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≡ TYR PRO SWIM: AUSTIN ≡
It’s just January, but the stars were out at the first Tyr Pro Swim Series in Austin, Texas and big names were touching first with fast times.
Right at the top was Freestyle superstar Katie Ledecky, who won the women’s 1,500 m Freestyle on the first night in 15:23.21, the second-fastest swim in history!
She continued with excellent swims and wins in the 800 m Free in 8:10.16, the no. 17 performance ever and with a winning margin of 25.62 seconds. And she took the 400 m Free at 4:00.84, ahead of improving fellow American Claire Weinstein (4:07.37). Weinstein also won the 200 m Free in 1:56.62.
But what about Regan Smith?
The eight-time Olympic medalist and six-time World Championships gold medalist was everywhere in the pool, dominating the Backstroke sprints with wins in the 50 Back in 27.67 and the 100 Back in 57.98. Now training with the legendary Bob Bowman in Austin, she also took wins in the 100 m Butterfly in 56.18, beating Canadian superstar Summer McIntosh (58.56), and the 200 Fly in 2:05.29, winning by more than four seconds. That’s four wins.
Triple Olympic winner McIntosh – still just 19 – did not leave empty-handed either, winning the women’s 200 m Medley by more than five seconds in 2:08.48, and the 400 m Medley in 4:28.13, winning by almost 11 seconds!
Simone Manuel, the Olympic women’s 100 m Free co-champ at Rio 16 won the women’s 50 m Free in 24.79, but was upset in the 100 m Free by 16-year-old Rylee Erisman, 53.34 to 53.55. Erisman was also busy, taking a bronze in the 200 Free behind Weinstein (1:57.19), another bronze in the 400 Free (4:11.02) and a silver in the 100 Back (behind Smith) in 59.25.
German World 100 m Breast champ Anna Elendt took the 100 , Breast in 1:06.91, but was upset by American Skyler Smith in the 50 Breast in 30.32 to 30.76.
In the men’s events, Paris Olympic icon Leon Marchand was impressive with wins in the 200 m Breast in 2:09.72, coming to the lead with a superb second half to win by more than a second, plus the 200 m Medley in 1:57.65 beating American stars Carson Foster (1:58.96) and Kieran Smith (1:59.86), and the 400 m Medley in 4:13.21 over Freestyle star Bobby Finke (4:18.35).
Fellow Frenchman Yohann Ndoye-Brouard, the two-time World Champs bronzer in 2025, won all three of the Backstroke events: 50 m in 24.94 (to 25.00 for American star Shaine Casas), 53.67 for the 100 Back and 1:56.68 for the 200 Back, beating Marchand (1:57.90) in the process.
France’s Maxime Grousset, the reigning 50-100 m Fly World Champion, impressed with wins in both of those events, taking the 50 in 22.80 (with U.S. star Caeleb Dressel third in 23.29) and the 100 in 50.95, ahead of Dressel (51.62). He also took silver in the 50 m Free (21.84 behind Andrej Barna of Serbia, 21.77) and the 100 m Free (48.36, behind Chris Guiliano’s 48.14).
Ryan Erisman, a Cal frosh who is the older brother of Rylee, won the 200 m Free in an upset over Worlds silver winner Luke Hobson (1:47.31), and took the 400 m Free in 3:46/75.
Triple Olympic gold medalist Finke won the men’s 1,500 m Free in 15:01.70 over Ireland’s Daniel Whiffen (15:04.98), the Paris bronzer, and then Whiffen – the Paris 800 m Free winner – took that event in 7:50.37, with Finke at 7:51.50 and Erisman at 7:51.87.
American Van Mathias won the 50 m Breast in 26.89, after moving to no. 3 all-time U.S. at 26.57 in the heats. He also won the 100 Breast in 59.45.
This is pretty elite swimming for the middle of January, in a year which has no World Aquatics Championships. And further confirmation that the name of “Erisman” is going to be heard a lot in both the men’s and women’s road to the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.
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