2023 Pan American Games: Day 4 Finals Live Recap

2023 PAN AMERICAN GAMES

Day 4 finals at the 2023 Pan American Games will be kicking off shortly. It’s a short day, featuring just six events, two of which are the 50 free.

DAY 4 FINALS EVENT SCHEDULE

  • Women’s 50 free
  • Men’s 50 free
  • Women’s 400 IM
  • Men’s 400 IM
  • Women’s 4×200 free relay
  • Men’s 4×200 free relay

After earning the bronze medal in the women’s 100 free last night, American Catie DeLoof looked strong in prelims of the women’s 50 free this morning, clocking a 24.79. That time was just 0.11 seconds off her career best and she was the only swimmer in the field under 25 seconds this morning. She’s still going to have a battle on her hands tonight, however, as Canadian Maggie MacNeil and fellow American Gabi Albiero should be right there as well.

Jonny Kulow, fresh off an excellent day 3, was great in prelims of the men’s 50 free this morning, swimming a 21.90. He was the only swimmer in the field to dip under 22 seconds. 100 free champion Gui Caribe will be there to push him tonight as well.

American Jay Litherland came into the meet as the top seed by a large margin in the men’s 400 IM. Litherland swam a very relaxed 4:21 this morning, posting the top time in the field. We can expect a much faster performance tonight, where Litherland is still the heavy favorite.

WOMEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – FINALS

  • World Record: 23.61 – Sarah Sjostrom, Sweden (2023)
  • Pan American Games Record: 24.31 – Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace, United States (2015)

PODIUM:

The first event of the night was a fun one, seeing a tie for the gold medal. Both Canadian Maggie MacNeil and American Gabi Albiero stopped the clock in 24.84, resulting in a tie. For MacNeil, the performance marks her 3rd individual gold medal of the meet. She’s already won gold in the women’s 100 fly and 100 free, having set new Pan American Games Records in both as well. Meanwhile, this was Albiero’s first individual event, which means it was also her first individual medal. She was just off her career best of 24.69.

Catie DeLoof, the other American in the event, earned the bronze medal with a 24.88. The swim comes after DeLoof also earned bronze in the women’s 100 free last night. Of note, she clocked a 24.79 in prelims this morning, which would have been fast enough for gold tonight.

The Brazilian duo of Cristina Versiani and Stephanie Balduccini came in 4th and 5th respectively with times of 25.17 and 25.25.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – FINALS

  • World Record: 20.91 – Cesar Cielo, Brazil (2009)
  • Pan American Games Record: 21.58 – Cesar Cielo, Brazil (2011)

PODIUM:

The USA went 1-2 in the men’s 50 free tonight, seeing David Curtiss win gold in 21.85. Curtiss was the top seed coming into the meet, however, teammate Jonny Kulow led prelims this morning with a 21.90. Coincidentally, Kulow posted a 21.90 once again tonight, but this time around it was good for 2nd.

For Curtiss, the swim was just off his career best of 21.76, which he swam in 2022. Kulow, meanwhile, was even closer to his PB, which stands at 21.87 from earlier this summer.

Bahamas picked up a medal with Lamar Taylor, who came in 3rd with a 22.13 tonight.

100 free champion Gui Caribe (Brazil) touched in a tie for 5th tonight with a 22.27.

WOMEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – FINALS

  • World Record: 4:25.87 – Summer McIntosh, Canada (2023)
  • Pan American Games Record: 4:35.46 – Caitlin Leverenz, United States (2015)

PODIUM:

Julie Brousseau won gold in the women’s 400 IM, getting her hand on the wall first after a tough battle with American Lucy Bell. The duo were nearly tied at the 100m turn, with Brousseau splitting 1:04.15 and Bell 1:04.25. Broussea then expanded her lead through backstroke and breaststroke, hitting the 300m turn well over a second ahead of Bell. Bell put up a very good first 50 of freestyle, closing the gap to just 0.14 seconds. Brosseau then hit back on the final 50, bringing the lead back out to a little over half a second at the finish.

