2017 IU BUCCETO OPEN
- June 1-4, 2017
- Bloomington, IN (IU campus)
- Results on Meet Mobile under ‘IU Bucceto Open’
In prelims of the IU Bucceto Open this morning in Bloomington, Mallory Comerford of Cardinal Aquatics put down a best time of 1:58.54 in the 200 free.
After her insane progressions in college, which culminated in a 200y free tie for the NCAA title with none other than Katie Ledecky, the swimming world waited for Comerford to translate that success into long course. It didn’t really happen as expected– before the 2016-17 NCAA season, Comerford went 1:59.24 at the Olympic Trials. That was a personal best, but it still didn’t really live up to her then-best yards time of 1:42.54.
She broke through, sort of, with a 1:59.60 swim at the Indy stop of the Pro Swim Series in March of this year. At that same meet, she also blasted a far more impressive 53.91, making her a surefire contender for a 4×100 free relay Worlds spot and perhaps an individual spot, too. Her 200, though, lagged behind. At the next two Pro Swim Series, she was stuck on the wrong side of the 2:00 barrier, going 2:00.41 at Mesa in April and 2:00.35 at Atlanta in May.
In late May, she talked with SwimSwam about finding the right gear in long course, and how she was still figuring out how to swim the 200 free in meters. “The transition from short course to long course has been really challenging for me,” said Comerford, who talked about how she tried different strategies like even-splitting or just going out hard right off the bat, but nothing was quite working.
Comerford was 54.46 in the 100 last night– not a season best, but definitely a competitive time, seeing as only Simone Manuel (53.66) and Lia Neal (54.38) have been faster out of any American swimmer since last summer. Manuel and Neal, too, went 54’s last night in Santa Clara. While her 100 wasn’t quite as fast as she’s been this year, her 200 looks like it’s finally coming along.
Split comparisons
- Comerford – 2017 Arena Pro Swim Series Indy – 1:59.60
- 28.13/30.56 (58.69) – 30.77/30.14 (1:00.91)
- Comerford – 2016 Olympic Trials – 1:59.24
- 28.11/30.25 (58.36) – 30.72/30.16 (1:00.88)
- Comerford – 2017 IU Bucceto Open – 1:58.54
- 28.17/29.75 (57.92) – 30.24/30.38 (1:00.62)
The key move for Comerford this morning was to hold strong in that middle 100– she was much faster on both of those 50’s than she was in her two other fastest swims in this event. That strategy paid off, as it brought her best time down by seven tenths (albeit from the Olympic Trials to a much smaller meet in Indiana) and her final 50 was still almost as strong as it was the other two swims.
With the American women’s 800 free relay in disarray, Comerford finding the right gear in long course could be key in the USA’s quest for gold in Budapest. We’ll see what she can do in finals tonight, but a 1:58-mid right now is a very good sign for the rising Louisville junior.
She needs to have all her splits under 30 to be a contender in the 200. She’s getting a better read on how to pace it.
There certainly is a spot for her on the relay (or more) if she can drop a little further.
Two more seconds are needed to be dropped to feel same way as Maya DiRado. That your relay gold medal is not a gift from Katie Ledecky but well deserved award for your contribution. I like the team of women 800 relay in Rio. It was a great example of camaraderie. Not like it was in Barcelona or Kazan where were Ledecky, Franklin ( or just only Franklin) and others. I hope Mallory will be a part of the similar but new team. I like the way she approaches 200. That is exactly the type shown by Allison Schmitt and Katie Ledecky with their almost identical in style 1:53 splits. It is not like McKeon or Franklin who just trying… Read more »
We shall see . A 1.58.5 is neither good nor bad but average .Almost always a top 200 girl has something else in her armour that got her there . Mallory has none yet.
For instance Scmitt Pellegrini Ledecky are WR mid distance excellent with a handy 100 speed .Sjoestrom & Mckeon are 52+ sprinters with a decent 400 free ( as training event ) .
Other low 155s are/ were Missy 53.3 + 200 back wr , Barrett mid distance veteran finalist “Chinese girl ( ???) & some mid 1.55s Katinka, Siobhan – Marie who have im .
Mid – High 1.55s bring in a few more inc Coleman but who are not outstanding in any other… Read more »
she tied ledecky at a championship meet. Thats good enough for me. Put her on the relay.
It’s hard to not accept your arguments. The only reason why Mallory is mentioned frequently recently is because she beat Simone Manuel and matched Katie Ledecky at very strange race like 200 yards in short 25 yards pool. She also showed some progress recently at LCM. It is not spectacular like in Oleksiak’s case but still noticeable.
It’s true that at this NCAA race both Manuel and Ledecky were busy racing each other and didn’t pay attention to Comerford to the very and of the race. And whatever you said about her pretty much average all around achievements is also correct.
But it doesn’t hurt to dream a little bit. Honestly I’m tired a little bit of news… Read more »
The 200 fr – esp the relay – is the most fascinating event imo . In Rio the 200m final was a peak event with lots of pbs ( 5th place 1.55.2 ) unlike tge men which was slowish . However few of the girls could back up & the relay ‘s best efforts were from the non 200 starters .It is here that swimmers like Comerford can shine – they don’t have that successfully constructed race .
When the coaches told young Tasmin Cook she would be anchoring next to Ledecky she said she was terrified .But she hung on to get the silver in a pb holding off another young 200 unknown Oleksiak .
2 other things… Read more »
Originally I thought that 200 was kind of a consolation race for those poor things who are lack of good speed to compete at 100 and below or aren’t “iron” enough to swim 400 and above. Neither sprinters nor long distance swimmers look at 200 swimmers as members of their clubs. It’s not even clear if 200 distance reflects some biological specifics. In many cases the winner in this race is either a great sprinter who’s initial speed makes an advantage sufficient to not get beaten at the end of the race or it is a great long distance swimmer who is able to get in the rhythm not too late to cover disadvantage of slow initial speed.
Therefore… Read more »
She may have better potential for the 100 in LCM. 200 SCY is a bit shorter than 200 LCM. She was 53.9 LC for the 100 back in February. I think she has an even better shot to finish top 4 in Indy in the 100 than in the 200.
I think it’s not so much that they’re not in disarray, it is that everyone else is too. For the Aussies, Barrat retired, Ruck bombed Canadian Trials which means that Canada is out a potential 1:55 split, no one knows what’s going on with China, and the Swedes never found a fourth swimmer.
The us might have lost Schmidt Franklin and Dirado but they still have KL Smith Manuel Comeford Margalis McLaughlin
“they still have KL”
you can just pretty much stop there.
you can’t. it’s a relay.
Hard to really say that the American women’s 800 free relay is in disarray when they still have Ledecky and Smith. I don’t expect them to face a real challenge this summer.
True, I meant it more in the sense that it’s really not clear who’s going to be joining Ledecky and Smith. Comerford is incredibly talented and looks to be moving in the right direction, but we’ll see in Indy if she can unleash the 1:55/1:56 that she seems capable of.
Great signs of things to come for her in the 200 free