2026 Pro Swim Series – Austin: Day 3 Prelims + Distance Live Recap

2026 PRO SWIM SERIES – AUSTIN

• January 14-17, 2026
• Austin, Texas
• Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center
• LCM (50 meters)
• Psych Sheet (updated)
• How to Watch
• Live Results
  • Live Recaps
    • Prelims: Day 1 | Day 2
    • Finals: Day 1 | Day 2 

Friday Prelims Heat Sheet

Good Morning Swim Fans or should I say Bonjour, as the French have turned up in numbers and have been throwing down some fast swims over the past two days of racing in Austin at the first stop of the 2026 edition of the Pro Swim Series.

Looking to continue that momentum are the pair of Marie Wattel and Maxime Grousset. The French stars are the top seeds in their respective 50 fly events, with the latter looking to add yet another victory, as he won the 100 fly last night, defeating Caeleb Dressel, who will occupy lane 5 this morning, right next to the Frenchman in the last heat.

The 50 fly is not the first event on tap however, as we are first treated to the 200 free, which sees Americans Claire Weinstein and Luke Hobson as the top seeds. The two, each of whom were individual medal winners in this event at the most recent World Championships in Singapore, should easily advance but it won’t be a cake walk as the likes of Anna Peplowski, Simone Manuel and Rylee Erisman will all be vying for the middle lanes tonight in the women’s event. In the men’s event, Hobson will be under some pressure from training partners, Chris Guiliano and Carson Foster as well the likes of Kieran Smith and Gabriel Jett.

After the sprinters have their go in the 50 fly, the 400 IM takes to the pool as we are treated to a rare treat in that training partners and World records holder Summer McIntosh and Leon Marchand are each slated to swim in the final heat of their respective events. The pair are far and away ahead of the rest of the field, but Emma Weyant has been throwing down some strong swims this week and after Bobby Finke‘s 400 IM last summer in Indy, his performances today will be closely watched.

The morning wraps with the 50 back which see Regan Smith and Shaine Casas as the top seeds (on paper). Casas in entered in multiple events this morning, but has been no-showing the past two mornings so lane 4 may be empty, so look for the French star Yohann Ndoye Brouard to make a strong effort to obtain the top seed, but don’t sleep on the long arms of Jack Alexy, who is trying his hand in the backstroke.

Smith, who did not contest the 200 back yesterday, returns to the 50 as the top see and will square off against a pair of Frenchwomen as Analia Pigree and Beryl Gastaldello round out the top three seed, but don’t count out the young speed of Charlotte Crush, who is slated to swim right next to Smith in the last heat.

WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – Prelims

• World Record: 1:52.23 – Ariarne Titmus, AUS (2024)
• American Record: 1:53.61 – Allison Schmitt (2012)
• US Open Record: 1:54.13 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)
• PSS Record: 1:54.13 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)
• World Jr Record: 1:53.65 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2023)
• Pool Record: 1:54.43 – Katie Ledecky, USA

Top 8

1. Anna Peplowski – 1:58.49
2. Simone Manuel – 1:59.25
3. Claire Weinstein – 1:59.88
4. Rylee Erisman – 2:00.34
5. Chloe Stepanek – 2:01.99
6. Blakely Hammel – 2:02.20
7. Ava Chavez – 2:02.80
8. Brinkleigh Hansen – 2:03.84

It did not take any time to warm things up as with just three heats, the women’s 200 free started with a circle seeded heat. Simone Manuel, the #3 seed overall wasted no time in jumping out to an early as she hit the wall in 58.36, more than a second ahead of the next fastest swimmer, Blakely Hammel. More known for her 50 and 100 speed, Manuel has built an over a body length lead by the 150 and continued that into the final wall as she hit the wall in 1:59.25, winning by over 2 seconds, with Hammel back at 2:02.20.

The second heat saw a similar story as the first heat, with Indiana’s Anna Peplowski giving herself an over a body length lead at the 100. However, Peplowski, who is more distance orientated than Manuel opened in a very quick 57.06. Repping Indiana Swim Club, Peplowski closed in 1:01.43 to stop the clock at 1:58.49, a result that is just .30 off her prelims time from last month’s US Open. Taking 2nd behind her in the heat was Chloe Stepanek, who touched in 2:01.99.

