Reported by Lauren Neidigh.
WOMEN’S 200 FREE:
- Pro Swim Series Record: 1:54.43- Katie Ledecky, Austin 2016
- Pool Record: 1:54.82- Katie Ledecky (Nation’s Capital), 2016
- GOLD: Taylor Ruck, 1:56.85
- SILVER: Wang Jianjiahe, 1:57.60
- BRONZE: Rebecca Smith, 1:59.14
Another swim, another best time. Candian junior star Taylor Ruck shaved a few tenths off her best for another dominant win on 1:56.85, shortly after winning the 200 back title. Last night’s 800 free champ, Wang Jianjiahe of China, picked up another medal in 2nd place. Rebecca Smith and Penny Oleksiak, also Canadian junior standouts, battled for 3rd, with Smith clipping Oleksiak (1:59.32) for bronze.
Can Micharl Andrew build endurance for 100?
Looking at her in-season times it is hard to predict what to expect this year and if this season is of much importance to her. She is in training now. True. But so are all other Canadian swimmers and look how differently it effects their performances. I remember Penny’s 2016. No doubts she was in training before Olympics but even then we new that something big is coming. This year I saw only few predictions of great times and they mostly came from dedicated fans and reflect more their patriotic feelings than detailed analysis. I think she will be better at PP in summer than in a month at CWG.
She also talked about being a bit sick for a few weeks. That would explain why she wasn’t as fast in the 200m freestyle this weekend than she was last month. At this point we’ll only know how well she’ll do at the Commonwealth games when they start. As a Canadian fan I’m hoping for the best, but if she’s not quite ready, at least it looks like both Kylie Masse and Taylor Ruck very much will be.
I’m with you with this hope. Not very often we see 52sec and 1:54 split and second to Sjostrom only butterfly from 16 year old. I think we haven’t had it ever before. I want this carnival to continue.