher Thames who came back on the second half of the race to go 54.90 and 55.11 respectively for second and third.

Thames, who swims collegiatley at UNC, improved from his PB of 55.48 in this race.

WOMEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE — FINALS

• American Record: 2:19.59, Rebecca Soni (2012)
• U.S. Open Record: 2:20.38, Rebecca Soni (2009)

Top 10:

1. Kate Douglass — 2:22.75
2. Summer McIntosh — 2:29.64
3. Zoie Hartman  — 2:30.98
4. Katie Christopherson — 2:31.06
5. Brynn Curtis — 2:32.75
6. Gracie Weyant — 2:33.47
7. Emma Weyant — 2:33.52
8. Nina Kucheran — 2:34.45
9. Hannah Ownbey — 2:36.55
10. Anna Moore — 2:36.60

Kate Douglass put up once again another impressive double, clocking a 2;22.75 to win the 200 breast by nearly seven seconds. She swam the second-fastest performance in her career, beating out the 2:23.30 she clocked at the World Championships last summer.

Douglass took out her race in 1:08.44, which is actually 0.15 seconds faster than what she opened her race in when she set her best time of 2:21.43. However, she closed in a 1:14.31 compared to 1:12.84 back half from her PB.

In second behind Douglass was Summer Mcintosh, who was just 0.33 seconds off her best time to go 2:209.64. Zoie Hartman finished third with a 2:30.98.

MEN’S 200 BREASTSTROKE — FINALS

• American Record: 2:07.17, Josh Prenot (2016)
• U.S. Open Record: 2:07.17, Josh Prenot (2016)

Top 10:

1. Matt Fallon — 2:12.44
2. Aleksas Savickas — 2:14.41
3. Rapahel Windmuller — 2:16.90
4. Britton Spann — 2:19.86
5. Mark Szaranek — 2:20.22
6. Joao Caballero — 2:20.69
7. Connor Haigh— 2:21.35
8. Daniel King — 2:23.53
9. Arie Voloschin/Peter Bretzmann — 2:23.64

Matt Fallon continues to show signs of regained form following his injury, as he took the win by nearly two seconds in his pet event. He swam a 2:12.44, dropping nearly nine seconds from his prelims time of 2:19.31.

Aleksas Savickas had the lead by 0.85 seconds at the 100-meter mark, but Fallon used his trademark closing speed to pass him on the back of the race. Savickas ended up fading to second.

Taking third was Savickas’ teammate Raphael Windmuller, who clocked a 2:16.90.

WOMEN’S 400 FREESTYLE — FINALS

• American Record: 3:56.46, Katie Ledecky (2016)
• U.S. Open Record: 3:57.94, Katie Ledecky (2018)

Top 10:

1. Katie Ledecky — 3:58.84
2. Rachel Stege — 4:13.83
3. Abigail McCulloh — 4:13.91
4. Jillian Barczyk — 4:14.20
5. Sloane Reinstein — 4:14.67
6. Kate McCarville — 4:15.31
7. Caroline Pennington — 4:16.75
8. Mabel Zavaros — 4:16.87
9. Sophia Knapp — 4:17.72
10. Addison Sauickie — 4:18.25

Katie Ledecky posted one of the fastest in-season swims of her career, clocking a 3:58.84 to win the women’s 400 free by nearly 15 seconds. She beats out her season-best of 3:59.71 from the U.S. Open, and is just a few tenths off her gold-medal winning time of 3:58.15 from the 2022 World Championships.

In fact, the only other time Ledecky had been under 3:59 in-season was in May 2018, when she swam a 3:57.94 at the Indianapolis Pro Swim Series. At that same meet, she broke the world record in the 1500 free.

Ledecky was holding 30-lows for the majority of her race, and closed in a 29.71 final 50.

Not much seperated second and third, as Georgia teammates Rachel Stege and Abigail McCulloh clocked times of 4:13.83 and 4:13.91 respectively and were just 0.08 seconds apart.

McCulloh swam a best time in this race, dropping over a second from the 4:15.09 she swam this morning. Prior to this meet, her PB was a 4:15.85 from August 2019.

MEN’S 400 FREESTYLE — FINALS

• American Record: 3:42.78, Larsen Jensen (2008)
• U.S. Open Record: 3:43.53, Larsen Jensen (2008)

Top 10:

1. Alfonso Mestre — 3:48.06
2. Kieran Smith — 3:49.01
3. Jake Mitchell — 3:49.91
4. Robert Finke — 3:55.63
5. Joaquin Vargas — 3:56.37
6. Gio Linscheer  — 3:57.75
7. Mason Laur — 4:00.04
8. Mason Mathias — 4:00.36
9. Rafael Ponce De Leon — 4:00.93
10. Ryan Erisman — 4:06.74

200 free champ Kieran Smith looked like he was on his way to a win the 400 free, but was run down by Alfonso Mestre, who closed in a 27.76 compared to Smith’s 29.28.

Mestre ended up clocking an overall time of 3:48.06, which is just 0.35 seconds away from his personal best time of 3:47.71 set in October 2022.

Jake Mitchell finished third in 3:49.91, while Bobby Finke swam a 3:55.63 for fourth.

Six out of the ten swimmers in this heat swim on or swam for the Florida Gators.