In contrast to the fate predicted by the heat sheets, Alex Walsh of the United States landed on the top step of the podium after the women’s 200 IM at the 2019 Pan American Games. It was not without a brutal battle with top seed (and teammate) Meghan Small (2:11.36), who entered tonight’s final with a blazing 2:13.05, over a second faster than Walsh’s preliminary time.
Walsh managed to maintain a slight lead at the back to breast transition, but after the women split identical breaststroke legs going into the final turn, it appeared as if the gold medal was up for grabs. While it was Walsh who gained the final advantage, Small certainly made her presence known in lane four, surging ahead of Canada’s Bailey Anderson (2:14.14) with relative ease.
Mexico’s Monika Gonzalez-Hermosillo created outside smoke in lane 2, crashing the pads with a 2:15.13 for fourth ahead of McKenna Debever (2:15.48) from Peru. Canada’s Erika Seltenreich-Hodgson conceded a spot in the top five by a narrow margin, beating out Brazil’s Camila de Melo (2:17.22) and Argentina’s Virginia Martin (2:18.54) for sixth.