For Bell, the swim was a new career best, while Brousseau was about a second off hers.

Gabrielle Roncatto picked up a bronze medal for Brazil, clocking a 4:47.92.

MEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – FINALS

  • World Record: 4:02.50 – Leon Marchand, France (2023)
  • Pan American Games Record: 4:11.14 – Thiago Pereira, Brazil (2007)

PODIUM:

As expected, American Jay Litherland won the men’s 400 IM. Litherland, who entered the meet as the top seed by 6 seconds, clocked a 4:15.44 to win gold tonight. The time isn’t particularly great for Litherland, who has been as fast as 4:09.22 in his career and 4:10.74 this year, however, he led the race basically the entire way through.

American Ian Grum briefly took over the lead on the 2nd 50 of backstroke, however, he didn’t have the back half and ended up finishing 4th in 4:18.78.

Canadian Collyn Gagne came in 2nd tonight with a 4:17.05, putting together a very strong back half to pull into 2nd. He split 1:13.28 on breast and 58.94 on free, both of which were faster than Litherland.

Brazil picked up another bronze medal, seeing Brandonn Almeida clock a 4:18.74 to just touch Grum out.

WOMEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINALS

  • World Record: 7:37.50 – Australia (2023)
  • Pan American Games Record: 7:54.32 – United States (2015)

PODIUM:

  • GOLD: United States – 7:55.26
  • SILVER: Brazil – 7:55.85
  • BRONZE: Canada – 7:56.98

Brazil was in the lead all the way through the 3rd leg of the race but slipped to 3rd on the anchor before climbing back into 2nd on the final 50m. Maria Costa led the team off in 1:58.39, getting them out to a lead. Then, Nathalia Almeida clocked a 1:59.65 on the 2nd leg, maintaining the Brazilian lead. Stephanie Balduccini then did her job, splitting 1:58.40 on the 3rd leg, keeping her team in the lead with 200m to go.

The anchor was where American Paige Madden completely took over. She took her race out hard, splitting 56.59 on the opening 100m. She paid for that a bit down the stretch, coming home in 1:01.91, however, her overall split of 1:58.50 was enough for the U.S. to hold the lead and win the gold medal.

The rest of the American relay was made up of Camille Spink (1:59.38), Kayla Wilson (1:58.76), Kelly Pash (1:58.62). They teamed up with Madden for a 7:55.26, finishing just less than a second off the Pan American Games Record of 7:54.32.

For Brazil, Gabrielle Roncatto anchored. She briefly slipped to 3rd place but her split of 1:59.41 was enough to earn a silver medal for Brazil. She posted a 30.08 on the final 50m, which was enough for her to move back up into 2nd place.

Canada challenged Brazil early on the anchor but it wasn’t quite enough. Mary-Sophie Harvey (1:59.40), Julie Brousseau (1:58.54), Brooklyn Douthwright (1:59.16), and Katerine Savard (1:59.88) combined for a 7:56.98.

MEN’S 4×200 FREESTYLE RELAY – FINALS

  • World Record: 6:58.55 – United States (2009)
  • Pan American Games Record: 7:10.66 – Brazil (2019)

PODIUM:

  • GOLD: Brazil – 7:07.53 (Pan American Games Record)
  • SILVER: United States – 7:08.06
  • BRONZE: Canada – 7:14.76

It took all the way until the final event of the session, but we finally got a Pan American Games Record. It was shattered, really, as Brazil took down the record by a little over 3 seconds, while the U.S. was also 2.5 seconds under the mark. Murilo Sartori (1:47.52), Breno Correia (1:47.60), Fernando Scheffer (1:45.90), and Guilherme Costa (1:46.51) combined to clock a 7:07.53, winning gold.

