2025 Pro Swim Series — Sacramento
- April 2-5, 2025
- North Natomas Aquatic Center, Sacramento, CA
- LCM (50 Meters)
- Start Times
- Wednesday Distance: 8pm (EST)
- All Prelims: 12pm (EST)
- Thurs-Sat Finals: 8pm (EST)
- Meet Central
- Pre-Scratch Psych Sheets
The 2025 long-course season is in full swing and continues this week with the second stop of the 2025 Pro Swim Series in Sacramento, Calif. The psych sheets dropped late last week and while this isn’t as loaded a field as the one we saw in Westmont at the beginning of March, there are still several intriguing storylines to keep an eye on as the meet develops.
Aussies Back From Altitude
Samuel Short (photo: Jack Spitser)
It’s not often that a contingent of Australian swimmers attends a Pro Swim Series stop, but this year, they’ll be at two. A large group that included Sam Short, Meg Harris, Max Giuliani, and Lily Price attended the Westmont Pro Swim. After a stint at altitude in Flagstaff, Ariz., a few, namely Short, Guiliani, and Tommy Neill, will race again in Sacramento this week.
It will be worth watching to see how the weeks at altitude affect the times the group puts up about a month after Westmont, particularly Short. The 2023 World Champion has often swum fast this time of year and already broke the 800 freestyle Pro Swim Series record with a 7:45.02 in Westmont. This will be his second competition since the Olympics and in addition to the 800 freestyle, he’s entered in the 200, 400, and 1500.
And if they didn’t have enough time racing each other in Flagstaff, they’ll see a lot of each other this week. The three are all entered in the 200 free, with Giuliani and Neill at the top of the psych sheet. Giuliani and Neill are both entered in the 50/100 freestyle, while Giuliani and Short will race in the 400 free.
French Contingent Flies In
Yohann Ndoye-Brouard (photo: Jack Spitser)
Another international crew joins the fun in Sacramento as French stars like Maxime Grousset, Beryl Gastaldello, and Yohann Ndoye-Brouard join the fray.
Grousset is aiming to build up to another summer like the one he had in 2023, when he became world champion in the 100 butterfly. Grousset is an accomplished butterfly and freestyle sprinter after he developed his skill in the former over the last two years; it will be interesting to see if one discipline takes priority for him in this post-Olympic year. His entries in Sacramento don’t show preference, he’s entered in the 50/100 butterfly and freestyle, leading the psych sheet in all four.
Gastaldello, a 100 backstroke finalist this summer in Paris, is focused on the freestyle events this week. She’s been a versatile asset for the French roster for more than a decade, capable of sprinting butterfly, backstroke, or freestyle. Along with her 50/100 freestyle entries, Gastaldello is slated to race the 200 freestyle, showcasing her range.
Finally, Ndoye-Brouard, another Olympic 100 backstroke finalist, is entered in his bread-and-butter 50/100/200 backstroke. He ranks inside the top 10 in the world this season in the 100 backstroke after a 53.81 in Luxembourg. Like Grousset, he’s ranked first in all his events this week–there’s a real chance the French athletes dominate the weekend.
More French swimmers will be at the meet as well; Cal first-years Mary-Ambre Moluh and Mewen Tomac will make the trip from the Bay and continue racing in Golden Bear caps this weekend.
NCAA Swimmers’ Quick Turnaround
Moluh and Tomac are two NCAA swimmers facing a quick turnaround from yards to meters racing as the NCAA Championships just concluded in Federal Way, Wash. In fact, the men’s championships will have ended less than a week before this meet begins. So, along with Tomac, swimmers like newly-minted NCAA champion Luca Urlando, Matt Fallon, Carles Coll Marti, and Youssef Ramadan won’t have had much time at all to switch into long-course mode.
Mary-Ambre Moluh (photo: Jack Spitser)
This is essentially a home meet for Urlando as he grew up in the area. He’s entered in a whopping eight events after racing ten times at NCAAs.
On the women’s side, Moluh and NC State swimmers Kennedy Noble and Leah Shackley have had more of a break, but not much. All of these swimmers have their sights set on qualifying for the World Championships this summer, meaning it’s important for them to get some long-course racing in before their Trials begin. Still, it will be interesting to watch who can rebound quickly from an intense meet or even extend their speed for one more week.
This could also be a moment for younger swimmers who didn’t earn a finals swim at a loaded and upperclassmen heavy championships to get in some second swims. In that respect, keep an eye on Sun Devil freshman Michael Hochwalt. He hit several yards lifetime bests this season, including a 200 back best at NCAAs, bringing his total drop in the event this season to 1.53 seconds. He brings a 200-meter back lifetime best of 2:00.18 into the meet and could be in line to break 2:00 this weekend.
Building From Westmont
Penny Oleksiak (photo: Jack Spitser)
A small group of pro swimmers will carry over from the Westmont Pro Series, including Katharine Berkoff, Michael Andrew, Penny Oleksiak, and Trenton Julian. These four swimmers are at very different points in their careers—Berkoff has cemented herself as one of the U.S’s backstroke stars in a deep field, Oleksiak aims to take the next step in her comeback, and Andrew and Julian are fighting to return to the U.S senior international roster this summer.
For these pro swimmers, the Sacramento Pro Swim represents an opportunity to earn money, but also to keep getting reps in against new faces. Oleksiak’s ability to stack up against stars like Gastaldello will be an essential data point for her in the arc of the season. The same is true for Andrew, who will race names like Grousset, Ramadan, Brooks Curry, and Coll Marti this week.
With about two months until the U.S. National Championships, this is one of the biggest meets left on the calendar for swimmers to bank some racing experience.
Where is the OW Nationals preview?? Has USAS posted a list of entrants??? Will USAS post results in a timely manner??? What does out ‘Coach Advisory Committee’ have to say??? Does ASCA care???
That can’t be all of it
Scraping the barrel for narratives. The next stop better have a deeper field.
:He would but some races here (especially Aussies, Grousset, Urlando) are intriguing.
Shouldn’t the times be listed as EDT, or better yet, PDT since the event is taking place in that time zone?
Story Line #6 – USA Swimming continues to pour resources into elite level (sort of) competitions for foreign athletes.
Basically every nation with swimming events has events that anyone (nationals or foreigners) can enter.
The American obsession with saying “anything run by Americans should only benefit Americans and no one else” is really bizarre
Agree, its dumb a dumb take. The elite US swimmers at this meet are glad the foreign swimmers are there to race against.
If this meet and Westmont didn’t have foreign pros, it would be the saddest turnout I can remember for a PSS. Glad there are more world class swimmers for spectators to watch, and maybe a kid in the crowd actually gets excited by watching Sam Short rip a world leading time. Americans pros are just as likely as not to dip before the last finals session anyway if they’re from a different time zone.
Why do the Psych sheets list the PSS record as 2:06.82 by McIntosh on March 7 when she swam 2:07.42 on March 8?
Prodigy earns benefit of a doubt
Is Doug entered in this one?
“Entries open for the pro meet!”
Pros: crickets
It’s Sacramento. At least it shouldn’t be too hot this time of the year.
Everyone’s probably waiting until the one at the end of April