Reported by Lauren Neidigh.
MEN’S 500 FREE
- NCAA record: Peter Vanderkaay (Michigan), 2006- 4:08.60
- American record: Peter Vanderkaay (Michigan), 2006- 4:08.54
- U.S. Open record: Peter Vanderkaay (Michigan), 2006- 4:08.54
- 2016 NCAA Champion: Townley Haas (Texas) – 4:09.00
If there was any doubt about it, the doubt is now gone. Clark Smith is back. Smith led the race from start to finish, taking down Peter Vanderkaay’s NCAA and American Records with a 4:08.42 to hold off a late charge from teammate Townley Haas (4:08.92) and Michigan freshman Felix Auboeck (4:08.93).
Stanford’s Grant Shoults put up a personal best 4:10.23 for 4th, while South Carolina’s Fynn Minuth rounded out the top 5 in 4:10.57. Minuth’s teammate Akaram Mahmoud touched 6th in 4:10.83, followed by Indiana’s Marwan El Kamash (4:10.87) and NC State’s Anton Ipsen (4:11.73).
Stanford’s Liam Egan turned in a 4:12.36 to win the B final, outpacing Wisconsin’s Matt Hutchins (4:13.16).
There are two swimmers I love to watch swimming freestyle distances: Clark Smith and Stephanie Peacock. Clark with his 12 stroke laps and easy with which he swims. I always wonder: “is he going to speed up or what – he is going too slow” but he sets records. It just looks so easy. I was also always hypnotized watching Stephanie Peacock swim laps and overkicking on flags out of turns and overkicking on flags into turns to gain speed both ways. So beautiful.
One thing that drives me crazy watching Clark is his breath on the other side just before turns, like an age group swimmer. How am I going to tell our 9 year old not to… Read more »
Sun Yang does that too.
“psychodad”.. what a fitting name. A lot of them take that breath bc they need oxygen more than the extra hundredth of a second they’d get. If you go into oxygen debt in a longer race towards the beginning, you’re done.
As Caleb Dressel’s mom said, she’s always the mom, never the coach. Maybe good advice to follow. Don’t tell you 9 year old anything but, “Good job.”
It’s probably a lot like the logic Katie Ledecky and Bruce Gemmell use: It’s more important to avoid oxygen debt. I’ve gotta assume that, as hard as he works, and as good a coach as Eddie Reese is, very few things are accidents.
Modest guy. Just called his new American record “soft.” Bright future for him.
Can someone remind me what happened last year?
good on ya. You were a boss.
Hook Em!
Disappointment is the fuel of accomplishment.
Congrats to Clark. When in life you get knocked down you get up again. You did that and I’m sure a better athlete/person for it.
Class act. Eddie Reese’s guys always are.