The Brazilians and Americans were trading the lead through most of the race. Jack Dahlgren moved into the lead on the anchor for the U.S., but Costa, a distance swimmer, closed faster and retook the lead by half-a-second on the final 50m.

The U.S. saw Zane Grothe (1:47.98), Coby Carrozza (1:47.63), Brooks Curry (1:46.78), and Dahlgren (1:45.67) team up for a 7:08.06. While Dahlgren passed then was subsequently passed by Costa on the anchor, his split was still fantastic, marking the fastest split in the field.

Canada was firmly in 3rd tonight, clocking a 7:14.76.

In This Story

61
Leave a Reply

Subscribe
Notify of

61 Comments
newest
oldest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Swimfan27
6 months ago

Really hope to see Dahlgren on the Olympic team. That was a great split! Also, Brooks Curry seems capable of throwing down great 200 frees, just has to be able to do it at the right time

Andrew
6 months ago

why does it feel like curtiss has been a 21.8 freestyler for the last 5 years

Verram
6 months ago

Are there any race videos available?

top tier
6 months ago

can’t believe the american guys in this years pan ams. So unbelievably slow to our standards, the times they are swimming would not have even qualified them to swim!!! 0 grit on relays as swimmers r swimming more than 2 seconds slower… complete embarrassment.

ps. that being said Jack Dahlgren your a beast

Swimz
6 months ago

Dalgren had an awesome anchor..well done! At trials he got 5th in the B final with 1.47.25..Curry won the B final with 1.46.4..they both did their job well..but ..Cobby C. And zane were in the A final and Carozza won the 200 here. I think the coches wanted to give dalgren the possible lead as much as possible to have the clean water as the 4th best freestyle swimmer in the relay cohort..but it turned out he had the fastest split in the feild..anyway congratulations!

Ryan C
6 months ago

What is the purpose of this event? I am sorry but these results are just not it

John
Reply to  Ryan C
6 months ago

international event to compete against other Pan-American countries similar to World Champs, Pan-Pac’s, Commonwealth…etc etc

Lisa Simpson
Reply to  John
6 months ago

The quality is much lower tho

John
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

Ok…. Any other riveting observations from the peanut gallery?

Lisa Simpson
Reply to  John
6 months ago

Regan Smith beats Kaylee McKeown any day

Anony
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

To Ryan C and Lisa

As opposed to trolling the meet and the swimmer quality maybe a good place to start is to use some critical thinking skills to ask some questions as to why the times are what they are.

– I can’t remember any significant lcm meet being staged at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere. Even the November, December USA meets are slow relative to pbs for the vast majority of swimmers.

– it’s also 2 weeks away from ncaa mid season meets and it’s highly likely that any of the ncaa eligible athletes swimming at this meet are swimming for NCAA coaches who were hesitant to fully taper any of their swimmers given… Read more »

Admin
Reply to  Ryan C
6 months ago

What is the purpose of any large-scale regional multi-sport event?

Assert geopolitical dominance? Stimulate local economies? Justify continued spending on sports for countries that aren’t ever gonna win medals at the Olympics? For funsies?

It’s a big question. I’ll work on an editorial.

Torchbearer
Reply to  Ryan C
6 months ago

These second tier events are the pinnacle for many swimmers and nations that could never qualify for the Olympics. So for them this is their biggest event ever…

Lisa Simpson
Reply to  Ryan C
6 months ago

During Asian Games, some people commented that Asian Games is just like Pan Am.

But it’s just not. While Asian Games is A-tier across many Olympics sports, Pan Am is C-tier at best across all sports.

Him
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

How many times did you qualify for Pan Ams?

While this may be a “lower tier” international meet, it is still a huge accomplishment to make a team like this. Don’t speak like it’s easy when you couldn’t get close

Admin
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

It’s an Olympic qualifying event in almost every sport.

Rafael
Reply to  Braden Keith
6 months ago

On some sports there are multiple world and OG medallists such as boxing, wrestling, judo.

