Caeleb Dressel Keeps Both Entries on Day 1 at 2023 Atlanta Classic (Psych Sheets)

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 1 Prelims – Heat Sheets

Even with a strong field for this week’s Speedo Atlanta Classic, the likelihood of athletes scratching events they don’t want to swim (as compared to no-showing prelims) this week at Georgia Tech is low.

But there was one significant dropout on Friday morning’s heat sheets – Matt Fallon of Penn, who is in his first meet back since injuring his back in a training accident before the NCAA Championships, has dropped the 400 IM from his schedule.

He’ll still swim the 100 breaststroke though, which is closer to the 200 breaststroke that is his best chance at an international team this summer. There, he’s the #2 seed behind Lithuanian and University of Florida undergrad Aleksas Savickas.

Day 1 Star Watch:

• Caeleb Dressel, swimming his first meet since leaving last summer’s World Championships mid meet, has held entries in the 200 free (9:39 AM) and 100 fly (10:24 AM). The World Record holder in the 100 fly, we would expect pre-break Dressel to swim that race and declare a false start in the 200 free. We don’t really know what to expect from America’s top male swimmer, though, after months of silence.
• World Record holder Katie Ledecky holds an entry in the 200 free (9:22 AM) for Friday morning.
• Olympic bronze medalist Kieran Smith will swim the 200 free (9:44 AM).
• 16-year-old Summer McIntosh, swimming her first meet since breaking World Records in the 400 free and 400 IM last month at Canadian Trials, will swim the 100 breast (9:52 AM) and 100 fly (10:15 AM), neither of which are usual events for her. Also in that 100 fly is Kate Douglass (10:14 AM).
• Don’t miss Douglass in the 100 breaststroke: with a yards seed, she is in an early heat (9:48 AM)
• Another Canadian, Josh Liendo, leads the 100 fly prelims as the top seed (10:27 AM) after a big meet at Canadian Trials.
• Olympic medalists Bobby Finke (11:08 AM) and Emma Weyant (10:47 AM) will lead the 400 IMs. Finke is an Olympic champion in the 800 and 1500 free, while Weyant scored silver in the 400 IM.

Intriguing Story (Non-Star)

• The hosts from SwimAtlanta have a rookie-veteran thing going on in the women’s 200 breaststroke. 14-year-old Natalia Amescua had a great short course season, dropping three seconds in the 200 yard free, and will now charge into long course; Amanda Weir, the 37-year-old quadruple Olympic medalist, continues her march as well.