Heat three was a different story than the previous two as top seed Claire Weinstein was under pressure from the get go as lane 5 was occupied by Rylee Erisman. The younger of the two, which is odd to say with Weinstein just 18, opened in 58.60, a split which gave Erisman a slim lead of just .01. Weinstein however not content to be beaten took over at the 150 mark and claimed the heat win with a 1:59.88, .46 ahead of Erisman’s 2:00.34.

MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – Prelims

• World Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, GER (2009)
• American Record: 1:42.96 – Michael Phelps (2008)
• US Open Record: 1:43.73 – Luke Hobson, USA (2025)
• PSS Record: 1:44.82 – Sun Yang, CHN (2016)
• World Jr Record: 1:42.97 – David Popovici, ROU (2023)
• Pool Record: 1:44.49 – Luke Hobson, USA (2025)

Top 8

1. Luke Hobson – 1:47.40
2. Chris Guiliano – 1:47.73
3. Gabriel Jett – 1:47.75
4. Ryan Erisman – 1:47.79
5. Carson Foster – 1:47.84
6. Lucas Henveaux – 1:48.24
7. Denis Loktev – 1:48.48
8. Patrick Sammon – 1:48.51

The fastest time entering the circle-seeded heats belonged to Grant Pier of the University of Denver, as he won the 3rd heat out of lane 7 with a time of 1:54.49, a new personal best of .15.

However, his time did not last long atop the leaderboard as the 4th heat saw Olympians Chris Guiliano and Brooks Curry go after the first 100 with the Texas based Guiliano opening in 52.06, .52 ahead of Curry, who trains with the Cal pro-group. Guiliano, who used a strong 3rd 50 to distance himself, touched in 1:47.73, ahead of Denis Loktev, who passed Curry in the closing meters and out-touched him 1:48.48 to 1:48.60. Shaine Casas did swim the event but finished 6th in the heat with a time of 1:53.34

Heat 5 saw a tight bunch hit the 100 wall as France’s Roman Fuchs record a split of 52.46. just ahead of Gabriel Jett (52.60) and Carson Foster (52.75). The Frenchman tried to hold off the pair of Americans but faltered on the back half and was passed by not only those two but also by Ryan Erisman, who was 53.04 at the 100 mark, but employed a 54.75 on the last 1oo to move himself right alone Jett, with the pair of training partners going 1-2 in the heat with times of 1:47.75 and 1:47.79 respectively. Foster wasn’t far behind either touching in 1:47.84, meaning that with one heat remaining, we already have 7 sub-1:50 times.

The least heat went the way of the defending World silver medalist, Luke Hobson with the Texas based swimmer opening in 51.49, one of two sub-52 splits in the field. Hobson cruised into the finish hitting in 1:47.40, doing just enough to earn lane 4 tonight, but expect more from the 2nd fastest American in the event, as he closed in 28.56, the slowest last 50 split of the top 8. Also advancing into tonight’s final from the last heat were Lucas Henveaux and Patrick Sammon who touched 2nd and 3rd respectively with times of 1:48.24 and 1:48.51 and will occupy lanes 7 and 8 this evening, Missing out on the A-final are Curry who finished 9th overall and Kieran Smith, who was the 4th overall seed, but touched 4th in the last heat with a time of 1:48.66 and 10th overall.

Tying Hobson’s opening split of 51.49 was Jack Alexy, who showed some early speed but then slackened off the pace, coming home in 30.25 to touch in 12th overall with a time of 1:50.68.

WOMEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – Prelims

• World Record: 24.43 – Sarah Sjostrom, SWE (2014)
• American Record: 24.66 – Gretchen Walsh (2025)
• US Open Record: 24.66 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2025)
• PSS Record: 24.93 – Gretchen Walsh, USA (2025)
• World Jr Record: 25.46 – Rikako Ikee, JPN (2017)

Top 8

1. Charlotte Crush – 26.93
2. Mena Boardman – 27.02
3. Emma Harvey – 27.05
4. Marie Wattel – 27.11
5. Skyler Smith – 27.34
6. Averie Hager – 27.67
7. Lorelai Frauenfelder – 27.80
8. Lindsay Looney – 27.94

Youth was the name of the game this morning in the women’s 50 fly heats as the top two times, 26.93 and 27.02 were both posted by a pair of 17 year olds, with Charlotte Crush owning the 26.93 and Mena Boardman the 27.02. The two high school seniors will likely square off against one another for the next four years as the pair have committed to SEC rivals, Tennessee and Texas, respectively. However before we jump to far ahead they will have to advance out of tonight’s semifinals, where the experience of Emma Harvey and Marie Wattel may hold more sway.

MEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – Prelims

• World Record: 22.27 – Andrii Govorov, UKR (2018)
• American Record: 22.35 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2022)
• US Open Record: 22.84 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2022)
• PSS Record: 23.09 – Ilya Kharun, CAN (2025)
• World Jr Record: 22.96 – Diogo Matos Ribeiro, POR (2022)

Top 8

1. Finn Brooks – 23.14
2. Maxime Grousset – 23.30
3. Caeleb Dressel – 23.65
4. Masahiro Kawane – 23.74
5. Van Mathias – 23.82
6. Nikita Baez – 23.86
7. Matt King – 23.92
8. Peter Paulus – 24.07

We tweeted and made note of his resurgence in yesterday’s 50 breaststroke, but Finn Brooks doubled down this morning chopping .36 off of a nearly three year old PB to not only win the last heat of the men’s 50 fly, but also posting the fastest time of the morning as his 23.14 was superior to the likes of Maxime Grousset‘s 23.30 and Caeleb Dressel‘s 23.65.

Grousset and Dressel however comfortable made tonight’s semifinals as the 2nd and 3rd fastest seeds and will likely be faster tonight.

WOMEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Prelims

• World Record: 4:23.65 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
• American Record: 4:31.12 – Katie Hoff, (2008)
• US Open Record: 4:26.98 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
• PSS Record: 4:26.98 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
• World Jr Record: 4:24.38 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2024)
• Pool Record: 4:34.25 – Kirsty Coventry, ZIM

Top 8

1. Summer McIntosh – 4:37.89
2. Emma Weyant – 4:47.25
3. Teagan O’Dell – 4:54.49
4. Rowyn Wilber – 4:59.38
5. Maren Byrne – 5:00.89
6. Madalyn Petty – 5:01.64
7. Georgia Wimberly – 5:03.02
8. Elise Nguyen – 5:03.25

Emma Weyant easily cruised her way to the heat win, as the #2 seed won the first of two circle seeded heats in a time of 4:47.25. The Florida Gator split 1:03.88, 1:14.82, 1:21.02 and 1:07.53 to touch ahead of Rowyn Wilber’s 4:59.38. Weyant was 4:43.45 last month in this pool at the US Open in prelims, before finishing 3rd overall with a time of 4:39.45.

Much like Weyant in the 2nd heat, Summer McIntosh in the last heat easily cruised her way to the win, albeit 10 seconds faster as the World Record holder stopped the clock in 4:37.89, just two seconds slower than her 4:35.56 prelims swim from the 2025 Worlds in Singapore. The Texas and Bob Bowman trained swimmer split 1:02.09, 1:11.15, 1:20.44 and 1:04.21, so look for things tonight to be close between her and Weyant at the 100 turn, before McIntosh opens things up after the fly.

Behind those two in the rankings this morning was Cal first-year Teagan O’Dell who hit the wall in 4:54.49. O’Dell has a PB of 4:39.96 from her silver medal winning performance at the 2025 World University Games, so could challenge Weyant in the final tonight.

MEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Prelims

• World Record: 4:02.50 – Leon Marchand, FRA (2023)
• American Record: 4:03.84 – Michael Phelps (2008)
• US Open Record: 4:05.25 – Michael Phelps, USA (2008)
• PSS Record: 4:07.80 – Leon Marchand, FRA (2023)
• World Jr Record: 4:09.38 – Yumeki Kojima, JPN (2025)
• Pool Record: 4:08.46 – Carson Foster, USA

Top 8

1. Leon Marchand – 4:21.60
2. Wilson York – 4:26.45
3. Bobby Finke – 4:26.60
4. Gerhardt Hoover – 4:30.18
5. Rafael Arizpe Arriaga – 4:32.97
6. Jacob Bougaieff – 4:33.12
7. Fin McLane – 4:33.37
8. Humberto Najera – 4:33.46

Chasing a time of 4:38.30 set by Derek Hernandez-Ojeda of Nitro Swimming from the first heat, Bobby Finke quickly established himself as the man to chase in the 2nd heat of the 400 IM. The Florida Gator opened in 59.29 and then proceed to go 1:06.71, 1:18.08 and 1:02.52 on the next three 100s to stop the clock at 4:26.60. Taking 2nd behind him was Commonwealth Swimming’s Gerhardt Hoover, whose 4:30.18 was just seven seconds off his entry time.

