2024 PRO SWIM SERIES – KNOXVILLE
- January 10-13, 2024
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- LCM (50 meters)
- Start Times
- All Prelims: 9am (EST)
- Thurs-Sat Finals: 6pm (EST)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Day 1 Finals Live Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Live Recap | Day 2 Finals Live Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Live Recap | Day 3 Finals Live Recap
- Day 4 Prelims Live Recap
Summer McIntosh ripped a world-leading time of 2:07.16 to beat Alex Walsh (2:07.63) with both swimmers reaching the wall under McIntosh’s Pro Swim Series record from last year (2:08.08).
McIntosh just missed her lifetime best of 2:06.89 from last March’s Canadian Trials, which also stands as the world junior record. The 17-year-old Toronto native’s win tonight ranks as the 14th-fastest swim ever and the top time in the world this season ahead of Kaylee McKeown‘s 2:07.54 from December.
Walsh now ranks 3rd this season behind McIntosh and McKeown. The University of Virginia senior earned silver at the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka behind fellow American Kate Douglass, who clocked a time trial of 2:07.89 on Friday.
McIntosh finished just a tenth of a second shy of Douglass’s U.S. Open record (2:07.09) from last year’s U.S. Trials. It was her third win in the past three nights after claiming the 200 free crown (1:55.41) on Friday and taking the 200 fly title (2:05.73) on Thursday.
WOMEN’S 200M INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY — FINAL
- World Record: Katinka Hosszu (HUN) – 2:06.12 (2015)
- American Record: Ariana Kukors (USA) – 2:06.15 (2009)
- U.S Open Record: Kate Douglass (USA) – 2:07.09 (2023)
Pro Swim Series Record: Summer McIntosh (CAN) – 2:08.08 (2023)- OLY Trials Cut – 2:16.09
Top 8:
- Summer McIntosh (SYS) — 2:07.16 *PRO SWIM RECORD*
- Alex Walsh (UVA) — 2:07.63
- Kelly Pash (TEX) — 2:13.33
- Ashley McMillan (CAN) — 2:13.38
- Beata Nelson (WISC) — 2:14.01
- Tess Cieplucha (TNAQ) — 2:16.35
- Josephine Fuller (TENN) — 2:17.38
- Angie Coe (TEX) — 2:15.18
McIntosh held the lead after the first 100 meters, turning for the breaststroke leg in 58.97 more than a second ahead of Walsh. But as expected, Walsh made her move on the breaststroke leg.
Walsh erased her deficit to McIntosh over the 50 meters of breaststroke and held an .08-second advantage over McIntosh heading into the last 50 meters. It all came down to the freestyle leg, and McIntosh out-split Walsh 30.01 to 30.56 when it mattered most.
Texas fifth-year Kelly Pash rounded out the podium just .05 seconds ahead of Ashley McMillan.
It just makes me sad to think that one out of Summer, A. Walsh, KD, and McKeown won’t win a medal in this event. I seriously think that 2:06 high could get 4th, which is so insanely unheard of it makes me so happy to be a swim fan at this time.
Is Tori Huske still in this mix?
for making the team or for a medal? I would say a very outside chance of making the team (in the 200 IM), like 10% maybe, and then like a 5% chance for a medal if she makes the team. The only reason it’s not lower for me is that she did beat out Alex at NCAAs in the event and she is also a talented LCM swimmer so there’s certainly a chance
prediction: summer and kate are playing for the gold and one of them wins in 2:05.9, the other gets a 2.06:0, the bronze is competed between walsh and Mckeown touching one in 2:07.28 and the other in 2:07.57
I would like to know your opinion
Why are you predicting Summer and Kate to drop over a second from their best but Kaylee and Alex to be signficantly slower than their best?
I think the 4 of them may have a time drop, in my opinion Summer and Kate a little more, I think the gold moves between them. Only in the Olympic final I bet that Alex and Kaylee won’t do their pbs, but they can still have a 2.06 as a mark that year, at least one.
I think at this point it’s safe to assume McIntosh will win the 200 IM in faster than a 2:06.0 and Douglass could win at most: the silver medal. She should feel no low spirits, though, because she will have a number of opportunities for a silver behind the to-be Greatest I’Mer in Female swimming: McIntosh. Also, Douglass can try to break the American Record which just so happens to be the current WR. Let’s hope for a silver medal for Douglass behind a sincere competitor along with breaking the AR. It’d be no chump feat.
Appears headed towards a Douglas, McIntosh, Mckeown Walsh race as one of the top races for the Olympics – Any one of whom (if not multiple) likely to drop time and go 2:05+ (or even a 2:04+).
The current WR, belonging to Katinka Hosszu, is 0.03 seconds faster than the AR, so they are in fact not the same.
FYI the current AR isn’t the current WR.
true. I meant more like if she breaks the AR that there’s only 0.04 between that and the WR so I was assuming she’d break the WR if she broke the AR.
One thing to note in the McIntosh vs Douglass prediction… for multi eventers, there does seem to be a drop in overall performance by the 4 individual final / end of the schedule.
Even in Phelps’ 08, his 200IM and 100fly times were probably slower than they would’ve been if they were at the start of the schedule (Phelps in 2011 and 2012 swam very similar 200IM times with a lighter schedule despite reportedly much less training)
Hosszu essentially never broke 4:30 in the 400IM at the end of the WC schedule. For the same reason, peak Lochte 2011 only goes 4:07 when the 400IM is at the end of the schedule but seems to drop 2 seconds in… Read more »
The 200 IM is the second day of Canadian Trials, so that should give us a good indication of her ability. That being said, she’s probably not trying to peak at trials
looking at the schedule the 200IM is on the 7th and last day
My bad for assuming the schedule would be the same every year.
This year it will be
Day 1: 400 FR
Day 2: 200 FR
Off
Day 4: 400 IM
Off
Day 6: 200 FL
Day 7: 200 IM
Instead of speculation upon what if, what might, or anything else, let us today be thankful and absolutely grateful for this unusually competitive (among four!) event of the coming year…with four women who are (yes, unusually) FULL of character, and who make it such a total delight for us to participate in as onlookers.
The Women’s 2 IM: marquee.
Douglass can only defeat McIntosh if she significantly improves the backstroke leg. But it makes sense why that is a longshot. Douglass’ favorite events have always been sprint freestyle and 200 breaststroke. She’s not going to devalue those races during an Olympic year toward one segment of 200 individual medley, a race she doesn’t like to train for.
Backstroke emphasis needed to begin 2 years ago.
Incorrect. 200BR is a relatively recent event for Douglass and she is an elite flyer–look at the record. She is also improving significantly in the 100BR. In short, making predictions about what she can or will do is a perilous business.
This is a very fast time considering she was 1.5s off her best in her other 200s