2026 Pro Swim Series – Westmont
- Wednesday, March 4 – Saturday, March 7, 2026
- FMC Aquatic Center, Westmont, Illinois
- Long Course Meters (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheet
- Live Results
- Results on Meet Mobile: “2026 TYR Pro Swim Series – Westmont”
- Live Stream
- Day 1 Finals Heat Sheet
Destin Lasco has scratched out of the A-Final of the men’s 200 backstroke on Wednesday at the Pro Swim Series stop in Westmont, Illinois.
He was 8th in prelims of that event event on Wednesday, swimming 2:02.67.
Lasco, a member of the 2025 World Championships team, was historically a very good 200 backstroker – at one point breaking the NCAA Record in the yards version. In long course, though, he has been shifting further-and-further to freestyle events. He swam on the Worlds team as a member of the US team in the 400 free relay. He finished 4th in the 100 free, 8th in the 100 back, 9th in the 200 free, and scratched both the 200 back and 200 IM at last year’s U.S. Trials.
He’ll follow that pattern by racing the 100 free semi-finals on Wednesday. He was 14th-best in prelims of that race in 50.31.
Lasco, a Cal graduate, has been spotted training at his home in Philadelphia and in Ft. Lauderdale at various points in recent months. He is representing the Philadelphia-based PDR Swimming at this meet.
While he is the highest-profile scratch from that A-Final, he is not the only. David Gerchik, an Israeli national who trains at Northwestern University, dropped the race as the #2 seed. That scratch comes in spite of no other races in the evening.
His situation is a bit unique, though. He’s preparing for a likely NCAA Championship invite in a few weeks, and only has a short train ride home from Westmont to Northwestern’s Evanston campus.
The beneficiaries are Michael Long from Wisconsin and Jaques Harrison from Canada, who move up into the A-Final. Yeziel Morales from Puerto Rico was the fastest swimmer in prelims, but there are some big names lurking behind him, including Canada’s Blake Tierney and France’s Leon Marchand, who had the two fastest seeds coming into the race.
Other Day 1 Finals Scratches
- USA Swimming National Team member Kayla Han, a 17-year-old who trains with La Mirada Armada in California, scratched out of the B-Final of the women’s 200 back after finishing 15th in prelims in 2:18.50. She will focus on the timed finals of the 800 free instead.
- Laura Sofia Melo scratched the B Final of the women’s 50 fly, with Addie Rose Bullock moving up into her spot instead. Bullock had the opportunity to take Han’s spot in the 200 back too, but declined it. That leaves the 18th place finisher from prelims Juli Cavalcanti to swim the B-Final. The 15-year-old finished in 2:20.51 in the heats, about a second-and-a-half off her seed time.
Gerchik trains at Northwestern & University or he swims for Northwestern University
a return to form Destin could be a real threat.
A little bummed out that Destin seems to be moving away from the backstrokes. I know he hasn’t seen as much success in them LCM recently but with US men struggling a little in backstroke right now, a return to form Destin could be a real threat
it’s interesting because I feel like his stroke is more of a LCM stroke, but it seems like he benefits a lot from walls.
I really thought he could be a threat in the 200 IM as well since he owned the American record in SCY at one point.
He still has the AR in the scy 200 IM. He and Kos are tied as the second fastest all time. He just can’t break into the 1:56-55 range to be competitive domestically in long course
Isn’t it still his?
Um, yes, but…uh, it was his at one point in the past as well.
(This is the second time this week you’ve called me out on one of my stupid brainfarts and I have to say it’s getting a little annoying 😉
Watch out, it’s only Wednesday…. muahahaha