Greetings, swimming enthusiasts, and happy August!
Last week marked an important event in swimming that cannot go unnoticed: the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships and World Championship Trials. The elite competition, held at the William Woolle, Jr. Aquatic Center in Irvine, California, brought together young hopefuls alongside Olympic veterans like Katie Ledecky and Missy Franklin for five days of fast swimming.
Besides putting up new best times, swimmers at this meet had another goal in mind: the competition served as a selection meet for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, the 2019 World Championships, the 2019 World University Games, the 2019 Pan American Games and the 2018 Junior Pan Pacs. Needless to say, a lot was at stake. So, let’s see how our female competitors fared under the California sun.
Quick Highlights
- Kathleen Baker broke the 100 backstroke world record with a time of 58.00. Learn more about Baker in my post from last summer about the United States women’s world record-breaking 4×100 medley relay at the FINA World Aquatics Championships.
- 24-year-old Hali Flickinger broke the U.S. Open 200 fly record with a time of 2:05.87. More on her further down!
New Names to Look Out For
- Stanford’s Brooke Forde dropped four seconds in her 400 IM, making her fifth in the world this year and one spot behind Penn State’s Ally McHugh.
- Gretchen Walsh, at the young age of 15, posted a 54.38 in the 100 free. This makes her the third-fastest 15-16 swimmer of all time, behind Missy Franklin and Simone Manuel. Surely, she can follow in the path of these Olympic legends!
Disappointments
- The famed Missy Franklin fell short of expectations with C-final appearances in the 100 and 200 free.
- 23-year-old U.S. National team member Madisyn Cox was barred from the competition due to a two-year doping sentence.
One of the things that stood out to me about this year’s Nationals was the resilience that many swimmers showed to overcome obstacles. Take short course American record holder Ella Eastin as an example. Eastin came down with mononucleosis in early July, forcing her to withdraw as favorite in the 200 fly and 400 IM. Despite her illness, Eastin still swam in the competition and even qualified for the Pan Pacs team with her third place finish in the 200 IM. Additionally, Hali Flickinger, who suffers from chronic illness and was sick for four of her five meets last year, was finally healthy for Nationals. Her ability to push through her pain and continue to post fast times is admirable.
Flickinger also doesn’t have any advantages physically: she stands at 5-5 and weighs 115 pounds. Although her other competitors likely tower over her, it shows there is hope for even the smallest of swimmers if they work at it!
So long for now, swimming enthusiasts…more news to come!
Sources
- https://cdn.swimswam.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018-lc-nationals-meet-info-4-18-18.pdf
- https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/2018-phillips-66-usa-swimming-nationals-psych-sheet-released-caeleb-dressel-in-eight-total-events/
- https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/key-highlights-you-dont-want-to-miss-from-2018-phillips-66-u-s-national-championships/
- https://swimswam.com/bio/kathleen-baker/
- https://www.teamusa.org/News/2018/July/26/Hali-Flickinger-Breaks-Records-Held-By-Madame-Butterfly-Mary-T-Meagher
- https://www.teamusa.org/usa-swimming/Athletes/hali-flickinger
Photos
- https://www.teamusa.org/News/2018/July/29/Kathleen-Baker-Destroys-World-Record-In-100-Meter-Backstroke
- https://swimswam.com/hali-flickinger-down-decades-old-us-open-200-fly-record-205-87/
- https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/justin-ress-michael-andrew-threaten-american-records-on-third-morning-in-irvine/
