2023 Mel Zajac Day 3 Prelims: Liendo Throws Down 49.85 100 Freestyle for Top Seed

2023 MEL ZAJAC JR. INTERNATIONAL SWIM MEET

• June 2-4, 2023
• Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
• UBC Aquatic Centre
• LCM (50 meters)
• Meet Central
• Psych Sheets
• SwimSwam Preview
• Live Results

The final prelims session at the 2023 Mel Zajac Jr. International Swim Meet wrapped up with some strong swims out of the UBC Aquatic Center in Vancouver, Canada. 

Notably, Canadian superstar Maggie MacNeil did not enter any races for the final day of the meet, despite travel delays causing her to miss the first day of competition on Friday. However, the other notable star competing, Josh Liendo, swam the 100 freestyle on Sunday morning. Liendo took the top seed in the event with a time of 49.85, making himself the only swimmer in the field to dip under 50 seconds. Liendo holds a best time of 47.55, and even if he doesn’t hit that, he’ll probably be much faster in tonight’s final. 31-year-old Jeremy Bagshaw finished second in prelims with a time of 50.82. 

In the women’s 100 freestyle, Jenna Walters narrowly held off Mia West to take the top seed for the finals. The pair finished only .02 apart, with Walters touching in a time of 56.71 to West’s 56.73. 

West also took the second seed in the women’s 200 butterfly with a time of 2:17.02. The event was led by 15-year-old Clare Watson, who touched almost a second ahead of the field in a 2:16.11. 16-year-old Leilani Fack dropped almost a second off of her best time to claim the third-seed with a time of 2:17.48. 

Max Malakhovets dropped a time of 2:03.61 in the men’s 200 butterfly prelims, swimming within a second of his best time to take the middle lane for the final. He will be challenged by Bill Dongfang, who was 2:04.06 this morning. Dongfang has been as fast as 2:00.92, so watch for him to challenge tonight. 

American teenager and 100 breaststroke winner Piper Enge threw down the fastest time in the prelims of the women’s 50 breaststroke. Enge finished well ahead of the field with her time of 31.94, and she was only .2 off of her best time. In a similar fashion, 21-year-old Justice Migneault claimed the top seed in the men’s race with a time of 29.18, about a half second ahead of the field. 

Only two swimmers went under 57 seconds in the men’s 100 backstroke: Blake Tierney and Raben Dommann. Tierney led the way in prelims with a 55.92, with Dommann almost a full second behind in a 56.78. The pair are the clear favorites to take the top two spots tonight in the final. 

The women’s 100 backstroke was much more crowded, with the top three swimmers all sitting within a half second of each other. The field was led by Katelyn Schroeder, who touched with a 1:02.02. Just behind her, Danielle Hanus finished in a 1:02.34 and Delia Lloyd hit the wall with a 1:02.59. Hanus holds the fastest personal best of the three swimmers with her 1:00.71. However, the race for gold is going to be tight in the final.