2023 Pro Swim Series – Fort Lauderdale: Day 1 Finals Live Recap

2023 PRO SWIM SERIES – FORT LAUDERDALE

• March 1-4, 2023
• Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Long Course Meters (50 meters)
• Prelims/Finals
  • `Prelims: 9:00 AM (EST)
  • Finals: 5:00 PM Wednesday, 6:00 PM (EST) Thursday-Saturday
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• Psych Sheets
• Ways to Watch
• Storylines to Follow

Wednesday Finals Heat Sheets

Today marks the first finals session of the 2023 Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the second of four stops of Pro Swim Series this year. It is a return to spring long course racing for many swimmers as this meet was canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Day one will see timed finals of the women’s and men’s 1500 freestyle, swam in heats that alternate between gender. The only notable scratch this session comes from the third seed in the men’s event, Brazil’s Guilherme Costa. He is coming off a successful 2022 summer season where he broke the South American record in the 800 free at the World Championships.

American record holder and Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Bobby Finke leads the men’s race with a sub-15 minute seed time. However, at the first stop of this meet in Knoxville, it only took him a 15:06 to secure first place. We may see a rematch of that race which was a tight battle between Finke and Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui who placed second just .6 behind Finke with a time of 15:07.07. Hafnoui surprised the world in Tokyo by winning Olympic gold in the 400 free out of lane eight. There is no telling what he is capable of.

Daniel Jervis of Wales, who placed 5th in this event in Tokyo, and Ohio State’s Michael Brinegar are big contenders in this race as well.

In the women’s event, a duo of Sandpipers of Nevada leads the psych sheets: 2022 World Championships silver medalist Katie Grimes and her fellow Tokyo Olympian Bella Sims. Grimes captured second in this event behind Ledecky at the Knoxville Pro Swim Series in January. She turned 17 ln January and her time in Knoxville (16:15.02) already makes her the 19th all-time fastest 17-18 year old in the event.

Portugal’s Tamila Holub, a two-time Olympian, is ranked behind them while Claire Weinstein of Sandpipers, who turned 16 today, is right behind Holub. Weinstein is in an especially great position to swim fast today, regardless of her birthday luck; she blasted a time of 16:25.24, right on her best time, at the first site of the Pro Swim Series in January to take 3rd behind Grimes and Ledecky.

As the first heats prepare to start, it is 81 degrees Fahrenheit and sunny in Fort Lauderdale with wind speeds up to 12 miles per hour.

WOMEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE — TIMED FINALS

• World Record: 15:20.48 — Katie Ledecky, USA (2018)
• World Junior Record: 15:28.36 — Katie Ledecky, USA (2014)
• American Record: 15:20.48 — Katie Ledecky, USA (2018)
• U.S. Open Record: 15:20.48 — Katie Ledecky, USA (2018)
• Pro Swim Series Record: 15:20.48 — Katie Ledecky, USA (2018)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Katie Grimes (SAND) – 15:56.27
2. Bella Sims (SAND) – 16:19.29
3. Claire Weinstein (SAND) – 16:26.50
4. Michaela Mattes (SYS) – 16:29.88
5. Tamila Holub (POR) – 16:32.29
6. Caroline Pennington (FLOR) – 16:33.49
7. Leah Crisp (GBR) – 16:40.04
8. Agostina Hein (ARG) – 16:40.19

In heat one, Grimes led a 1-2-3 finish for the Sandpipers with a time of 15:56.27, a mark that makes her the fifth all-time fastest 17-18-year-old in the event. She has been about 12 seconds faster, before though. She blasted a 15:44.89 at the 2022 World Championships to become the 2nd all-time fastest 15-16-year-old in the event.

