U.S. Nationals, Day Three Men’s Finals: Ryan Erisman Demolishes 400 IM Field for Second Win of Meet
The first men’s final Thursday evening at U.S. Nationals in Irvine, Calif., featured 19-year-old Ryan Erisman dominating the men’s 400 IM, swimming a big personal-best time to win his second national title of the meet.
After that came another showdown between world-record holder Caeleb Dressel and Olympic medalist Ilya Kharun in the 100 butterfly. The session concluded with a pair of 50-meter races, with Michael Andrew highlighting the breaststroke race and World Championship finalist Quintin McCarty racing backstroke.
Men’s 400 IM
Last year, Ryan Erisman finished one spot away from qualifying for the World Championships team in the men’s 400 freestyle. At this year’s Nationals, he has already captured two national titles, even with his signature event still to come Friday. A stellar back half carried Erisman to a title in the 200 free, dropping more than a second in the process, and in the 400 IM, he collected a wire-to-wire victory.
Already with a comfortable lead after 300 meters, Erisman then finished in 57.13 to put away the field. He touched in 4:09.57, crushing his previous best time (4:12.66) by more than three seconds. In the process, he became the seventh-fastest swimmer in the world this year and the second-best American behind Olympic bronze medalist Carson Foster. That effort puts Erisman in position for a massive effort when he races in the 400 free. He already clocked 3:44.03 at the AP London International in May, and in Irvine, he has an outside shot at challenging the American record.
As for the rest of the field, a three-way race unfolded for the No. 2 spot. Noah Cakir ended up getting the touch in 4:13.28, just ahead of Michael Hochwalt (4:13.37) and Baylor Nelson (4:13.53).
Men’s 100 Butterfly
Men’s 50 Breaststroke
Men’s 50 Backstroke
