Kennedy Noble and Jack Aikins Lead U.S 1-2 Sweeps in the 200 Back With New Pan Ams Records

2023 PAN AMERICAN GAMES

• October 21-25, 2023
• Santiago, Chile
• Meet Central
• Entries (Psych Sheet)
• Live Results
• Live Stream
  • Fubo TV (subscription required)
  • PanAm Sports Channel (USA, Canada, Jamaica)
• Day 1 Prelims Recap | Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap | Day 2 Finals Recap

Kennedy Noble and Jack Aikins won their first individual golds at a senior-level international meet in style. They led 1-2 sweeps for the United States in both the women’s and men’s 200 backstrokes, each setting a new Pan Ams record to go with their golds.

First up was Noble, who’s coming off a breakout 2022-23 season. In her first season swimming for the NC State Wolfpack, Noble made massive drops in both yards and meters. Her improvements shone brightly at 2023 U.S Nationals at the end of June, where she cut 3.44 seconds off her 200 backstroke in prelims and qualified for the final as 2nd seed.

She dropped even more time in finals, posting a 2:06.54. She earned 4th, qualifying for this Pan American Games team and announcing herself as a dark horse pick for the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team.

Here in Santiago, Noble led the race wire-to-wire, splitting 29.88/31.79/32.80/33.56. She stopped the clock at 2:08.03, taking down Hilary Caldwell‘s Pan Ams record from 2015 by .19 seconds.

2:08.03 is Noble’s 3rd best time ever, behind only the two times she swam at U.S. Nationals. She won the race by 4.76 seconds.

Next, it was Aikins turn. Aikins swims for the Virginia Cavaliers in the NCAA and he traded the lead with Georgia Bulldog and fellow U.S. teammate Ian Grum in the opening half of the race.

Aikins led at the first 50 (27.44), but at the halfway point Grum took over. Grum turned at the halfway point in 56.91, just four-hundredths ahead of Aikins.

The 3rd 50 was where Aikins made his move, splitting 29.74 to Grum’s 30.29. That gave him a .51 second lead heading into the final 50, which he extended to a gap of .61 seconds at the final touch. Aikins clocked a 1:56.58, bringing the Pan Ams record under 1:57 for the first time. The previous record was a 1:57.11, swum by Sean Lehane in 2015.

Like Noble, this is Aikins 3rd best career performance. It’s .54 seconds off his personal best of 1:56.08, which he swam at June’s U.S. Nationals.

The United States went 1-2 in both the women’s and the men’s 200 backstrokes. Reilly Tiltmann finished second behind Noble with a 2:12.79, and Grum comfortably took silver in 1:57.19.