Grimes and Sims lit up the middle of the pool and distanced themselves from the pack relatively quickly. At the 500-meter mark Grimes established a two-body length lead on Sims and was on pace to swim a sub-16 minute mile. By the 1100 meter mark, it was a familiar scene for Americans who are used to watching Ledecky and seeing a Katie lead the field by 17 seconds. Ultimately, Sims touched the wall second (16:19.29) and Weinstein hit the wall third (16:26.50). This was a strong swim for both Sims and Weinstein who were about four seconds off their respective personal best times from the International Team Trials last April.

This was a strong swim for Florida’s Caroline Pennington who took two seconds off her seed time in heat one. She nearly chased down Portual’s Tamila Holub who added 14 seconds from her entry time. Great Britain’s Leah Crisp also beat her seed time in heat one by about three seconds. The youngest finisher in the top eight was 14-year-old Agostina Hein of Argentina who matched her entry time to place eighth.

Macky Hodges of the Sandpipers controlled the second and final women’s heat, ultimately touching the wall first with a time of 16:57.69. While she doesn’t have a long course 1500 free time listed in the USA Swimming database, this time knocks even her listed 1650 yard free best time (17:33.85 from last August) out of the water.

Canada’s Megan Willar was close behind throughout the race, snagging second place in the heat with a time of 17:01.37 while it was 16-year-old Sidney Brann of the Sarasota Sharks who claimed third place (17:21.39).

Men’s 1500 Freestyle – Timed Finals

• World Record: 14.31.02 — Sun Yang, CHN (2012)
• World Junior Record: 14:46.09 — Franko Grgic, CRO (2019)
• American Record: 14:36.70 — Bobby Finke, USA (2022)
• U.S. Open Record: 14:45.54 — Peter Vanderkaay, USA (2008)
• Pro Swim Series Record: 14:53.12 — Jordan Wilimovsky, USA (2016)

Top 8 Finishers:

1. Ahmed Hafnaoui (TUN) – 15:00.24
2. Marwan El Kamash (EGY) – 15:01.26
3. Bobby Finke (Saint Petersburg-Fl) – 15:02.54
4. Daniel Jervis (GBR) – 15:07.20
5. Michael Brinegar (TST/OSU) – 15:11.49
6. Hector Pardoe (GBR) – 15:35.32
7. Ilya Kharun (SAND) – 15:37.71
8. Gabriel Arteiro Azevedo (RFK) – 15:38.19

In the first men’s heat, Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafnaoui scared the 15-minute mark, hitting the wall first with a time of 15:00.24. He took nearly seven seconds off his lifetime best time, which he swam at the Knoxville Pro Swim Series just a few weeks ago. This was a great swim for Hafnaoui who has performed very well in short course meters (taking home silver in this event at the 2021 Short Course World Championships) but has had less success in long course.

The middle five swimmers in that race, Fink, Brinegar, Jervis, El Kamash, and Hafnaoui, were neck-and-neck through the 500-meter mark. As El Kamash pushed the pace in lane two, Finke and Hafnaoui responded to make it a three-man race for first. At the 1100 meter mark, Hafnaoui began pulling away and he soon created a two-second gap between himself and Finke with 200 meters to go. Finke, known for charging at the finish, was left in a tight race for second place with Egypt’s El Kamash who ultimately pushed past him (with the fastest final 50 split in the field of 27.81) and touched the wall at 15:01.26. Finke placed 3rd with a time of 15:02.54.

In heat two, Ilya Kharun of Sandpipers set the pace fast and ultimately finished in first place with a time of 15:37.71 and a 13-second lead over the field. He shaved the same amount of time (13 seconds) off his seed time. Diego Dulieu of Azura Florida Aquatics took second place (15:50.75)  by crushing his entry time by nine seconds. They were the only swimmers under 16 minutes in heat two.

In the third and final heat, 16-year-old Aidan Sears of the Sarasota Sharks was not slowing down. He split 30.08 on his final 50 to touch the wall first in the heat with a best time of 16:02.34. Villanova’s Charlie Hinckley took second in the race (16:09.87).