Courtesy: USA Deaf Swimming
The USADS National Team had a strong showing in the second day of competition at the 2019 World Deaf Swimming Championships. Five of 14 athletes qualified for six individual final events in addition to the Men’s 400 Medley Relay.
In the morning, Brooke Thompson qualified 8th for the Women’s 50 Freestyle with a personal best time of 28.66. Carli Cronk (age 13) followed closely with a time of 28.95 to place ninth. Elizabeth Cocker placed 15th and Trysta Duerson placed 17th respectively in the Women’s 50 Freestyle.
Cooper Willetts qualified 3rd in the Men’s 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:07.07, while Daniel Pletenets qualified 8th for finals (1:11.98). Tyler Brown placed 14th in preliminaries with a time of 1:16.03.
Two swimmers qualified for finals in the Women’s 200 backstroke including Emily Massengale who qualified second (2:27.42) and Brooke Thompson who qualified fifth with a personal best time of 2:34.46. Carli Cronk placed sixth in preliminaries with a time of 2:35.85, but did not qualify for finals due to the limit of two qualifications per country per event in finals. Trysta Duerson placed 16th with a time of 2:57.59.
Kaitlyn Weatherby qualified for finals in the Women’s 200 Individual Medley with a season best time of 2:38.85 while Molly Likins placed 9th with a personal best time of 2:40.38 and Samantha Fujii placed 18th with a personal record of 2:43.12.
The Men’s 4 x 100 Medley Relay qualified 5th for finals with a time of 4:11.05.
In finals, Collin Davis started off the evening strong with a personal best time and fifth place finish in the Men’s 800 Freestyle of 8:52.04. This time smashed the former American Deaf Record of 9:04.68 set by Brian Bennett in 2007.
Brooke Thompson placed 6th in the Women’s 50 Freestyle final with another personal best time of 28.00. She was the first USA team member to swim two finals in the same evening. Brooke also placed seventh in the Women’s 200 Backstroke with a personal best time of 2:34.04.
Emily Massengale earned a second-place finish and silver medal in the Women’s 200 Backstroke final with a personal best time of 2:24.76. That was a 2.66 second drop from her preliminary time of 2:27.42. This was Massengale’s second medal of the games and her highest finish ever at the World Deaf Swimming Championships. She finished second behind Olga Kliuchnikova who set the meet championship record with a time of 2:19.80.
Cooper Willetts and Daniel Pletenets swam the Men’s 100 Breaststroke final. Willetts placed fifth right behind Deaflympian Terence Parkin with a personal-best time of 1:06.79, and Pletenets placed eighth in his first finals swim with a time of 1:11.29.
Kaitlyn Weatherby presented the final individual swim of the night in the Women’s 200 IM. She placed eighth with a time of 2:37.95.
The Men’s 4 X 100 Medley Relay placed 5th in finals with a time of 4:07.51. Swimming the relay were Collin Davis (backstroke), Cooper Willetts (Breaststroke), Matthew Zou (Butterfly), and Daniel Pletenets (Freestyle).
DAY TWO PRELIMINARIES
Event 16 – Women’s 50 Freestyle
8th –Brooke Thompson, 28.66 (PR) Qualified
9th – Carli Cronk, 28.95
15th – Elizabeth Cocker, 29.58
17th – Trysta Duerson, 30.15
Event 17 – Men’s 100 Breaststroke
3rd – Cooper Willetts, 1:07.07 (tied) Qualified
8th – Daniel Pletenets, 1:11.98 Qualified
14th – Tyler Brown, 1:16.03
Event 18 – Women’s 200M Backstroke
2nd – Emily Massengale, 2:27.42 Qualified
5th – Brooke Thompson, 2:34.46, (PR) Qualified
6th – Carli Cronk, 2:35.85**
16th – Trysta Duerson, 2:57.59
**Note: Only top two from each country qualify for finals.
Event 20 Women’s 200 Individual Medley
8th –Kaitlyn Weatherby, 2:38.85 Qualified
9th – Molly Likins, 2:40.38 (PR)
18th – Samantha Fujii, 2:43.12 (PR)
Event 21 Men’s 4 x 100 Medley Relay
5th – Collin Davis, Cooper Willetts, Matthew Zou, Daniel Pletenets; 4:11.05 Qualified
DAY TWO FINALS
Event 15 – Men’s 800 Freestyle
5th – Collin Davis, (PR) 8:52.04 **New Deaf American Record
Event 16 – Women’s 50 Freestyle
6th – Brooke Thompson, 28.00 (PR)
Event 17 – Men’s 100 Breaststroke
5th – Cooper Willetts, 1:06.79 (PR)
8th – Daniel Pletenets, 1:11.29
Event 18 – Women’s 200M Backstroke
2nd – Emily Massengale, 2:24.76 (PR) SILVER
7th – Brooke Thompson, 2:34.04, (PR)
Event 20 Women’s 200 Individual Medley
8th –Kaitlyn Weatherby, 2:38.85
Event 21 Men’s 4 x 100 Medley Relay
5th – Collin Davis, Cooper Willetts, Matthew Zou, Daniel Pletenets; 4:11.05