TYR Pro Series San Antonio, Day Two Finals (Men’s Events): Caeleb Dressel, Leon Marchand Storm to Victories
Many of the premier American athletes in the sport, and a quality group of international stars, have gathered in San Antonio this week for the latest stop of the USA Swimming TYR Pro Series. Just a couple of weeks after the conclusion of the NCAA Championships, attention has fully shifted to the fast-approaching summer and the Olympic Games in Paris.
At the Northside Swim Center, entrants will log some quality racing over the next few days. The Pro Series serves as one of the final opportunities for elite competitors to battle with one another before the headlining events of June and July. Following distance action during Wednesday night’s opening session, the Thursday evening schedule featured women’s and men’s finals in the 100 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, 200 butterfly and 400 freestyle.
Here’s an event-by-event recap of what unfolded in the men’s events.
Men’s 100 Freestyle
Reigning Olympic champion Caeleb Dressel notched the finest performance of his comeback when he rallied in Lane Eight to win the 100 freestyle in 48.40. Dressel narrowly qualified for the final as the eighth seed and was fifth at the turn before surging down the last length to edge Ryan Held (48.48) for the victory.
Dressel took a lengthy stretch away from the sport after withdrawing midway through the 2022 World Championships, but the decorated Team USA veteran is certainly rounding into form at a good time. Dressel was out in 23.35 and came home in 25.05, and clocking a 48-mid performance at this point in the year bodes well for Dressel on the road to the Olympic Trials.
All eight swimmers in the field cracked the 49-second barrier in the final, with Matt King going 48.62 to clip Germany’s Rafael Miroslaw (48.63) for third place.
Men’s 100 Breaststroke
Kyrgyzstan’s Denis Petrashov, who has enjoyed a superb collegiate career at the University of Louisville, clocked the sole sub-minute performance in the 100 breaststroke. Petrashov touched the wall for a winning mark of 59.83, which was .20 clear of the 1:00.03 posted by American Nic Fink. Third place went to Ron Polonsky in 1:00.24.
Petrashov was recently third in the 100-yard breaststroke at the NCAA Championships. He opened his performance in San Antonio with a split of 27.97, which was just off the early pace of American Michael Andrew (27.93). While Andrew faded to fourth over the second 50 meters, finishing in 1:00.32, Petrashov closed with a split of 31.86 to pull away.
Men’s 200 Butterfly
Photo Courtesy: Andrea Masini / Deepbluemedia / Insidefoto
The Leon Marchand Show is still going, just in the long-course pool this week. Coming off three solo titles at the NCAA Champs and a team crown for Arizona State University, Marchand dipped under the 1:55 barrier in the 200 butterfly at the Pro Series. Sitting in second to Luca Urlando heading into the final turn, Marchand charged off the final wall and pulled away to a victorious swim of 1:54.97. Urlando touched in 1:55.63, with Chase Kalisz taking third in 1:55.97 to complete a top-three sweep for the training partners.
Marchand is the 2023 world champion in the 200 butterfly and it initially appeared he would have to make a decision between the event and 200 breaststroke for his Paris Olympic program. But a recent change to the schedule will allow Marchand to race both disciplines, along with the 200 individual medley and 400 IM, setting up the potential of four individual medals.
Urlando held the lead from the start of the race through the 150-meter mark, but Marchand capped his race with a split of 30.15, compared to 30.95 for Urlando. Kalisz also had a strong finish, as he closed in 30.29.
Men’s 400 Freestyle
Brazil’s Guilherme Costa and Venezuela’s Alfonso Mestre handed South America a sweep of the top-two places, and Costa’s triumph made it four nations winning events during the session. Costa took over the lead just after 250 meters and was able to fend off Mestre, prevailing in 3:46.61. Mestre grabbed second place in 3:47.14, which was a half-second ahead of the United States’ Carson Foster (3:47.64).
Costa is no stranger to international success, as he was the bronze medalist in the 400 freestyle at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest. More, he owns five career gold medals from the Pan American Games.