Rafael
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

Take a look of the 2019 medal table of Pan from Judo, wrestling, tae kwom do, equestrian, Archery, shooting, cycling, water polo, boxing and track and field.
Tons of world and OG champions like Mijain lopez, dariam warner, kelsey mitchell, Mayra Aguiar, idalys Ortiz
In sports like wrestling, judo and boxing winning pan american already gives you gold contender status for OG

swimapologist
Reply to  Rafael
6 months ago

Y’all are trying too hard. Lisa is just another in a long line of Australians in these comments who just hate everything having to do with the US.

Lisa Simpson
Reply to  swimapologist
6 months ago

I am not an Australian and you’re just a hater.

John
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

You’re just a Pan-Am hater yourself.

bob
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

I,ll bet you are…you act like it.

Lisa Simpson
Reply to  bob
6 months ago

I’ll get killed by a truck today if I’m Australian

aquadog
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

and the real lisa simpson would never act like this

bob
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

Australian maybe?

Lisa Simpson
Reply to  bob
6 months ago

I’ll get killed by a truck today if I’m Australian

JimSwim22
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

I don’t remember any comments comparing the two. Maybe PanPacs compares to Asian Games

aquadog
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

why are you commenting then? seems like its not worth your time. so go away.

Jon
Reply to  Lisa Simpson
6 months ago

Is this Cody’s mom or Bart’s sister?

bob
Reply to  Ryan C
6 months ago

Its part of the pan am games.Swimmers have only just started training so great times is not a thing.I think its a great but not intense meet where the athletes seem to be having a good time.October…..so it goes.

justanopinion
Reply to  bob
6 months ago

Actually normally Pan-Ams is in August and almost exactly 12 months out of the Olympics. Because of Chile’s weather and seasons flipped (southern hemisphere) this year it was held much later.

Lisa Simpson
Reply to  bob
6 months ago

Kaylee McKeown, Siobhan Haughey, Qin Haiyang, Sarah Sjostrom, Zhang Yufei, etc: hold my beer

Walter
Reply to  Ryan C
6 months ago

What is the purpose of any swim meet? DII or DIII Nationals? If they aren’t setting world records, should they just be cancelled? If that’s the case, all meets except the Olympics and World Championships should be cancelled. Why bother? I am sure you can beat them all, right? Who are you to judge?

WahooSwimFan
Reply to  Ryan C
6 months ago

Its historically important – PanAm games were around long before they ever had World Aquatic Championships or other World Cup style events – used to draw the top US swimmers in non Olympic years.

justanopinion
Reply to  Ryan C
6 months ago

Actually it is the 2nd largest sporting event in the World, second only to the Olympic Games. It is an excellent opportunity and learning experience for swimmers who are up and coming but maybe not yet at the “A lister” level.
It is a slightly smaller scale version of the Olympics…multiple sports, opening and closing ceremonies, athlete village with similar protocols that athletes will see 12 months later at the Olympics.
For many years up until recently, Pan-Am Games was the B event in the year before the Olympics only behind Worlds, and it was populated as such for these reasons.
For many years, US Olympic teams had previous year Pan-Am swimmers who had gone to Pan-Am… Read more »

Last edited 6 months ago by justanopinion
Rafael
Reply to  justanopinion
6 months ago

While Swimming is not the strongest event..

If you go for Boxing, Wrestling Pan Am is much stronger than any other continental..

Tomek
6 months ago

Expected a bit better from Carozza, prerhaps he did not have much rest before this meet.

Joe
6 months ago

Big split from Dahlgren, 1:45.67 if my math is correct

ArtVanDeLegh10
Reply to  Joe
6 months ago

He and Curry had great splits – I think Curry was 1:46 mid. I think he’s been that or faster flat start, but I doubt this is his biggest meet.

PFA
Reply to  Joe
6 months ago

Huge split for him he’s someone to keep an eye on for Paris could end up being top 6 for the 800 free relay