2018 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
- Wednesday, July 25 – Sunday, July 29, 2018
- William Woollett Aquatics Center, Irvine, CA
- Prelims 9 AM / Finals 6 PM (U.S. Pacific Time)
- Meet website
- Meet information
- Event Order
- Full selection procedures
- Psych Sheet
- SwimSwam Previews Index
- TV Schedule
- Pick ‘Em Contest
- Omega Results
- Live Stream
- Wednesday Finals Heat Sheet
Katie Ledecky had her 2nd-straight Pro Swim Series title clinched by the time she went to bed on Saturday, but the men’s title was still up in the air with just a 5-point margin separating Chase Kalisz and Zane Grothe, with each having one event, where they were favorites, left to swim.
While Grothe did all that he could do, winning the 800 free in a new U.S. Open Record, it came one event too late: Kalisz had already won the 200 IM 15 minutes earlier, giving him 120 points and an insurmountable 15-point lead.
Kalisz is also a repeat winner of the title, like Ledecky.
For their efforts, both swimmers will receive a $10,000 prize and a one-year lease on a BMW.
Points for Nationals Results:
- First Place – 10 points
- Second Place – 6 points
- Third Place – 2 points
Focusing on the top 5 coming into the meet, here are the standings after day 1 of Nationals:
Note: Because of the double points, it’s possible that someone else sneaks into the top 5, but USA Swimming only publishes points for 5, so we don’t know who’s 6th right now. Nobody new will contend for the title, though.
Men’s Top 5:
- Chase Kalisz – 120
- Zane Grothe – 115
- Michael Andrew – 59
- Ryan Murphy – 58
- Nathan Adrian – 46
Women’s Top 5:
- Katie Ledecky – 66
- Leah Smith – 59
- Melanie Margalis – 54
- Kelsi Dahlia – 51
- Taylor Ruck – 45 (CANADIAN)
If Ruck had won would she only have received $8700 and a ten month lease of the BMW on account of the exchange rate?
This was a really, really great effort, but it failed on a couple of levels:
1) Foreigners can’t win the prizes
2) You’re doing the exchange rate backwards. $10,000 USD is $13,000 Canadian.
If Ruck had won, she’d get the lease on the BMW for free, but she’d have to wait 6 months first.