Friday, February 26, 2021
Star-Studded Field Heads to San Antonio for TYR Pro Swim Series
More than 50 current national teamers and around 20 Olympians are expected to compete at the TYR Pro Swim Series – San Antonio, which gets underway March 3rd and concludes March 6th at the North East ISD Blossom Athletic Complex.
With only a handful of major competitions remaining before the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming in June, it will be an important opportunity for many Olympic hopefuls. And, for the first time this year, the meet will be held at only one site, giving swimmers the opportunity to race head-to-head against one another. Here are some of the names to watch when the meet gets underway in Texas.
Backstroke
Defending Olympic champion Ryan Murphy of California Aquatics enters the meet with top times of 53.55 in the men’s 100m back and 1:56.82 in the 200m back. His biggest competition figures to be from Wolfpack Elite’s Justin Ress, who has actually posted the fastest time in the US this year with a 53.37 from the Richmond stop of the Pro Swim Series. Bryce Mefford looks to be Murphy’s closest challenger in the 200m back, with a 1:59.49 from the Stanford Invite last fall.
On the women’s side, the backstroke events are continuing to shape up as two of the closest races at the Olympic Trials, with a number of women within striking distance of the top two spots. World record-holder and 2019 world champion Regan Smith of Riptide enters the meet having posted the best time for the fall 2020-winter 2021 competition period with a 59.75. She’s certainly not a lock for the top spot though, with Team Elite’s Kathleen Baker (59.82) and Athens Bulldog’s Olivia Smoliga (59.94) right on her heels. In the 200m back, Baker is ranked fifth behind four others who are not expected to compete, with Smith in sixth.
Breaststroke
Athens Bulldog’s Andrew Wilson has put himself in the conversation to make the Olympic team in both men’s breaststroke events, and has posted the second-best times in the US in both events with a 59.58 in the 100 and a 2:09.83 in the 200. Sandpipers’ Cody Miller is right behind him in the rankings with a 59.65 and 2:10.22. A couple of other swimmers – Nic Fink, Brandon Fischer, Will Licon and Josh Prenot – will definitely challenge them for the top of the podium.
The women’s breaststroke events should be just as intriguing as the men’s, with a handful of potential challengers. Condors’ Emily Escobedo has posted the fastest time in both the 100 and 200 in 2021, with times of 1:07.11 and 2:23.46, both from Richmond. Defending Olympic champion Lilly King is ranked second in both but is not expected to swim in San Antonio, leaving a large group of others – Annie Lazor Madisyn Cox, Bethany Galat, Molly Hannis and Micah Summerall – to challenge Escobedo for the best times.
Butterfly
A number of top flyers are expected to race in the men’s field in San Antonio, including world record-holder Caeleb Dressel, Olympian Tom Shields, and up-and-comer Jack Saunderson. While those three swimmers battle it out in the shorter distances, Jay Litherland, Andrew Seliskar and Trenton Julian could stage their own battle in the 200m fly.
Kelsi Dahlia and Hali Flickinger headline the women’s butterfly corps at the meet, while Regan Smith could challenge in both events as well. Smith has a shot to make the Tokyo team in both backstroke events as well as both butterfly events, as she’s ranked second behind Flickinger in the 200 and third in the 100 behind Dahlia.
Freestyle
The men’s freestyle events are loaded, with the likes of Nathan Adrian, Dressel, Zach Apple, Michael Andrew and Ryan Held aiming for wins in the shorter distances, while Townley Haas, Sean Grieshop and Jordan Wilimovsky will take aim at the mid and distance free events. Harvard’s Dean Farris could spoil the party with top times of 22.32 and 48.45 in the 50 and 100.
Simone Manuel and Katie Ledecky, who starred at the Rio Olympic Games in the sprint and distance free events for the US women, will look to light it up once again in San Antonio. They’ll have plenty of competition, with sprinters Mallory Comerford and Abbey Weitzeil expected to challenge in the shorter events, while seasoned veterans Ashley Twichell and Haley Anderson should be towards the top of the distance standings. Don’t count out mid-distance stars Allison Schmitt, Melanie Margalis, Leah Smith and Erica Sullivan as challengers.
Individual Medley
Ryan Lochte takes aim at his fifth Olympics, and he’ll have his work cut out for him in the men’s 200m IM, with Michael Andrew (1:56.83), Chase Kalisz (1:57.28) and Andrew Seliskar (1:58.01) at the top of the leaderboard for their swims in 2019 and 2020. Lochte posted a 1:58.89 in 2019 but will likely need to be faster than that to top the podium in San Antonio.
The women’s IM events could be a great showdown between Melanie Margalis, Madisyn Cox and a handful of others. Kathleen Baker actually has the top US time from 2020 at 2:08.75, with Margalis in second at 2:08.84. Margalis owns a 4:32.53 in the 400m IM from the 2020 Pro Swim Series in Des Moines, a full six seconds better than Cox’s 4:38.88. Up and comer Emma Weyant from Sarasota will look to give these veterans a run in both distances.
