Chase Kalisz Claims Two Wins on Final Night of 2017 arena Pro Swim Series Mesa
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The third and final day of the 2017 arena Pro Swim Series Mesa has elapsed, but not without some dominating swims.
Katie Ledecky continued to flex her reign over the distance events with a top showing in the 800 free, while Chase Kalisz collected another two victories in both the 200 fly and 200 IM.
Both the women’s 100 breast and 200 IM featured tight races as the athletes battled to the very finish.
To catch up on all of the action and excitement at the 2017 arena Pro Swim Series Mesa, check out Swimming World’s event landing page.
Events:
- Women’s 200 Fly
- Men’s 200 Fly
- Women’s 100 Breast
- Men’s 100 Breast
- Women’s 100 Back
- Men’s 100 Back
- Women’s 200 IM
- Men’s 200 IM
- Women’s 800 Free
- Men’s 1500 Free
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Women’s 200 Fly
Kelsi Worrell cruised to an easy victory in finals of the women’s 200 fly. Worrell pulled ahead early in the race and never looked back, stopping the clock at a final 2:09.04 for the gold. Worrell’s time moves her into the top 20 world rankings for 2017.
Lauren Case finished second overall with a final time of 2:10.92, followed by Canada’s Mary-Sophie Harvey and her time of 2:12.95.
New Zealand’s Helena Gasson took fourth in finals with a time of 2:13.48, while Mary Smutny was fifth with a 2:14.94.
Ashlyn Fiorilli (2:16.40), Anna Cheesbrough (2:18.43), and Allie Piccirillo (2:20.30) completed the top eight.
Men’s 200 Fly
Chase Kalisz added a victory in the men’s 200 fly with a strong showing during finals. Kalisz grabbed control of the race early on, holding off a charging Tom Shields. Kalisz continued to pull away during the final 100 meters of the race, stopping the clock at a dynamic 1:55.92 for first. His time moves him to eleventh in the world rankings for 2017.
Shields, the 100 fly victor from night one, settled for second and a final time of 1:59.09.
Jonathan Gomez hung close to Shields, finishing third overall with a 1:59.40, just ahead of Zach Harting and his time of 1:59.99.
Brendan Meyer and Zheng Wen Quah delivered matching times of 2:00.69 for fifth, while Daniil Antipode (2:02.44) and Hector Ruvalcaba Cruz were seventh and eighth.
Women’s 100 Breast
Katie Meili of SwimMAC held off a fast-charging Molly Hannis in finals of the women’s 100 breast. Meili led the race from start-to-finish, touching in a final 1:06.37. Her time blasts her to third in the world rankings for 2017, behind only Yulia Efimova (1:05.90) and Jennie Johnson (1:06.30).
Hannis touched second overall with a 1:06.94, just off her 2017 best of 1:06.44.
Hometown favorite Breeja Larson picked up a third place finish of 1:08.35, while Andrea Cottrell took fourth with a 1:09.11.
Zoe Bartel clocked a 1:09.51 to finish fifth overall, just ahead of Riley Scott’s 1:09.93.
Holly Jansen and Urte Kazakeviciute finished seventh and eighth with times of 1:11.65 and 1:12.86 respectively.
Men’s 100 Breast
Kevin Cordes maintained control over the men’s 100 breast from start-to-finish. Cordes blasted ahead of the competition to pick up a smooth finish of 1:00.78, finishing over half a second ahead of the field.
Josh Prenot picked up second with a time of 1:01.40, just ahead of Louisville’s Carlos Claverie and his time of 1:01.58.
Raphael Rodrigues was fourth overall with a 1:01.95, followed by Miguel de lara Ojeda’s 1:02.45.
Azad Al-Barazi (1:02.90), Brad Craig (1:03.05), and Michael Andrew (1:03.35) rounded out the top eight.
Women’s 100 Back
Ali Deloof blasted to the top of the podium in finals of the women’s 100 back. Deloof posted a sizzling 59.43 for gold, making her the only athlete beneath the one-minute mark. Her time ties her for fourth in the world rankings with China’s Jie Chen.
Mie Nielsen took second overall with a 1:00.49, just off her 2017 best of 59.81.
Stanford’s Simone Manuel added a third place finish in the 100 back with a 1:01.15 showing, while Claire Adams took fourth overall with a 1:01.52.
