2022 PRO SWIM SERIES – SAN ANTONIO
- March 30 – April 2, 2022
- Northside Swim Center, San Antonio, Texas
- LCM (50 meters)
- Live Results
- Psych Sheets
With less than a month to go before the US International Team Trials in Greensboro, many of the country’s top swimmers will be getting their final tune-up in at this weekend’s Pro Swim Series stop in San Antonio, Texas. The competition starts this evening with four timed final heats of the 800 free at 4 PM CST.
Leading the women’s 800 is Sandpipers Olympian Bella Sims, who comes in as the top seed with an 8:23.55, just ahead of Texas-based pro Leah Smith. Sims’ club teammate, 15 year old Claire Weinstein, comes in as the fourth seed in 8:32.51 and will swim out of lane 6.
Indiana-based pro Marwan Aly El Kamash is the top seed in the men’s 800, coming in with a 7:52.19. He will flanked by a pair of NCAA swimmers, with Georgia’s Tommylee Camblong swimming in lane 5 and Florida’s Oskar Lindholm swimming in lane 3. Also swimming in the top heat is 16 year old Cooper Lucas, who swims for Lakeside Aquatic Club in the Dallas suburbs. Lucas will compete in lane 8.
Women’s 800 free
- World Record: Katie Ledecky (USA, 2016): 8:04.79
- American Record: Katie Ledecky (USA, 2016): 8:04.79
- US Open Record: Katie Ledecky (USA, 2016): 8:06.68
- World Junior Record: Katie Ledecky (USA, 2014): 8:11.00
- Pro Swim Record: Katie Ledecky (USA, 2016): 8:06.68
Top 8 finishers:
- Leah Smith (TXLA): 8:22.80
- Bella Sims (SAND): 8:30.83
- Claire Weinstein (SAND): 8:37.76
- Jillian Cox (TXLA): 8:43.74
- Yara Hierath (NCS): 8:45.75
- Sierra Schmidt (SAC): 8:47.13
- Ching Hwee Gan (IU): 8:47.54
- Abby Grottle (TAMU): 9:01.06
Heat one went to Texas Longhorn’s Leah Smith, who touched first in 8:22.80, a full second drop from her seed though 6 seconds off of her lifetime best from 2019. Sandpipers of Nevada took the second and third spot, with Bella Sims touching 2nd in 8:30.83 and Claire Weinstein finishing third in 8:37.76. Sims was 7 seconds off of her seed, while Weinstein was 5 seconds off of hers.
Smith’s Texas-based training partner Jillian Cox impressed by finishing 4th in 8:43.74, just a second and a half off of her seed.
After her swim, Smith said, “that swim felt good, I am pretty happy with my time. I’m just happy to be in San Antonio. This is where our Olympic Team camp was back in 2016 so it brings back some pretty good memories.”
She also added, “it’s exciting that we are getting so close to [the Phillips 66 International Team Trials], I’m taking things one step at a time. This race was pretty good for me to gear up for a meet like Trials.”
Men’s 800 free
- World Record: Lin Zhang (CHN, 2009): 7:32.12
- American Record: Bobby Finke (USA, 2021): 7:41.87
- US Open Record: Zane Grothe (USA, 2018): 7:44.57
- World Junior Record: Mack Horton (AUS, 2013): 7:45.67
- Pro Swim Record: Michael McBroom (USA, 2014): 7:49.96
Top 8 finishers:
- Tommylee Camblong (Unattached): 7:59.08
- Mikey Calvillo (IU): 8:07.64
- Ilya Kharun (SAND): 8:08.62
- Marwan Aly El Kamash (ISC)/Oskar Lindholm: 8:09.55
- —-
- Aryan Nehra (Unattached): 8:09.68
- Advait Page (Unattached): 8:13.72
- Mason Edmund (NTN): 8:14.19
Georgia undergrad Tommylee Camblong won the first heat going away in 7:59.08, less than a half second off of his seed time. Camblong nearly even-split the race 3:59.09-3:59.9 by 400.
He touched 8 seconds ahead of Indiana’s Mikey Calvillo, who dropped 1.7 from his seed to touch in 8:07.64. Top seed Marwan Aly El Kamash, an Indiana post grad, added 17 seconds from his seed to touch in a tie for 3rd in the heat with Oskar Lindholm in 8:09.55.
The big swim out of the second heat was Sandpiper high schooler Ilya Kharun, who dropped 12 seconds to finish 3rd overall in 8:08.62. Kharun, an Arizona State commit who is best known as a butterflier, has exploded onto the swimming scene in the last 12 months and become one of the top swimmers in the high school class of 2023.
Zhang Lin’s 7:32 WR will be the longest-standing Men’s WR ever.
That and the 200 FR. We just seem to be a bit physically far out from seeing someone get down there in textile. In the 800, the next closest non-doper, non super-suit swimmer is Hackett over 6 seconds back.
Time will tell. My money is on Biedermann’s 200 free. Men’s 800 free hat not been swum very often, but this will change.
Lol love the added branding.
When did Claire Tuggle go to SAND?
Whoops, I didn’t read the last name. My bad
I feel like this year it might be a bit harder for Katie Grimes to make the team in the 800 free. I’m not doubting her at all, I just know that when a big taper me is in the middle of the year, it can be really rough especially at a young age. I think it’s going to take around an 8:18-19 to make the team, I really hope she’s able to. She’s going to have to go against Leah Smith, Ally McHugh, Bella Sims, and Erica Sullivan.
My bet is on an Ally McHugh, she has a great back half and was in the mix for a spot on the Olympic team last year. She narrowly missed out, and I think that she’s going to be capable of making it in the 800 this year
Is she still swimming?
I would stick with Grimes. Normally when they are that young and do something that special it’s a freak talent who can overcome situational hurdles. Late bloomers are prone to situational wobbles.
claire weinstein sub 8 when
this aged well
This facility is just awesome. Need to have more meets here
Sarcasm? Swimmers say it’s horrible.
San Antonio approved using tax payers’ money to provide a facility with two 50m pools for their community. Let’s be grateful or say nothing at all.
The previous Pro Series meets in San Antonio were at the Bill Walker pool in Northeast San Antonio. That pool does have a legitimate reputation for being very slow. Maybe that’s the slow pool you’ve heard about. This meet is at a different venue, the Northside Swim Center. The Northside outdoor pool really is a spectacular facility, I hope we’ll see some good times this week.
This is the Northside ISD Swim Center, with a new outdoor pool that opened in ~2015. I swam USMS Spring Nationals there in 2015 (and am going back next month for Spring Nats again) and I believe it was the domestic Olympic training camp location in 2016.
It’s a phenomenal pool. While I haven’t swim at any west coast outdoor pools, I will say it’s the best outdoor pool of the dozens I’ve swum at in my 25 years of racing.
Leah is right on form!
I think Leah won’t miss her chance to race at WC this season. She shows very reliable performances both at 800 and 400 distances. I think we have all reasons to believe that she is going to be under 8:20 at Trials.
How insane 800 WRs are…
With the only difference that one of them was done in 2009. Then it wasn’t that insane: Mellouli in same meet was just 3 sec slower.