Unsurprisingly, American Olympic hopeful Annie Lazor quickly turned things around for the States, fending off her teammate Bethany Galat (2:21.84) to seize the win and Pan Am record. A huge swim for both women, Lazor’s time of 2:21.40 would rank fifth in the world this year, just behind Lilly King’s season best from the Fina Champions series earlier this year.
Mexico’s Melissa Rodriguez failed to make the podium despite giving Lazor the biggest run in prelims this morning, as she clocked in at 2:25.81 behind Julia Sebastian (2:25.43). It was a groundbreaking swim for the Argentinian, who earned the country’s first medal in the 200 breast since 1987. Mary-Sophie Harvey (2:28.98) of Canada fell to fifth, as she headed the final wave consisting of her teammate Tessa Cieplucha (2:29.59) and Laura Morley (2:32.87) of the Bahamas.
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