2023 SPEEDO ATLANTA CLASSIC
- Friday, May 12 – Sunday, May 14, 2023
- McAuley Aquatic Center, Atlanta, Georgia
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Stream
- Day 2 Prelims Live Recap
- Day 2 Finals Live Recap
- Day 3 Prelims Live Recap
- Day 3 Finals Heat Sheet
The final session of the 2023 SPEEDO Atlanta Classic is here. After a weekend of great racing out of some of the fastest swimmers in the southeastern US, we conclude tonight with finals of the 200 IM, 200 back, and 100 free.
This morning, Kate Douglass swam yet another double, taking the top seed in the women’s 200 IM with a 2:12.46. She then went on to clock a 55.79, which was third overall, however, she ended up scratching the event for finals, so she’ll be going all in on the 200 IM tonight.
With Douglass out of the women’s 100 free final, it opens up the field a bit. Her Virginia teammate, Maxine Parker, swam a lifetime best of 54.96 this morning and comes into tonight as the top seed. Natalie Hinds wasn’t far behind this morning, swimming a 55.20. Four-time Olympic medalist Amanda Weir, 37, is also in the field tonight, having swum a 57.15 this morning.
The men’s 100 free should be a great race tonight as well. Macguire McDuff led prelims this morning with a 49.29, but has scratched the final tonight. That leaves Kieran Smith as the top seed coming into the final. Smith swam a 49.75 this morning, which put him just ahead of Josh Liendo (49.88). Of course, American Record holder Caeleb Dressel will also be in that heat tonight after swimming a 50.29 this morning.
WOMEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – FINALS
RESULTS:
- Kate Douglass – 2:12.04
- Izzy Ivey – 2:12.79
- Katie Christopherson – 2:14.38
- Zoie Hartman – 2:15.10
- Gracie Weyant – 2:17.28
- Sienna Angove – 2:17.86
- Hannah Ownbey – 2:17.91
- Addison Sauickie – 2:20.66
- Sloane Reinstein – 2:20.84
- Nina Kucheran – 2:21.46
Kate Douglass won the women’s 200 IM tonight, kicking off the finals session. Douglass clipped her prelims time by 0.42 seconds but was pushed hard by Izzy Ivey the whole way. One of the critical laps of the race was the backstroke 50, where Douglass split 35.11, well behind Ivey, who threw down a very speedy 32.92.
With her back split, Ivey hit the halfway turn ahead of Douglass, but breaststroke would flip the race on its head again. Douglass put up a 38.27 breast split, pulling ahead of Ivey, who split 40.60, once again. The duo was essentially the same on freestyle, where Ivey was just slightly faster, splitting 31.25 to Douglass’ 31.35.
Ivey’s performance was encouraging, as her lifetime best sits at 2:12.56 from the Westmont Pro Swim Series last month.
SwimAtlanta 17-year-old Katie Christopherson had an incredible race tonight as well, taking third with a 2:14.38. The swim took 1.38 seconds off her personal best of 2:15.76, which she swam at last year’s International Team Trials. With the performance, Christopherson has now risen to tie Katie Drabot for #43 all-time in the 17-18 girls age group in the event.
MEN’S 200 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – FINALS
RESULTS:
- Zach Hils – 2:01.50
- Mason Laur – 2:02.64
- Danny Schmidt – 2:04.98
- Matt Fallon – 2:05.11
- Utku Kurtdere – 2:05.21
- Mark Szaranek – 2:05.49
- Billy Jones – 2:06.15
- Jace Crawford – 2:07.30
- Zach Franklin – 2:09.32
- Nils Bognar – 2:09.71
Georgia’s Zach Hils won the men’s 200 IM tonight with a 2:01.50, clipping his lifetime best of 2:01.82, which he swam at US Nationals last summer. Hils was great on the front end of the race, especially on backstroke. He split 25.67 going out on fly, then tacked on a speedy 30.29 back split to touch the halfway turn in 55.96. He came back to the field a bit with a 36.10 breast split, but recovered well on free, coming home in a solid 29.44.
Mason Laur came in second with a 2:02.64, also marking a new lifetime best. Laur was great on the back half of the race, splitting 35.30 on breast then coming home in a very quick 28.71 on free.
WOMEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – FINALS
RESULTS:
- Summer McIntosh – 2:07.34
- Mabel Zavaros – 2:12.08
- Josephine Fuller – 2:12.92
- Catie Choate – 2:13.48
- Emma Weyant – 2:16.05
- Jillian Barczyk – 2:16.98
- Laurel Blase – 2:18.47
- Callie Dickinson – 2:19.13
- Ellie Waldrep – 2:19.34
- Lily Alderman – 2:23.40
16-year-old Summer McIntosh dominated the final of the women’s 200 back tonight, roaring to her second-fastest time of her career. McIntosh got out to a great start, splitting 1:01.79 on the first 100, which included a 29.78 split on the first 50. She maintained the pace quite well after that, splitting 32.99 and 32.56 on the final pair of 50s, making for a 1:05.55 on the second 100 of the race. The swim comes in just off her lifetime best of 2:07.15, which she swam this past December at the US Open.
Mabel Zavaros had a very solid swim tonight as well, touching second in 2:12.08. That swim comes in well within a second of her lifetime best of 2:11.30, which has stood since 2018.
After clocking a 2:11.26 this morning to grab the top seed for tonight, Tennessee’s Josephine Fuller added over a second in finals tonight, finishing third in 2:12.92.
MEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – FINALS
RESULTS:
- Chris Thames – 1:58.79
- Jack Aikins – 1:59.24
- Sam Powe – 2:00.35
- Nick Simons – 2:03.69
- Amadeusz Knop – 2:04.12
- Andrew Simmons – 2:04.61
- Mitchell Norton – 2:05.35
- Daniel Gallagher – 2:06.47
- Jensen Nelson – 2:12.32
- Sam Parker – 2:12.70
24-year-old Chris Thames had a terrific swim tonight en route to winning the men’s 200 back, roaring to victory in 1:58.79. For Thames, the swim marks his first time under 2:00 in the event, as his previous lifetime best was a 2:00.16 from the Westmont Pro Swim Series just one month ago.
Jack Aikins was closing on Thames at the end of the race, but ended up in second with a 1:59.24. He was the only other swimmer in the field tonight to break 2:00.
Sam Powe swam a lifetime best of 2:01.29 this morning then doubled down tonight, taking third with a 2:00.35, taking nearly another second off his career best.
WOMEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – FINALS
RESULTS:
- Maxine Parker – 54.21
- Natalie Hinds – 54.77
- Gabby DeLoof – 55.86
- Addison Sauickie – 56.71
- Jillian Barczyk – 56.98
- Gloria Muzito – 57.04
- Sloane Reinstein – 57.08
- Tjasa Pintar – 57.14
- Amanda Weir – 57.22
- Bri Roberson – 57.84
After clipping her lifetime best by 0.01 seconds this morning, Virginia’s Maxine Parker had an amazing race tonight in finals, winning the women’s 100 free in 54.21. She came into today with a best time of 54.97, then clocked a 54.96 in prelims before taking another 0.75 seconds tonight. She got out to a great start, splitting 26.14 on the first 50, then came home in 28.07 to get the job done.
There will be plenty of time for this speculation in the coming weeks, but it seems like Parker may have just entered her name into the conversation for the US women’s 400 free relay at the World Championships this summer.
Natalie Hinds had a very solid race for second tonight, swimming a 54.77 to take almost half a second off her swim this morning. Hinds was out fast, splitting 25.86 on the first 50. She didn’t have it coming home, however, splitting 28.91 on the second 50.
MEN’S 100 FREESTYLE – FINALS
RESULTS:
- Josh Liendo – 49.19
- Kieran Smith – 49.34
- Zane Grothe – 49.68
- Jake Mitchell – 50.53
- Tomas Koski – 50.56
- Mark Szaranek – 50.92
- Julian Smith – 51.06
- Kalle Makinen – 51.29
- Adam Chaney – 51.36
- Zarek Wilson – 52.56
Josh Liendo got the job done tonight, closing out the 2023 SPEEDO Atlanta Classic with a 49.16 to win the men’s 100 free. Liendo was locked in a great race with Kieran Smith but was able to hold him off down the stretch. Smith was out in 23.94, just 0.09 seconds slower than Liendo’s 23.85, then was out-split by a similar margin on the second 50 as well.
