Pro Swim Series – Fort Lauderdale: Day 2 Swims You Might’ve Missed

2023 PRO SWIM SERIES – FORT LAUDERDALE

• March 1-4, 2023
• Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
• Long Course Meters (50 meters)
• Prelims/Finals
  • `Prelims: 9:00 AM (EST)
  • Finals: 5:00 PM Wednesday, 6:00 PM (EST) Thursday-Saturday
• Meet Central
• Live Results
• Psych Sheets
• Ways to Watch
• Storylines to Follow
• Day 1 Finals Recap
• Day 2 Prelims Recap
• Day 2 Finals Live Recap

The second night of racing at the 2023 Pro Swim Series stop in Fort Lauderdale brought plenty of highlights, most notably a new world junior record set by Summer McIntosh in the 200 butterfly (2:05.05). Dylan Carter (100 free) and Ilya Kharun (200 fly) also took down national records while Claire Weinstein and Katie Grimes climbed up their respective age-group rankings in the 400 free.

Here are some swims you might have missed on Thursday night:

Tennessee Commits Crack New PBs

Future University of Tennessee teammates Jillian Crooks and Ella Jansen posted lifetime bests in the women’s 50 backstroke and 400 freestyle, respectively. Crooks, the 16-year-old younger sister of current Vols star Jordan Crooks, clocked her first sub-30 time in the 50 back, placing second in the B-final with a 29.56 to lower her own Cayman Islands national record. Her previous best was a 30.02 from last April. In the 400 free, Jansen dropped more than three seconds en route to a fifth-place finish in 4:07.18. Her previous best was a 4:10.69 last summer, and she went 4:14.49 at January’s Pro Swim Series stop in Knoxville.

Bright Future for Argentina

17-year-old Argentine swimmer Ulises Saravia placed eighth in the A-final of the men’s 50 back with a 26.13, just off his personal-best 25.90 from prelims. Last September, he placed seventh at World Juniors with a 26.12. Saravia is now less than a second away from the national record of 25.16 set by Frederico Grabich back in 2013. Fellow Argentinian Agostina Hein is only 14 years old, but she still placed fourth in the B-final of the women’s 400 free with a 4:18.49. Hein’s best time is a 4:10.66 from last October, which is just four seconds off Delfina Pignatiello’s national record from 2019 (4:06.61).

Kovacs is Back

Athena Kovacs didn’t set any new personal bests last year, but the 17-year-old Mexican swimmer appears to be back on track after posting a 29.42 in the 50 back. That improved upon her lifetime best of 29.65 from 2019. Kovacs is now less than a second away from the national record of 28.57 set by Fernanda Gonzalez in 2018. On Wednesday night, Kovacs clocked another best time with a 16:40.19 in the 1500 free.

Down Goes an Academy Record

Army junior Aurelie Migault broke the Academy record for the 100 breast in prelims with a time of 1:10.88, then lowered that mark to 1:09.58 in the B-final, where she placed third. Before today, her best 100 breast time was a 1:14.54 from last April. Migault is fresh off a Patriot League title in the 100-yard breast last month (1:00.76).