Will Licon (1:59.13) cinched the United States’ second consecutive gold in the final night of the 2019 Pan American Games, seizing a decisive victory in the men’s 200 IM. Fending off Brazil’s Caio Pumputis (2:00.12), Licon was the only man in the field under 2:00. As the sole American in the meet’s penultimate individual final, Licon felt the pressure to rake in points to pad his country’s lead, putting forth one of the most impressive performances this week. Leonardo Santos came within striking distance of the silver, but ultimately fell to his compatriot with a time of 2:00.29.
Ecuador’s Tomas Peribonio headed the second wave with a time of 2:01.25, demonstrating impressive back-end speed to score fourth. Angel Martinez chased him, turning in the fastest freestyle leg in the heat to finish with a 2:02.08. Tyler Christianson made Panama’s first debut in an A-final, clocking in at 2:03.25 to gain a healthy advantage over Canada’s Carlos Acevedo (2:04.23) and Aruba’s Patrick Groters (2:06.21).
Congratulations again Will!!