2019 U.S. Nationals: Six Stars of Night Five

2019 PHILLIPS 66 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

• July 31 – August 4, 2019
• Prelims 9:00 AM (Pacific)/Finals 5:00 PM (Pacific)
• Avery Aquatics Center
• Stanford, CA
• Meet Site
• Psych Sheet
• Omega Results

This week at U.S. Nationals, we’ll identify our six stars for each night of competition. Three will be our ‘Shining Stars’– swimmers who won an event, set a notable record, or had a significant stand-out swim. The next three are our ‘Rising Stars’– swimmers who are younger, or less well-known, who hit an impressive personal best, jumped up the age group rankings, or made themselves known with an interesting performance.

This list is not an objective analysis tied to black-and-white metrics. Nor is it exhaustive in any way.

SHINING STARS

RYAN HELD – 50 FREE CHAMPION – 21.87

• Ryan Held has already reclaimed attention this meet after his US Open record in the 100 free on day one. A re-established sprint name, it only felt right for Held to improve in his 50 free. He had already gone a then-lifetime-best 22.14, bettering his old PR of 22.16 from the 2017 World University Games, at the Bulldog Grand Slam at UGA in late June. This morning, he clocked a 21.88, his first time under 22 seconds. Tonight, he backed it up with a 21.87, another impressive swim from the NC State post-grad who is now training at Alabama.

RYAN LOCHTE – 200 IM CHAMPION – 1:57.76

• After a time trial early in the meet, where he dropped a 1:57.88 in the 200 IM, Ryan Lochte‘s 2019 US Nationals performances were pretty mediocre. Lochte failed to qualify for A finals in any other events until the official 200 IM, where he was the top qualifier after his prelims 1:58.77. Tonight, he edged out his time trial performance, posting a 1:57.76 to guarantee his spot on the 2019-20 National team (if only in the 200 IM).

MADISYN COX – 200 IM CHAMPION – 2:10.00

• Madisyn Cox has been solid all meet, and tonight’s 200 IM showed more of that consistency. Her 2:10.00 to win her second U.S. National title of the week was not far off of her best of 2:09.69, and it was her fourth-best performance ever. On top of that, she hasn’t been this quick since the summer of 2017.

RISING STARS

ROBERT FINKE – 800 FREE CHAMPION – 7:47.58

• In an emphatic return to the big stage after injury, Robert Finke came out and won the men’s 800 free tonight. His time, a 7:47.58, was a lifetime best by four seconds and his first venture under 7:50. That swim moves him into #8 all-time in American history after sitting outside of the top 10.

ALY TETZLOFF – 50 FREE – 24.97

• Aly Tetzloff shaved nearly a full second off of her best time in the 50 free today. She came in with a 25.85, and tonight wound up fourth– she had a gigantic drop from before this meet, though, and puts her name into the conversation for a spot on the 2020 Olympic Team.

KENSEY MCMAHON – 1500 FREE – 16:09.80

• Finishing a close second in the 1500 free tonight was rising Alabama sophomore Kensey McMahon at 16:09.80. That swim tonight came with an enormous 21-second drop from her old best of 16:31.39. Her time now ranks her 5th in the country this season, and has a great chance at securing her a national team berth.