Zane Grothe also had a very nice swim tonight, posting a 49.68 for third, which marks a new personal best for the 31-year-old. The swim came after Grothe posted a personal best in the 50 free yesterday. The pair of personal bests this weekend mark Grothe’s first personal best performances in any event in any course since October of 2020.
Caeleb Dressel was on the heat sheet for the 100 free tonight but no showed the race. An alternate swam in Dressel’s place.
2023 Summer Mcintosh Worlds predictions
400 free Gold(new WR)
400IM Gold
200IM Gold(new WR)
200 Fly Gold new PB
200 Free Gold
Summer’s 200 free PB is a 1:53.91. You think she’ll win gold but won’t set a PB? I’ll be pretty shocked if gold is slower than a 1:53.9. The times were slow last year, but they were also missing all 3 Tokyo medallists (Titmus and Haughey didn’t attend, Oleksiak DQ in semis).
I think the 400IM and 200 Fly are locks for Summer. The 400 Free is definitely leaning her way but too soon to be sure. The 200 free and 200IM are still very much up in the air.
If she does swim the 200IM, it will be in the same session as the 400 free. I am almost positive she won’t risk it.
I tend to agree. Summer would have to swim the 400 Free and 200 IM in the morning followed by the 400 Free final and 200IM semi’s in the evening session. That’s a lot to ask. You would think she would definitely be prioritizing the 400 Free and would want to be as well rested for the final that evening since it’s expected to be such a close and intense race against two giants in KL and AT.
She’ll probably also swim the 4×100 free final in the evening.
Amanda Weir in the 100 free at 37!
i think Douglass should have pacience and back work on the 200 im. I am sure that its results can come in the future
I think a lot of commenters are reading into Kate’s 200 IM and Gretchen’s swims way too much. Kate swam two prelim-final events on each of the first two days with two PBs. I doubt she piles on swims that like that during any trials meets. Gretchen appears to be working on her stroke during a local meet in a practice suit. Let’s talk when trials is over.
While the likes of Katie Grimes and Leah Hayes swim a 200 FR/400 IM double. That’s Katie Ledecky level of masochism.
I’m not reading into her 2IM at all. It’s very obvious that she’s capable of better than a 2:12. I’m expecting PBs in the 50/100 free and 200IM this year. 200 breast and 100 fly are maybes.
We not gonna talk about Reese Branzell’s 49 10 free time trial?
Bro went a PB 50.0 this morning and got DQ’ed and came back with a vengeance for a 49.71 that’s baller for someone that’s likely unrested unshaved
Summer McIntosh is arguably the most talented female swimmer in the past 30 years.
Ehem… Coughlin, Sjostrom, Ledecky, and Ruta immediately come to mind as most “talented”… Katinka was talented, but also just an insane beast in training
She has potential to be. If she continues this progression, then I’m onboard.
“Made in America”
She has continued to progress well in Florida. But she was an age group phenom in Canada, so it looks to be just more of the same. I suspect she would do very well wherever she officially trained.
Let’s not anoint yet. Let’s wait until her first Olympic gold before we get to that talk.
Not that I think she’s the most talented in the last 30 years either way, but everyone always says this lol. We both know that barring a broken leg, she’s going to win the 400 IM with absolutely no competition.
That’s what I’m thinking. Katie Hoff, Dagny Knutson, etc all had amazing teen years but didn’t sustain it long enough to be truly historical
Dagny went through hell with Schubert
time will tell but it’s too early. she’s on that path for sure though.
There have been younger gold medalisst but across her events no one has ever been close at 16.
Except for Janet Evans at 17 in the same events….
She might be the most versatile.
No question she is doing things we haven’t seen from a swimmer her age since Ledecky and Meilutytė. Whether that makes her the most talented in 3 decades… time will tell.
Ruta Meilutyte did not even medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics let alone the 2017 World Aquatics Championships or the 2019 World Aquatics Championships.
I sure am glad you wrote out World Aquatics Championships both times or I wouldn’t have been certain that you were talking about the World Aquatics Championships.
