Competition at the 2023 TYR Pro Swim Series Mission Viejo opened with the 1500m freestyle on Wednesday night. The event runs through Saturday at the Marguerite Aquatics Complex.

National Team member Jillian Cox (Cedar Park, Texas/Longhorn Aquatics) won the 1500m freestyle with a time of 16:31.00. The two youngest competitors of the night – fourteen-year-olds Kayla Han (La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada Armada) and Paige Downey (Gilbert, Ariz./Gold Medal Swim Club) – placed second with a time of 16:37.93 and third with a time of 16:50.21, respectively. 

“The plan going in was to stick with the field. It was a really fast field,” Cox said. “I was excited to race. I’ve raced Kayla (Han) so many times. It was super exciting to get to race her again. I’m happy with how I executed that.”

Marwan ElKamash (EGY) won the men’s race in 15:15.19. Exactly one second behind, David Johnston (Dallas, Texas/University of Texas) finished second with a time of 15:16.19 and Alec Enyeart (Kansas City, Mo./Tsunami Swim Team of K.C.) placed third (15:27.16).

The TYR Pro Swim Series Mission Viejo will continue Thursday, May 18 with prelims at 9 a.m. PT and finals at 5 p.m.