Eva Merrell posted a fifth place finish of 1:02.85, followed by Kendyl Stewart’s 1:02.97.
Bayley Stewart and Erin Voss completed the top eight with times of 1:03.05 and 1:03.19 respectively.
Men’s 100 Back
Matt Grevers dazzled the crowd with a top showing in the men’s 100 back. Grevers, who represents Tucson Ford Aquatics, held off Jacob Pebley to finish with a final 54.15. Grevers currently sits third in the world rankings with a 53.31 showing from the Austin stop of the Pro Series.
Pebley, the 200 back victor from night two, posted a final time of 54.54 for second. Pebley’s 2017 best is a 53.77 from the Indy stop of the Pro Series.
Arkady Vyatchanin turned in a 54.95 to finish third, while Sean Lehane was fourth with a 55.53.
Petter Fredriksson was fifth with a 55.89, just ahead of Dylan Carter’s 56.09.
Cameron Craig and Luke Pechmann completed the top heat with times of 57.26 and 57.33 respectively.
Women’s 200 IM
It was a battle to the finish in the women’s 200 IM, highlighted by strong competition between Madisyn Cox and Melanie Margalis.
Neither swimmer began the race ahead, both slipping behind throughout different legs of the race. Margalis delivered a strong breast leg to turn first at the 150-meter mark, but Cox battled back with a strong final 50 meters. At the touch it was Cox who out-touched Margalis 2:11.14 to 2:11.20.
Last night’s 400 IM champion, Mary-Sophie Harvey, turned in a third place finish of 2:14.97 thanks to a dynamic breaststroke leg.
Louise Hansson, who led at the first turn, finished fourth with a 2:14.97, while Taylor Ruck took fifth with a 2:14.98.
Katie Drabot (2:15.24), Brooke Forde (2:15.87), and Helena Gasson (2:20.11) were sixth through eighth respectively.
Men’s 200 IM
Fresh off a dominating victory in the 200 fly, Chase Kalisz was back in the pool and adding another gold medal with a solid win in the 200 IM. Kalisz posted a 1:57.71 to finish 1.47 seconds ahead of the competition and move up to fifth in the 2017 world rankings.
Josh Prenot delivered the only other sub-two minute swim with a 1:59.18 finish. Prenot’s 2017 best is a 1:58.93 from the Indy stop of the Pro Series.
New Zealand’s Bradlee Ashby grabbed third with a 2:01.73, finishing more than two seconds ahead of Carlos Claverie’s 2:04.26.
Michael Weiss picked up fifth with a final 2:04.38, while Michael Andrew was sixth overall with a 2:05.17.
Jarod Arroyo and Henrique Rodrigues posted times of 2:06.80 and 2:08.74 for seventh and eighth.
Women’s 800 Free
Katie Ledecky continued to reign over the distance events with a top showing in the 800 free. Ledecky, the Olympic gold medalist in this event, posted a sizzling 8:15.44 to blast up world rankings for 2017. The previous world leading time was an 8:23.08 set by Ariarne Titmus at the Australian Championships in Brisbane.
Fellow distance queen, Leah Smith, delivered a second place finish of 8:27.55, moving her to seventh in the world rankings for 2017.
Sierra Schmidt posted a third place finish of 8:45.45, followed by Taylor Ault and her time of 8:49.41.
Hayley McIntosh delivered a time of 8:52.72 to finish fifth overall, while Mallory Comerford claimed sixth with an 8:53.89 from an earlier heat.
Mariah Denigan and Riley Spitser posted times of 8:58.76 and 9:00.69 from earlier heats to finish seventh and eighth.
Men’s 1500 Free
Marcelo Acosta delivered the top time of the evening in the men’s 1500 free with a final 15:24.19. Acosta held a comfortable lead throughout the back half of the race, finishing more than six seconds ahead of the competition.
Taylor Abbott finished second overall with a 15:30.29, while Marc Hinawi rounded out the top three with a 15:46.47.
Christopher Wieser delivered a 15:51.69 in the earlier heats of the 1500 free, good enough for a fourth place finish.
Nitro’s Chris Yeager turned in a 15:54.46 for fifth, followed by Aaron Apel’s sixth place finish of 15:58.12.
Christian Bayo grabbed seventh with a 16:03.67 from earlier in the day, while eighth place went to Aidan Burns’ 16:03.80.