2017 U.S. WINTER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
- November 29th-December 2nd
- Bill and Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Columbus, OH
- Short Course Yards
- Meet Central
- Omega Results
- NCAA Qualifying
- Live stream (USA Swimming Homepage)
- Thursday Finals Heat Sheet
Indiana was on fire to open night 2 of the 2017 U.S. Winter Nationals in Columbus, Ohio. In the first men’s race of the session, Zane Grothe represented the Hoosiers’ postgrad group by scorching an American and U.S. Open Record in the 500 free. Grothe hit the wall in 4:07.25, taking over a full second off the former mark of 4:08.42 done by Texas’ Clark Smith at the 2017 NCAA Championships.
Former record holder Smith, who still holds the NCAA Record, swam the 500 free earlier today at the Texas Invitational. He led the heats with his 4:14.40, but has scratched out of tonight’s final.
Splits Comparison By 100: Zane Grothe vs. Clark Smith 500 Free
| Swimmer | 1st 100 Split | 2nd 100 Split | 3rd 100 Split | 4th 100 Split | 5th 100 Split | Final Time |
| Zane Grothe (2017) | 47.58 | 50.49 | 50.32 | 49.68 | 49.18 | 4:07.25 |
| Clark Smith (2017) | 47.34 | 50.13 | 49.97 | 50.86 | 50.12 | 4:08.42 |
Grothe battled closely with fellow U.S. National Teamer Mitch D’Arrigo of Florida through the first 350 yards. Grothe turned on the gas in the final 150, blowing away the field and creating a dominant lead down the final stretch. His final two 100 splits were both sub-50. With a 49.18 to close, Grothe cemented his status as the fastest man of all time in the event.
That was a huge best time for Grothe per the USA Swimming database, which shows his former best as a 4:12.98 from 2015. D’Arrigo wound up a few seconds back for silver in 4:10.78, while Marwan El Kamash brought in another medal for the Hoosiers with his 4:16.10 for bronze.
All-Time Top Performers: Men’s 500 Yard Freestyle
| Place | Swimmer | Time |
| 1 | Zane Grothe | 4:07.25 |
| 2 | Clark Smith | 4:08.42 |
| 3 | Peter Vanderkaay | 4:08.54 |
| 4 | Tom Dolan | 4:08.75 |
| 4 | Townley Haas | 4:08.92 |
| 6 | Jean Basson | 4:08.92 |
| 7 | Felix Auboeck | 4:08.95 |
| 8 | Michael Klueh | 4:09.32 |
| 9 | Sebastian Rouault | 4:09.48 |
| 10 | Fynn Minuth | 4:09.55 |
As fast as a 4:07 is, Zane would not have even lapped Katie Ledecky. That just blows my mind!!!
People forget the current American record was set with A fib and a strained groin
Is it on youtube
As you can see from the splits, Clark “choke” Smith went out too fast again and then choked in the last 200…
as you can see from that comment, steve “sucks” swims well, sucks…
Read the SwimSwam articles about Clarks’ lingering Atrial Fibrillation & then see if you feel the same way. Also the comments at the end of those articles too. The dude has been pushing it for years.
Please Steve Swim – Clark didn’t choke breaking the American Record at NCAAs in 2017. He’s a good guy, very humble, hard worker, and 2016 Olympian- gold medalist. Get your facts straight! You know nothing about him! Records are meant to be broken. Keep working hard Clark like you always do. Congrats to Zane.
Wouldn’t call an American record (at the time) choking but talking down about a great athlete from your couch says more about you than it does about his race
How does a guy that fast just go out and chop five seconds off his best time? What an amazing swim!
Dude almos swam 4:06. Crazy stuff. Wonder what he can do in long course
The guy trains like an animal. You can see a couple of his workouts on FikeSwim.com and on our social, crazy fast times. Way to go Zane, incredible swim!!!!
Please please please tell me someone can post a video
You can watch it from where the livestream is on USA swimming