U.S. Nationals: Carson Foster Distinguishes Himself From Tight 200 IM Field

Carson Foster -- Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

U.S. Nationals: Carson Foster Distinguishes Himself From Tight 200 IM Field

Expect a tight, back-and-forth race in the men’s 200 IM final at U.S. Nationals, but the big favorite is Carson Foster, the World Championships silver medalist in the event last year. Foster swam the third-fastest time in the world in the 400 IM earlier in the meet, and he also qualified in the 100 fly. Now, he is the top seed for the final in 1:58.56, a half-second clear of the field. Foster’s best time is 1:55.71, which ranks 14th all-time and seventh among Americans.

Meanwhile, the next five swimmers all finished within a tenth of each other. The second seed went to Will Licon, who pulled ahead of his heat on breaststroke before finishing in 1:59.08. Licon has never qualified for a long course World Championships or Olympics, finishing third in the 200 breaststroke by extremely narrow margins at two consecutive Olympic Trials.

Destin Lasco, already qualified for Worlds after placing second in the 200 backstroke and fourth in the 100 freestyle, was third in 1:59.12, just ahead of 200 and 400 free runnerup Kieran Smith (1:59.14). NC State’s Arsenio Bustos dropped nearly four seconds from his entry time to take fifth in 1:59.13, followed by Trenton Julian’s 1:59.17.

Maximus Williamson placed seventh in 1:59.32 while Shaine Casas snuck into the final with an eighth-place time of 1:59.60. Casas ranks seventh all-time in the race and third among Americans with his 1:55.24 from last year’s U.S. Nationals, but he has struggled mightily at this meet. In his only finals appearance thus far, he was third in the 100 butterfly after missing out in the 100 free and 200 back. Casas finished just ahead of Baylor Nelson (1:59.77) and Grant House (1:59.85), who both were locked out of the final despite breaking 2:00.

Notably, Chase Kalisz is out of the event after contracting food poisoning and skipping his prelims race. Kalisz was the winner of this event at last year’s International Team Trials and placed fourth at World Championships.

Foster 1:58.56
Licon 1:59.08
Lasco 1:59.12
K. Smith 1:59.14
Arsenio Bustos 1:59.13
Julian 1:59.17
Williamson 1:59.32
Casas 1:59.60
Nelson 1:59.77
House 1:59.85

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