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Women’s 400 IM (Emma Weyant)
A year out from the United States Olympic Trials, Emma Weyant has established herself as a top contender for a berth to Tokyo in the 400 individual medley. Heading into her senior year of high school, Weyant pulled away from Stanford’s Brooke Forde down the last lap to claim her first national title. Weyant was timed in 4:35.47, good for fifth in the world rankings, and ahead of the 4:36.07 effort produced by Forde.
Weyant is not a stranger to big-meet atmospheres as she was the gold medalist in the 400 IM at last summer’s Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Fiji. Committed to the University of Virginia, Weyant now has a national title to her credit and will carry some major momentum into the Olympic campaign. Weyant was just .08 ahead of Forde at the final turn but managed to come home a half-second quicker.
Ally McHugh, who along with Forde represented the United States at the recent World Championships, finished in third place in 4:38.65, with Great Britain’s Hannah Miley, a veteran of international competition, taking fourth in 4:39.00. Madisyn Cox was the fifth athlete to crack the 4:40 barrier, touching in 4:39.26. Miley holds Great Britain’s national record with a time of 4:31.33.
Madisyn Cox moves up a spot from prelims to take fifth with a time of 4:39.26.
Coming into the wall back-to-back were Emma Barksdale and Kelly Fertel, with only .04 between them. Barksdale went a 4:41.49, while Fertel followed with a time of 4:41.53. Kate Moore dropped nearly two seconds to get eighth with a time of 4:42.23.
2019 World Rankings:
- 4:30.39, Katinka Hosszu, HUN
- 4:32.07, Ye Shiwen, CHN
- 4:32.33, Yui Ohashi, JPN
- 4:35.15, Sydney Pickrem, CAN
- 4:35.47, Emma Weyant, USA
- 4:36.06, Brooke Forde, USA
- 4:36.09, Mireia Belmonte, ESP
- 4:36.98, Aimee Willmott, GBR
- 4:37.18, Ella Eastin, USA
- 4:37.23, Madisyn Cox, USA
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