2023 PRO SWIM SERIES – FORT LAUDERDALE
- March 1-4, 2023
- Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Long Course Meters (50 meters)
- Prelims/Finals
- Prelims: 9:00 AM (EST)
- Finals: 5:00 PM Wednesday, 6:00 PM (EST) Thursday-Saturday
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- Day 4 Prelims Recap
On the last night of racing at the 2023 Fort Lauderdale Pro Swim Series, Ahmed Hafnaoui and Shaine Casas took out meet records en route to gold medals.
Hafnaoui swam to victory in the first men’s event of the night, hitting a 7:48.50 800 freestyle. That was good enough to take out Michael McBroom‘s Pro Swim Series record from 2014 of 7:49.96, which he swam in Santa Clara. This time is Hafnaoui’s second-fastest 800 freestyle performance on record behind the 7:45.54 he swam in June 2021. He improved upon his season-best as well, having swum a 7:53.10 at the Knoxville Pro Swim Series in January.
Split Comparison:
| Hafnaoui – 2023 | McBroom – 2014 | |
| 100 | 57.11 | 58.37 |
| 200 | 58.78 | 59.87 |
| 300 | 59.54 | 59.29 |
| 400 | 59.55 | 59.68 |
| 500 | 59.17 | 59.17 |
| 600 | 59.23 | 58.59 |
| 700 | 58.55 | 58.63 |
| 800 | 56.57 | 56.36 |
With this swim, Hafnoui took the lead in the world rankings in this event for the 2022 – 2023 season, passing Brazil’s Guilherme Costa. Costa was present in this race but swam a 7:59.61 for 7th, slightly slower than his season-best of 7:51.56 at the South American Games.
Notably, the three medalists in the 800 at the Pro Swim all make the top 5 rankings globally this season. Marwan Elkamash swam a 7:50.38 for the silver medal and #2 in the world this season, while Daniel Jervis posted a 7:51.93 for bronze and the #4 spot.
2022 – 2023 Men’s Long Course 800 Freestyle Rankings
- Ahmed Hafnaoui – 7:48.50
- Marwan Elkamash – 7:50.38
- Guilherme Costa – 7:51.56
- Daniel Jervis – 7:51.93
- Daniel Wiffen – 7:53.14
Casas swam a few events after Hafnaoui, swimming in the A final of the men’s 100 butterfly where he hit a 50.80 to take out Caeleb Dressel‘s PSS record of 50.92. Dressel, who holds the American and world records at a 49.45, swam his 50.92 record back in 2020 in Des Moines. Casas
Split Comparison:
| Casas – 2023 | Dressel – 2020 | |
| 50 | 23.54 | 24.26 |
| 100 | 27.26 (50.80) | 26.66 (50.92) |
Like Hafnaoui, Casas was a bit slower than his lifetime best time here. Casas holds a PB of 50.40 in the 100 butterfly from the 2022 US National Championships in Irvine, California. Casas won gold at that meet, ahead of Shaun Champion’s 51.54 and Gabriel Jett’s 52.19.
In terms of world rankings, Casas also took the top spot with this Pro Swim time, becoming the first man to crack 51 seconds this season. Naoki Mizunuma was the former #1 man with the 51.58 he swam in December, while Tomoru Honda was #2 with a 51.72 from the same meet. Ilya Kharun also out-swam Mizunuma’s time with a 51.54 for the silver medal at the Pro Swim Series. Michael Andrew hit a 51.80 to take bronze.
2022 – 2023 Men’s Long Course 100 Butterfly Rankings
- Shaine Casas – 50.80
- Ilya Kharun – 51.54
- Naoki Mizunuma – 51.58
- Tomoru Honda – 51.72
- Cody Simpson – 51.78
