TYR Pro Series Westmont, Day Three Finals: Summer McIntosh Blasts U.S. Open Record in 400 IM; Shaine Casas Continues Roll
As an early March competition in the first year since an Olympic Games, there was guarded optimism concerning the performances that would come out of this week’s USA Swimming TYR Pro Series in Westmont, Illinois. But the excitement level enhanced dramatically on Thursday night, when the likes of Summer McIntosh, Simone Manuel, Shaine Casas, Kate Douglass and Sam Short delivered impressive marks.
Consequently, there were increased expectations for Friday night’s schedule, which included races in the 200 freestyle, 50 breaststroke, 50 butterfly, 200 backstroke and 400 individual medley. Once again, McIntosh was a headliner, entered in the 400-meter individual medley, an event in which she is the world-record holder and reigning Olympic champion. She didn’t disappoint, with a U.S. Open delivered.
Here is the event-by-event breakdown from the TYR Westmont stop on Friday night:
Women’s 200 Freestyle
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Coming off a victory in the 100 freestyle on Thursday night, Simone Manuel put together a dominant effort to prevail in the 200 freestyle. The longtime sprint force for the United States demonstrated her talent over four laps and secured the win in 1:57.54, which was clear of the 1:57.81 of Canadian Mary-Sophie Harvey. Third place went to 15-year-old upstart Rylee Erisman in 1:58.43, with fellow teen Madi Mintenko fourth in 1:58.55.
Manuel was second through the opening length, but took the lead by the midway point of the race and opened up a commanding lead on the third lap. Manuel checked in with middle legs of 29.94 and 29.85, splits that proved valuable as Harvey closed over the last 50 meters.
Men’s 200 Freestyle
shane-casas-
Like Simone Manuel, Shaine Casas enjoyed a strong day on Thursday, winning the 50 backstroke and 100 freestyle. Those titles were complemented on Friday evening by a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle, as Casas touched the wall in 1:47.17 to narrowly edge Australian Max Giuliani (1:47.21). Also under 1:48 and touching for third and fourth, respectively, were Brazil’s Guilherme Costa (1:47.62) and Grant House (1:47.73).
Casas was second through the 150-meter mark, trailing House, but a final lap of 27.70 enabled Casas to pull ahead of House and was quick enough to fend off the closing lap of Giuliani, who went 27.39 over the final 50 meters.
Women’s 50 Breaststroke
After finishing second in the 100 breaststroke, Lilly King found her speed in the one-lap sprint by registering a mark of 30.55. A world champion in the event, King was one of three women to crack the 31-second barrier and got to the wall just ahead of Anita Bottazzo, who checked in with a time of 30.65. Also going sub-31 was Germany’s Anna Elendt, who clocked a 30.95.
Kate Douglass, the winner of the 100 breaststroke, was fourth in 31.18.
Men’s 50 Breaststroke
Only a hundredth of a second separated South Africa’s Michael Houlie and Aruba’s Mikel Schreuders during the morning prelims, as they qualified 1-2 for the evening final. At night, there was no separating the pair. Houlie and Schreuders posted matching times of 27.08 to share first place, with American Michael Andrew taking third in 27.21. Houlie and Schreuders will look to make noise later this year at the World Championships in Singapore.
Women’s 50 Butterfly
The focus for American standout Kate Douglass on Friday night was sprint action, and she came through with a title in the second of her one-lap efforts. After placing fourth in the 50 breaststroke earlier in the session, Douglass notched a personal best of 25.71 to defeat Aussie Lily Price (25.80). Douglass and Price were the only athletes to go under the 26-second mark.
Douglass has long established herself as one of the most versatile performers in the world, evidenced by her Olympic-medal resume in the 200 breaststroke and 200 individual medley, along with world-class status in the 100 fly and sprint freestyle. Her swims at the Westmont stop of the Pro Series allowed her to log some speed work while prepping for the World Champs in the summer.
Men’s 50 Butterfly
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick
Now training with Sun Devil Aquatics, Michael Andrew earned his first victory of the weekend by powering away from the field in the sprint fly. About 10 minutes after finishing third in the 50 breaststroke, Andrew posted a time of 23.57 in the 50 fly to beat Argentina’s Ulises Cazau (23.74) and Aruba’s Mikel Schreuders (23.76).
Because it is a World Championships season, Andrew will have the opportunity to put his sprint prowess on display on the world stage, provided he qualifies for the United States. The Team USA veteran has also indicated he is once again investing in the 200 individual medley, an event in which he advanced to the final at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Women’s 200 Backstroke
The reigning Olympic silver medalist in the event, the United States’ Regan Smith put together a wire-to-wire triumph in the 200 backstroke. Smith took top honors in 2:08.33, which was a little more than a second ahead of the 2:09.34 managed by runnerup Rhyan White.
Racing in a long-course competition for the first time since the Olympic Games in Paris, Smith had the fastest split on all four lengths of her 200 backstroke, a positive sign as she works through her training in Austin, Texas. Earlier in the meet, Smith was the runnerup in the 200 butterfly.
Men’s 200 Backstroke
The roll of Shaine Casas continued, as he made it four victories in two nights in Westmont. Following up his win earlier in the night in the 200 freestyle, Casas had too much for the field in the 200 backstroke, which he won in 1:58.51. That outing handed Casas a margin of nearly a second over Cole Pratt, who was timed in 1:59.44. Tommy Janton was the third-place finisher, going 2:00.53.
Women’s 400 Individual Medley
Coming off a spectacular 2:04.00 performance in the 200 butterfly on Day Two, Canadian Summer McIntosh put on a show in the 400 individual medley on Friday night. Delivering the fourth-fastest time in event history, McIntosh established U.S. Open and Pro Series records when she touched the wall in 4:26.98. That time was only a little more than two seconds off her world record of 4:24.38.
The reigning Olympic and world champion in the 400 IM, McIntosh raced alone for her eight lengths of the pool and posted a margin of victory of 17-plus seconds over Mary-Sophie Harvey, who was second in 4:44.31. McIntosh bettered the previous U.S. Open standard of 4:28.61, which she swam in December 2022.
McIntosh opened with a butterfly split of 59.76 and followed with a backstroke leg of 1:07.06. McIntosh’s breaststroke leg was covered in 1:19.14 and she closed out the race with a freestyle split of 1:01.02.
Men’s 400 Individual Medley
As was the case in the women’s version of the event, the men’s 400 IM was won in dominant fashion, with American Carson Foster coming out on top in 4:09.51. The bronze medalist in the event at the Paris Games, Foster immediately built a commanding lead on the butterfly leg and padded that advantage over the next 300 meters. To go sub-4:10 at this point of the year suggests a big year could be on offer for Foster.
Foster split 55.79 for the fly leg, and covered the backstroke in 1:04.33. He checked in with a breaststroke split of 1:11.23 and capped his race with a freestyle leg of 58.16. Second place went to Misha Lyubavskiy in 4:24.12.