With only a handful of major competitions remaining before the U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Swimming in June, it will be an important opportunity for many Olympic hopefuls. And, for the first time this year, the meet will be held at only one site, giving swimmers the opportunity to race head-to-head against one another. Here are some of the names to watch when the meet gets underway in Texas.
Backstroke
Defending Olympic champion Ryan Murphy of California Aquatics enters the meet with top times of 53.55 in the men’s 100m back and 1:56.82 in the 200m back. His biggest competition figures to be from Wolfpack Elite’s Justin Ress, who has actually posted the fastest time in the US this year with a 53.37 from the Richmond stop of the Pro Swim Series. Bryce Mefford looks to be Murphy’s closest challenger in the 200m back, with a 1:59.49 from the Stanford Invite last fall.
On the women’s side, the backstroke events are continuing to shape up as two of the closest races at the Olympic Trials, with a number of women within striking distance of the top two spots. World record-holder and 2019 world champion Regan Smith of Riptide enters the meet having posted the best time for the fall 2020-winter 2021 competition period with a 59.75. She’s certainly not a lock for the top spot though, with Team Elite’s Kathleen Baker (59.82) and Athens Bulldog’s Olivia Smoliga (59.94) right on her heels. In the 200m back, Baker is ranked fifth behind four others who are not expected to compete, with Smith in sixth.
Breaststroke
Athens Bulldog’s Andrew Wilson has put himself in the conversation to make the Olympic team in both men’s breaststroke events, and has posted the second-best times in the US in both events with a 59.58 in the 100 and a 2:09.83 in the 200. Sandpipers’ Cody Miller is right behind him in the rankings with a 59.65 and 2:10.22. A couple of other swimmers – Nic Fink, Brandon Fischer, Will Licon and Josh Prenot – will definitely challenge them for the top of the podium.
The women’s breaststroke events should be just as intriguing as the men’s, with a handful of potential challengers. Condors’ Emily Escobedo has posted the fastest time in both the 100 and 200 in 2021, with times of 1:07.11 and 2:23.46, both from Richmond. Defending Olympic champion Lilly King is ranked second in both but is not expected to swim in San Antonio, leaving a large group of others – Annie Lazor Madisyn Cox, Bethany Galat, Molly Hannis and Micah Summerall – to challenge Escobedo for the best times.
Butterfly
A number of top flyers are expected to race in the men’s field in San Antonio, including world record-holder Caeleb Dressel, Olympian Tom Shields, and up-and-comer Jack Saunderson. While those three swimmers battle it out in the shorter distances, Jay Litherland, Andrew Seliskar and Trenton Julian could stage their own battle in the 200m fly.
Kelsi Dahlia and Hali Flickinger headline the women’s butterfly corps at the meet, while Regan Smith could challenge in both events as well. Smith has a shot to make the Tokyo team in both backstroke events as well as both butterfly events, as she’s ranked second behind Flickinger in the 200 and third in the 100 behind Dahlia.
Freestyle
The men’s freestyle events are loaded, with the likes of Nathan Adrian, Dressel, Zach Apple, Michael Andrew and Ryan Held aiming for wins in the shorter distances, while Townley Haas, Sean Grieshop and Jordan Wilimovsky will take aim at the mid and distance free events. Harvard’s Dean Farris could spoil the party with top times of 22.32 and 48.45 in the 50 and 100.
Simone Manuel and Katie Ledecky, who starred at the Rio Olympic Games in the sprint and distance free events for the US women, will look to light it up once again in San Antonio. They’ll have plenty of competition, with sprinters Mallory Comerford and Abbey Weitzeil expected to challenge in the shorter events, while seasoned veterans Ashley Twichell and Haley Anderson should be towards the top of the distance standings. Don’t count out mid-distance stars Allison Schmitt, Melanie Margalis, Leah Smith and Erica Sullivan as challengers.
Individual Medley
Ryan Lochte takes aim at his fifth Olympics, and he’ll have his work cut out for him in the men’s 200m IM, with Michael Andrew (1:56.83), Chase Kalisz (1:57.28) and Andrew Seliskar (1:58.01) at the top of the leaderboard for their swims in 2019 and 2020. Lochte posted a 1:58.89 in 2019 but will likely need to be faster than that to top the podium in San Antonio.
The women’s IM events could be a great showdown between Melanie Margalis, Madisyn Cox and a handful of others. Kathleen Baker actually has the top US time from 2020 at 2:08.75, with Margalis in second at 2:08.84. Margalis owns a 4:32.53 in the 400m IM from the 2020 Pro Swim Series in Des Moines, a full six seconds better than Cox’s 4:38.88. Up and comer Emma Weyant from Sarasota will look to give these veterans a run in both distances.