Yes, easily. She could compete for a medal in 7 individual events (200/400 IM, 200/400/800 free, 200 back, 200 fly) across all strokes except breaststroke. I don’t remember any other female swimmer in the past 30 years that was able to do that.
Define “could compete for a medal”. Her 200 back PB wouldn’t have won a medal at major championship in the last 7 years. Her 800 free PB wouldn’t have won a medal for over a decade. So if you’re talking about her current times and not predicted future times, it’s really only 5. And she’s only actually got international medals in 3, with no Olympic medals, Then you have McKeon, Sjostrom, Ledecky and Hosszu who all have individual Olympic medals in 4 different events.
She’s very versatile. But she hasn’t achieved enough yet to “easily” be considered the most talented swimmer in 30 years. Not even close.
I think she has the potential for 7 events in LA once ledecky retires the 800 free becomes a lot more open
I hope the likes of Katie Grimes and Claire Weinstein make you eat your words.
Ok we’ll wait until that happens. No point in anointing someone the best ever because they might win a bunch of medals in 5 years
Ledecky has said she plans to swim through to LA28.
There’s no chance McIntosh would medal in the women’s 800 meter freestyle. It’s a complete insult to the current women’s 800 meter freestylers and those on the cusp of busting out.
The one definitive conclusion from the 2023 Atlanta Classic is that Katie Ledecky does not need to fully taper for the 2023 Phillips 66 National Championships.
Day 1 – 800 FR
Day 2 – 200 FR
Day 3 – Off Day
Day 4 – 400 FR
Day 5 – 1500 FR
Are you saying the American depth is that poor at the minute?
untapered ledecky would be top 2 in any country in the 400/800/1500 and almost any country in the 200. it says nothing about american depth, it’s just that she’s ledecky.
I think you are 100% correct on the 400/800/1500, the 200 maybe touch & go in the US with Sims, Weinstien & Gremill all young & hungry, maybe not this year but next.
Only Australia with Titmus & O’Callaghan & maybe China where Ledecky would need to be at her best to even have a chance in the 200 for the individual spot.
No, ledecky is just that good
Aside from Katie Ledecky, who else from the female contingent of USA Swimming would seriously challenge for a medal in the W 200 FR and W 400 FR at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.
https://swimswam.com/ranking/2022-2023-lcm-women-200-free/
https://swimswam.com/ranking/2022-2023-lcm-women-400-free/
What’s changed ?? This has been established fact for the best part of a decade.
Her international dominance has eroded in the shorter events but, domestically, there’s no obvious “standout” competition at this point. No one, domestically or internationally, is in the same post code in her longer (optimal) events; again status quo.
It’s more the issue with development in the freestyle events (200 FR, 400 FR, 800 FR, 1500 FR) for the female contingent of USA Swimming for the past decade with the exception of Missy Franklin (200 FR) and Leah Smith (400 FR).
However, Katie Grimes has at least changed that perception in the W 1500 FR at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships and hopefully in the W 800 FR at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships.
When was the last time Ledecky needed to fully taper for a selection meet?
According to Rowdy Gaines, Katie Ledecky did not even taper for the 2013 Phillips 66 National Championships.
https://youtu.be/VEkVG3Qm1RA
1:14
When was the last time she needed to taper for an 800 or 1500 at any meet
Zane!!!!!
How does Parker go so well LCM and her teammates who are two of the fastest in a bathtub can’t even sniff a 54 this weekend
Parker isn’t as reliant on her turns as some others on UVA team are
Parker is not as reliant on her underwaters as some others on UVA team are. I swear Gretchen Walsh spends 60% of her time underwater in the 100 BK (SCY) and 100 FR (SCY).
Hmmm… Really?
15 / 25 = 0.60 = 60%
The metric system is for chumps
Actually SCY uses 15m as the underwater limit, not 15y, so that’s 16.4y. In theory you could spend 16.4/25 underwater = 65.6%
So what you are saying is that GW can only swim 10yds at a time at an elite level
Like it or not, underwaters are part of swimming as well. GW is an amazing swimmer, let her continue to grow and get better
How many does years of missing out on the national team for a major international competition does it take before it becomes “the boy who cried wolf” scenario?