The Week That Was is sponsored by
The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate.
Read the five biggest stories of the week in The Week That Was sponsored by Suitmate. This week was highlighted by Kelsi Dahila and Katie Ledecky setting new records during competitions.
The Week That Was #1: Kelsi Dahlia Takes Down 100 Butterfly World Record to Open ISL Final
Photo Courtesy: Mike Lewis / ISL
After narrowly missing the U.S. Olympic team, Kelsi Dahlia returned for the third ISL season with a vengence. Prior to the ISL final, the Cali Condors star had won the 100 fly in six of her seven appearances, and she broke the ISL record with a 54.89 in the fourth playoff match. In the final, Dahlia faced off against a phenomenal field that included world-record holder Sarah Sjostrom and Australian star Emma McKeon, who won seven medals at the Tokyo Olympics.
Against that outstanding field, Dahlia was dominant. She was out in 25.85, a tenth under Sjostrom’s world-record pace (25.96). McKeon was just a tenth behind at that point, but Dahlia exploded off the walls and pulled away on the second 50. Dahlia finished in 54.59, clipping Sjostrom’s 2014 world record of 54.61 by two hundredths.
The Week That Was #2: Katie Ledecky Sets U.S. Open Record with 4:00.51 in 400 Free to Highlight Second Day
Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports
Katie Ledecky’s post-Olympics return now includes two U.S. Open meet records in as many days.
The reigning Olympic silver medalist in the event bested the field by nearly 10 seconds at the Toyota U.S. Open at the Greensboro Aquatic Center. Her time of 4:00.51 undercut the record she set two years ago in Atlanta (4:00.81).
Second in the race was Erin Gemmell, swimming for Ledecky’s former club Nation’s Capital Aquatic in 4:10.12. Scottsdale Aquatic Club’s Sierra Schmidt was third in 4:12.53, just two tenths ahead of Canadian Olympian Katrina Bellio.
Ledecky lowered her U.S. Open record in winning the 800 free Wednesday night, going 8:12.81, a time that slots into her stranglehold of the 24 fastest times in history
The Week That Was #3: Simone Manuel, Ashleigh Johnson Make Forbes 30 Under 30 for 2022
Olympic swimmer Simone Manuel and water polo player Ashleigh Johnson were named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2022, unveiled on Wednesday.
Both athletes are Black women who’ve achieved fame in an aquatics realm that has historically been unwelcoming to people of color. They’ve both used their platforms in a variety of ways to advocate for racial justice causes.
The Week That Was #4: ISL Final: Energy Standard Holds Off Cali Condors to Win League Title During Exciting Final Day
Photo Courtesy: Giorgio Scala / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
The final match of the third International Swimming League (ISL) came down to the wire as the 2019 league champions and 2020 league champions faced off. The Cali Condors led for most of day one before Energy Standard claimed a 30-point jackpot win in the women’s 400 medley relay following a controversial Cali Condors DQ. Then, on day two, the two teams went back and forth over the final day before, in the end, Energy Standard held on to win by just 12 points.
The Week That Was #5: Luke Hobson Crushes 500 Free NAG Record Again, Breaks 4:10 in Race with Brooks Fail at Minnesota Invite
Photo Courtesy: Luke Hobson
The star of the Minnesota Invitational thus far has been Texas freshman Luke Hobson, a Reno-native who owned best times of 1:35 in the 200 free and 4:16 in the 500 free prior to his first midseason meet with the Longhorns. However, through two days in Minneapolis, Hobson has made a huge impact on the college swimming world so far. Wednesday evening, Hobson split 1:31.34 on Texas’ 800 free relay (the B-relay), and in Thursday’s prelims, he swam a 4:12.12 in the 500 free to clip two tenths off the 17-18 National Age Group record that belonged to the legendary Michael Phelps.
