Courtesy: USA Deaf Swimming
The USADS National Team just missed the medal podium on Day 4 of the 2019 World Deaf Swimming Championships but came back strong on Day 5 of the competition with some record-setting swims.
Carli Cronk (San Antonio, TX) started the winning streak during the day 5 finals with a bronze medal in the Women’s 800 Freestyle with a time of 9:39.96.
In morning preliminaries, Collin Davis, Daniel Pletenets, Matthew Zou, and Tyler Brown swam the Men’s 50 Freestyle. Collin swam a personal best time of 25.57 to place 10th, Pletenets (12th, 25.73), Zou (25th, 27.23), and Brown (29th, 27.79) to round out a strong showing.
Molly Likins and Kaitlyn Weatherby had both qualified for finals in the Women’s 100 Breaststroke earlier in the day. Likins broke her own Deaf American Record in preliminaries with a time of 1:16.30 to qualify second for finals. She lowered that record again in finals to win silver with a time of 1:14.36. Kaitlyn Weatherby swam a personal best time of 1:21.39 in prelims to qualify 8th for finals and lowered that time even more in finals to 1:20.51 to place 8th.
Collin Davis and Matthew Zou both qualified for finals in the Men’s 200 Backstroke. Davis swam a personal-best time of 2:16.74 to qualify fourth for finals while Zou earned his first individual final with a time of 2:25.88 (8th). This was the third individual final for first-year team member, Collin Davis. Davis placed sixth in finals with a new PR of 2:13.12 while Zou placed 8th with a time of 2:27.83.
Carli Cronk and Emily Massengale qualified 4th and 5th respectively for the Women’s 100 Butterfly out of the preliminaries. In the evening, Cronk placed 3rd in finals for a bronze medal with a time of 1:06.20. Massengale placed 5th in finals by dropping over 1.63 seconds from 1:09.32 in preliminaries to 1:07.69 in finals. This was Cronk’s second medal of the championships. Kaitlyn Weatherby also placed top 8 in preliminaries with a time of 1:11.04, but could not swim finals due to the two finalists per country per event rule.
Cooper Willetts qualified seventh in prelims for the Men’s 200 IM with a time of 2:18.58; and Tyler Brown placed 13th (2:25.90). In finals, Willetts placed sixth with a time of 2:16.46, just off of his personal best.
Finally, the Women’s 400 Medley Relay team of Massengale, Likins, Thompson, and Weatherby set a new American Record in finals with a time of 4:33.08. They placed fourth just behind Belarus with a time of 4:32.11. The former Deaf American Record of 4:35.37 in this event was set at the 2017 Deaflympics in Samsun, Turkey by Massengale, Likins, Elizabeth Cocker, and Alyssa Greymont.
Team USA is Coached by Brad Robbins (Tigard Tualatin Swim Club, Oregon) and Chris Daly (Chico Aquajets, California).
DAY 5 PRELIMINARIES
Men’s 50 Freestyle
10th – Collin Davis, 25.57 (PR)
12th – Daniel Pletenets, 25.73
25th – Matthew Zou, 27.23
29th – Tyler Brown, 27.79 (PR)
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
2nd – Molly Likins, 1:16.30 (PR) Qualified **New Deaf American Record
8th – Kaitlyn Weatherby, 1:21.39 (PR) Qualified
12th – Trysta Duerson, 1:36.15 (PR)
Men’s 200 Backstroke
5th – Collin Davis, 2:16.74 (PR) Qualified
8th – Matthew Zou, 2:25.88 (PR) Qualified
Women’s 100 Butterfly
4th – Carli Cronk, 1:07.76 Qualified
5th – Emily Massengale, 1:09.32 Qualified
8th – Kaitlyn Weatherby, 1:11.04 *
9th – Elizabeth Cocker, 1:11.20
*Only top two finishers from each country allowed to swim in finals.
Men’s 200 Individual Medley
7th— Cooper Willetts, 2:18.58 Qualified
13th – Tyler Brown, 2:25.90
Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay
5th – 5:09.50 (Fujii, Duerson, Cocker, Thompson) Qualified
DAY 5 FINALS
Women’s 800 Freestyle
3rd – Carli Cronk, 9:39.96 (PR) BRONZE
Women’s 100 Breaststroke
2nd – Molly Likins, 1:14.36 (PR) SILVER **New Deaf American Record
8th – Kaitlyn Weatherby, 1:20.51 (PR)
Men’s 200 Backstroke
6th – Collin Davis, 2:13.12 (PR)
8th – Matthew Zou, 2:27.83 (First-Time Finalist)
Women’s 100 Butterfly
3rd – Carli Cronk, 1:06.20 (PR) BRONZE
5th – Emily Massengale, 1:07.69 (PR)
Men’s 200 Individual Medley
6th— Cooper Willetts, 2:16.46
Women’s 4×100 Medley Relay
4th – 4:33.08 (Massengale, Likins, Thompson, Weatherby) **New Deaf American Record