Mike Alexandrov on Night 3 of the Mesa Grand Prix (Sponsored by VisitMesa.com). Recaps of his 100 Breaststroke from Braden Keith:
Men’s 100 Breast – Final
Mike Alexandrov had a solid Olympic Trials last year, but in finals couldn’t make the final jump and placed 6th overall. This year, there’s a big, big opening for spots in the 100 breaststroke on the World Championship team, and Alexandrov was using this meet as a bench-mark for where he is.
The answer is that he’s in a very good spot. He won the men’s 100 breaststroke in 1:00.63, which was about three-tenths better than he was at the last stop in Orlando, and better than he was at the Olympic Trials as well. Alexandrov said after his race that he took about a week to rest coming into this meet, and even with that taken into account this is a very good swim for him.
Grand Canyon University’s Eetu Karvonen, a Finnish national and two-time NCAA Division II Champion in the sprint breaststroke, took 2nd in 1:01.97, which is a lifetime best.
BJ Johnson was 3rd in 1:02.68, and Mark Gangloff took 3rd in 1:02.72. Venezuela’s 16-year old Carlo Claverie, who’s had a fantastic meet of his own, was 5th in 1:02.94.
Imri Ganiel, an Israeli international, won the B-Final in 1:02.41. He’s been training with Eddie Reese and the Texas Longhorns for a while now, but will begin his official collegiate competition next year and will help to fill the Longhorns’ big breaststroke hole.