2019 PRO SWIM SERIES – DES MOINES
- March 6th-9th, 2019
- Wellmark YMCA, Des Moines, Iowa
- LCM (50m), Prelims-Finals
- Live Results
- Psych Sheets
- TV/Webcast Info
- Event Schedule
Hali Flickinger didn’t win all 3 A finals that she raced on Friday night at the Des Moines stop of the 2019 Pro Swim Series, but the one win she did get was the most impressive swim of the 3.
The 24-year old Georgia alum swam a 1:58.59 in the 200 free, which was just .41 seconds shy of her lifetime best in the event and is the fastest in-season time of her career by more than half-a-second.
A few short heats of 50s later, Flickinger then swam to a 2nd-place finish in the 200 back in 2:10.24. She was a second-and-a-half faster in that race at the Knoxville Pro Swim stop in January (2:08.72) in what was her season-best time (she was 2:09.22 at half-time).
The coup de grâce came in the 400 IM, where Flickinger finished with a 4:38.84. That beat out Texas A&M post-grad Bethany Galat by almost 5 seconds.
In spite of being a grueling event at the end of a grueling session, that’s Flickinger’s best time by 2-tenths of a second. She was a 4:39.80 in Knoxville earlier this year, and a 5:39.04 in last summer’s Bulldog Grand Slam meet.
The 400 IM is a race that Flickinger used to swim at big meets with regularity in college, including at the 2013, 2014, and 2015 NCAA Championship meets. But, since swimming the race at the 2015 World University Games (where she took bronze) she hasn’t taken on the race at any big long course championship meets.
Flickinger had a big long course breakthrough last summer when she broke the US Open Record in the 200 fly and went on to Pan Pacs gold in the same event. Based on early returns from this year’s Pro Swim Series, she’s got much more in store as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics draw closer.
Impressive triple indeed. I thought that only Hosszu “Tosup version”, in an in-season meet could perform so well in such a three grueling events.
The new Iron Lady.
Kind of a sad commentary on the breadth and depth of the swimmers at this meet that this is considered a highlight. Swimming two relatively slow times, followed by a final push in a third event, is not a major accomplishment given the type of training a swimmer like Flickinger does. But need for some hype is understandable given another underwhelming meet by motorcycle man Dressel–have to find news somewhere.
Nice comment CARVOTT!! Do you swim much?? Didn’t think so!!
Troll
waaah??
Kinda have to agree, a 1:58 mid in the 200 Free for 4th at a (weak) PSS meet isn’t really a statement swim. Sort of a Sally-Save Up type of night for her.
Hey, motorcycle man did get a 5th place finish in an event, so not sure what you mean by underwhelming.