The last heat saw World Record holder Leon Marchand enter the water for the first time this morning. Like McIntosh, the Bob Bowman trained swimmer, opened things up quickly, going 58.84 and never felt any pressure going 1:07.42 on the back, 1:13.05 on the breast and closing in 1:02.29 to take the top seed in tonight’s final with a 4:21.60. Taking 2nd in the heat and securing lane 5 for himself tonight was 16 year old Wilson York, who was less than 5 seconds back of the Frenchman. York gained ground on Marchand in the breaststroke going 1:12.56, but was already back by four seconds after the backstroke.

Florida’s Grant Sanders, the #3 seed was DQed in the last heat, but no reason was announced or listed in the results.

WOMEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – Prelims

• World Record: 26.86 – Kaylee McKeown, AUS (2023)
• American Record: 26.97 – Katharine Berkoff (2025)
• US Open Record: 26.97 – Katharine Berkoff, USA (2025)
• PSS Record: 27.13 – Kylie Masse, CAN (2025)
• World Jr Record: 27.49 – Minna Atherton, AUS (2016)

Top 8

1. Beryl Gastaldello – 28.11
2. Regan Smith – 28.52
3. Analia Pigree – 28.86
4. Emma Harvey – 29.15
5. Charlotte Crush – 29.43
6. Sydney Wasylenky – 29.80
7. Chloe Meyer-Blohm – 29.89
8. Jaylee Hager – 30.00

As noted above in the preamble, the French stars made their presence known in the 50 back with Beryl Gastaldello, the #3 seed overall, posting a swift 28.11 to win the first heat by nearly two seconds with Jaylee Hager of Steamline Aquatics touching in 2nd at 30.00. Gastaldello, who placed 2nd in the 50 last night, also finished 5th in the 100 back. The Frenchwoman is coming off of a strong performance at the SC Euros last month where she collected a pair of silvers in the 50 and 100 frees, both of which were personal bests.

Gastaldello did not swim any backstroke at Euros, but her compatriot Analia Pigree did. The French national record holder in both the short course and long course 50 back, Pigree who claimed silver in Lublin, won the 2nd heat this morning going 28.86, touching just ahead of Emma Harvey’s 29.15.

Splitting the pair on the leaderboard is Regan Smith, who won the last heat in 28.52. Smith, who placed 2nd last month at the US open with performances of 27.78 in prelims and 27.52 in finals, has opted for a different schedule this week, not taking on her usual 200 backstroke.

MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – Prelims

• World Record: 23.55 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2023)
• American Record: 23.71 – Hunter Armstrong (2022)
• US Open Record: 23.71 – Hunter Armstrong, USA (2022)
• PSS Record: 24.23 – Shaine Casas, USA (2025)
• World Jr Record: 24.00 – Kliment Kolesnikov, RUS (2018)

Top 8

1. Shaine Casas – 25.37
2. Grant Bochenski – 25.49
3. Yohann Ndoye Brouard – 25.52
4. Luke Barr – 25.95
5. Mathys Chouchaoui – 26.10
6. Benjamin Jaggers – 26.14
7. Ahmed Sallam – 26.48
8. Owen Sarbak – 26.87

After a couple of no-shows earlier in the meet and rough showing in the 200 free, where he finished 18th overall with a time of 1:53.34, Casas powered his way to the top of the leaderboard in the 50 back, where his 25.37 from the last earned him the top seed. His time this morning is right around his 25.22 prelims time from last month’s US Open which saw him go on to win with a 24.53, but with a prelims/semi/finals format this meet, it will be interesting to see how much faster he will be this evening.

Looking to advance through the semifinals tonight with casas will be Grant Bochenski, Yohann Ndoye Brouard and Luke Barr, all of whom were sub-26.00 this morning. Of note, Jack Alexy, the #5 seed was a no-show in prelims. The Cal Bear placed 3rd in the 50 free finals last night and was 12th this morning in the 200 free prelims.

