One day into the Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin, Katie Ledecky has rocketed into the top 5 in overall points with the day’s top haul.
Ledecky, who did not compete at the Series’ first stop in Minneapolis, rolled up 10 points on a pair of wins to lead all athletes for the day.
That put a damper on Katinka Hosszu‘s earnings. Hosszu rolled through the series last year, swimming only two of the six meets, but dominating the points at both to win the overall series points title. Things won’t be quite so easy for Hosszu this time around, though, as she finished second to Ledecky in both the 100 and 400 frees.
Hosszu still earned 6 points, second-most among women and tied for the second-most in either gender. The top-earning man was Conor Dwyer, who sneakily nabbed 6 points on a pair of 2nd-place finishes.
Just behind Dwyer were a group of single-event winners, each with 5 points: Nathan Adrian, Jack Conger, Josh Prenot and Connor Jaeger.
That leaves Dwyer just a single point behind Tyler Clary (19) for the overall series lead. Elizabeth Beisel will maintain her lead (21.5) on the women’s side, as none of the previous top 5 scored any points on night 1 in Austin.
As a reminder, an event win earns 5 points, a runner-up finish 3 and a third-place spot 1. The overall series points winner earns a $10,000 bonus and a 1-year lease of a BMW car.
Prize money for individual events this season is $200 per point – so an event winner earns $1000, a 2nd-place finisher $600 and a 3rd-place finisher $200. The lists below are “money-earned” lists, not necessarily “money-accepted” lists, given that NCAA swimmers and those who plan to compete in college down the road have restrictions on how much prize money they can accept. Those “amateur” athletes are denoted below with an “(A)”.
The following are tallies from the Austin Pro Swim Series only, which we’ll be keeping track of day-by-day as the meet continues:
Men’s Rankings – Pro Swim Series Austin
| Rank | Name | Points | Total Money |
| 1 | Conor Dwyer | 6 | $1,200 |
| 2 | Nathan Adrian | 5 | $1,000 |
| 2 | Connor Jaeger | 5 | $1,000 |
| 2 | Josh Prenot (A) | 5 | $1,000 |
| 2 | Jack Conger (A) | 5 | $1,000 |
| 6 | BJ Johnson | 3 | $600 |
| 6 | Tripp Cooper (A) | 3 | $600 |
| 8 | Ryan Murphy (A) | 1 | $200 |
| 8 | Anton McKee (A) | 1 | $200 |
| 8 | Michael McBroom | 1 | $200 |
| 8 | Andrew Seliskar (A) | 1 | $200 |
Women’s Rankings – Pro Swim Series Austin
| Rank | Name | Points | Total Money |
| 1 | Katie Ledecky (A) | 10 | $2,000 |
| 2 | Katinka Hosszu | 6 | $1,200 |
| 3 | Micah Lawrence | 5 | $1,000 |
| 3 | Noemie Thomas (A) | 5 | $1,000 |
| 5 | Katie McLaughlin (A) | 3 | $600 |
| 5 | Marina Garcia (A) | 3 | $600 |
| 7 | Elizabeth Beisel | 1 | $200 |
| 7 | Megan Romano | 1 | $200 |
| 7 | Breeja Larson | 1 | $200 |
| 7 | Cassidy Bayer (A) | 1 | $200 |
Regarding to Katinka’s expenses. Did I miss something? I mean it is only day 1 after all and as far as I know Katinka will also compete in other events in this meet. She will earn a few more bucks down the road.
Other than that she does not have to worry about airfare and accommodation. not only because as it was mentioned she earned more than 1 M USD in the world cup series alone, but also because she has many sponsors, and I believe a nice salary from her club. I don’t think paying for an airplane ticket and a hotel room will keep her going any place she wants to.
I agree. Of all swimmers, Hosszu should be among the least likely (along with Phelps and Lochte) to have any trouble footing airfares and hotel bills.
I hope Earvinforthewin found last night’s 400 free race between Ledecky and Hosszu interesting
🙂
To reply to your sarcastic tone , i will answer to you anyway : a race can always be interesting even if the winner has 7 or more seconds on the second . It depends on your level of passion for swimming . When Phelps was winning his 400 IM in the past , it was still interesting while we knew so well he could not be easely challenged .
If you think that was a sarcasm, that tells more about how you actually think about the race 🙂
Anyway, I agree to disagree with you and I found the 100 free tussle between Ledecky and Hosszu much more interesting.
Here’s some races you might enjoy and find interesting:
1,500 free between Ledecky and Simone Manuel
200 back between Franklin and Camille Adams
100 free between Cate Campbell and Lauren Boyle
Also, originally you didn’t say Ledecky’s 400 will be interesting (the way you are now saying Phelps 400 IM races were interesting. You said Ledecky vs. Hosszu in 400 and 800 will be interesting, of which I disagreed)
How do athletes like Hosszu pay for their travel expenses? Even with prize money, it seems like airfare, hotel, etc would cost more than an athlete earns. Do the event organizers pay expenses for top athletes? I’m assuming Hosszu’s national team or club wouldn’t pay since she is basically representing herself in this meet, not a team.
Clearly you haven’t paid attention to the fact that Hosszu has earned over $1million in prize money alone.
True she could afford to pay her own travel expenses, but I wonder if her sponsors cover them?
i beleive it’s a bit of both ! i also beleive she is a good manager of her expenses . Why win so much within a year and not be able to manage that with precision and smartness ? doesn’t makes sense . She knows well what she is doing .