2023 Pro Swim Series – Fort Lauderdale
- Wednesday, March 1 – Saturday, March 4, 2023
- Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center, Fort Lauderdale, FL
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Info
- Meet Central
For the first time in 21 years, the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center will play host to a high-level national event at the beginning of March with the second leg of USA Swimming’s 2023 Pro Swim Series headed to the Atlantic coast of Florida.
The event will be hosted by Swim Fort Lauderdale at the newly-renovated aquatic center that has been closed for the last three and a half years, undergoing a $48 million renovation.
Here’s a look at the center post-renovation:
Although psych sheets for the event have yet to be released, the event host has confirmed a number of top U.S. names that will be competing, headlined by reigning Olympic and world champion Katie Ledecky.
Ledecky, who has been training at the University of Florida in Gainesville—about a five-hour drive from Fort Lauderdale—since the fall of 2021, won three events at the first PSS event of the year in Knoxville and will be a name to watch as she progresses into U.S. Nationals and ultimately the World Championships this summer.
Also confirmed for the competition are U.S. Olympic gold medalists Simone Manuel, Lilly King, Bobby Finke, Chase Kalisz and Michael Andrew, plus 2022 world champions Regan Smith and Kieran Smith.
Given the presence of Manuel, Kalisz and R. Smith, we can glean that the pro group at Arizona State, which also includes the likes of Hali Flickinger, Ryan Held, Olivia Smoliga, Sierra Schmidt and Jay Litherland, will likely be in attendance.
Head ASU coach Bob Bowman will not be in attendance as he’ll be guiding the Sun Devils’ collegiate team at the Men’s Pac-12 Championships in Federal Way, Washington on the same dates.
The last time a high-level national meet was hosted by the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center was in 2002, when Michael Phelps broke the world record in the men’s 400 IM after a memorable battle with Erik Vendt, and Natalie Coughlin became the first woman under the 1:00 barrier in the 100 backstroke.
…but the question is: Will Simone and Katie go at it in the 200?
The Canadians are also going to the meet.
Parking improved at all? Always an issue..Know that was part of the original renovation plan that made it really spendy.
Masters meet last weekend and parking was still a nightmare. You will be charged a small fortune to park.
No. The back by the old hall of fame is a construction site. The building is gone. Get there early or take a cab if you’re going to watch.
Little parking at the facility, but a 5-10 minute walk from a couple garages and large lots. $4/hour or so to park
Flickinger, Hali?
King, Lilly?
Smith, Leah?
Weitzeil, Abbey?
Summer Olympians from 2016 Rio.
the fact that 2002 was 21 years ago threw me for a loop
I miss the canopy.
I got very curious about that scary looking diving tower. From the web page of the diving team: “The platform will be 1,3,5,7 1/2,10,15,20,24 and 27 meters. Along with 3 meter and 1 meter springboards.”
That dive pool doesn’t look deep enough for the height of those platforms!
Stories like this make me feel good. Nice to see $ put into a facility like this to bring it back to life. Lots of history there! I swam in it in the 90s and had a good time.