Distance Session

WOMEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – Prelims

• World Record: 8:04.12 – Katie Ledecky (2025)
• American Record: 8:04.12 – Katie Ledecky (2025)
• US Open Record: 8:04.12 – Katie Ledecky (2025)
• PSS Record: 8:04.12 – Katie Ledecky (2025)
• World Jr Record: 8:11.00 – Katie Ledecky (2014)
• Pool Record: 8:06.68 – Katie Ledecky

Top 8

1. Katie Ledecky – 8:16.23
2. Brinkleigh Hansen – 8:44.47
3. Becca Mann – 8:47.55
4. Claire Weinstein – 8:49.95
5. Brooke Travis – 8:51.64
6. Emily Wolf – 8:51.97
7. Madalyn Petty – 8:54.39
8. Lilliana Krstolic – 9:06.36

Tac Titans Brook Travis opened up her 800 free prelim swim with a 4:26.80 400 split leading California first year Claire Weinstein by as .41, as Weinstein flipped in 4:27.21. Joining the trio under 4:30 was Emily Wolf, a 16-year-old NC State commit who represents FAST of Indiana. Wolf tried her best to hang with the pack but both she and Travis couldn’t match Weinstein’s closing speed as she pulled away from the pair to win the heat in 8:49.95.Travis would go on to touch 2nd in 8:51.64, just ahead of Wolf, whose 8:51.97 is a new PB by .84.

In her first 800 free race since her epic win in Singapore against Australia’s Lani Pallister and Canada’s McIntosh, Katie Ledecky seemingly had the pool to her own as she went 8:16.23 to win the 2nd prelims heat. Ledecky took it out in 59.51 and after a 30.92 on the 3rd 50 was pretty consistent with 31 low to mids going 4:07.80 at the 400, until the last 200 where she start to drop her splits back into the 30 highs, ultimately coming home in 30.95 and 30.33 to stop the clock in 8:16.23. Her time this afternoon is less than two second shy of her prelim time from Singapore.

The next two fastest times heading into tomorrow also came from the 2nd heat as Brinkleigh Hansen fended off a late charge from Becca Mann with the pair touching in 8:44.47 and 8:47.55 respectively. Mann had briefly took over the lead at the 550 turn as Hansen had an off 50 split of 35.05, but closed in 31.85 and 31.54 to Mann’s 33.11 and 32.80 to earn lane 5 tomorrow. Mann’s time is her best since her 8:38.25 5th place finish at the 2019 Pan-American Games, albeit this appears to be her 2nd 800 since then.

MEN’S 800 FREESTYLE – Early Heats

• World Record: 7:32.12 – Lin Zhang (2009)
• American Record: 7:38.67 – Bobby Finke (2023)
• US Open Record: 7:40.34 – Bobby Finke (2023)
• PSS Record: 7:45.02 – Samuel Short (2025)
• World Jr Record: 7:43.37 – Lorenzo Galossi (2022)
• Pool Record: 7:48.28 – Luka Mijatovic (2025)

Early Heats

1. Treyvn Krauss – 8:17.74
2. Leopold Nurit – 8:20.48
3. Daniel Saborio Grillo – 8:25.17
4. Grant Pier – 8:25.57
5. Tyler Kominski – 8:25.81
6. Tristan McCain – 8:29.11
7. Max Spory – 8:35.04
8. Ethan Linville – 8:43.78

Treyvn Krauss, a 15 year old who swim for the Denver Hilltoppers club, posted the time to beat in the early heats of the men’s 800 free as he stopped the clock in 8:17.74. Krauss, opened his 800 up with a 4:09.25 400 split and was consistent until the 650 mark where he turned to his legs to come home in sub-31 splits of 30.65, 30.42 and 30.12. The time is large new PB, dropping close to 1.5 seconds off his previous best of 8:19.19 from his 31st place finish at this past summer’s Junior Championships.

Leopold Nurit, 16, too had a strong drop as his 8:20.48, which sits 2nd currently is guaranteed to earn him a top 10 finish. Before this afternoon the NCAP swimmer, who placed 4th in the 1650 at the Katie Ledecky Invitational (15:33.34) owned a previous best of 8:26.97 from his swim at the 2025 Futures Championship in Greensboro.