For a full description of the qualifying procedures, see our day 1 recap.
After coming within three-tenths of a World Record in the 100 free on Thursday, 18-year old Victoria Arlen came even closer to an all-time best on Friday at the 2013 spring CanAm Championships in Minneapolis: the official World Championship qualifying event for both the Americans and their neighbors north of the border.
Arlen took the S6 division in 34.97, which is her personal best, breaking the American Record she set in July of last year, just before the Paralympic Games.
We haven’t seen any official competition in 2013 thus far of Dutch 43-year old Mirjam de Koning, but even at her age she was twice 34.77 in 2012, including winning the Paralympic gold medal, and she will be Arlen’s biggest challenger at the World Championships in Montreal if she is not retired.
In the S7 race, Cortney Jordan took her second victory of the meet with a 34.14. That just clipped Canadian Brianna Nelson, who was 2nd in 35.29: better than she was all of last year.
For Jordan, she still teeters with some uncertainty about her spot on the World Championship team, but as this meet goes on without a ton of fast times, she’s probably in for Montreal.
Canada’s Morgan Bird won the S8 women’s 50 free, the deepest class in this meet, in 32.38. That includes picking off defending Paralympic Champion Mallory Weggemann, who was 2nd in 33.82, and Brickelle Bro, who swam 33.96.
Though Jessica Long was 5th in London in this race, she opted not to swim it at this meet.
Elizabeth Smith, just 16 years old, won the S9 race in 31.18, beating Canadian Katarina Roxon who was 2nd in 31.91. These are two of the rising stars of the S9 division: another very deep class globally.
Aurelie Rivard, another 16-year old, won the S10 race in 28.84 – about a tenth better than she was all of last year. Anna Eames took 2nd in 29.83.
Kelley Becherer, the best S13 sprinter in the world right now, won here in 27.84: a time that should secure her berth for Montreal. She beat out of of Canada’s best Valerie Grand’Maison, who was 2nd in 28.81.
American Colleen Young took 3rd in 30.26, despite being just 14 years old. Young could be the future of American Para swimming.
In the morning distance event, the 800 free, NBAC’s Ian Silverman took his 2nd distance World Record of the meet in the S10 class, posting an 8:35.69. That knocked five seconds off of the old record set by Brazilian Andre Brasil in 2009, and add’s to Silverman’s World Record in the 1500 from Thursday.
Back to finals, in the S5 men’s 50 free, another great Brazilian Daniel Dias won the 50 free in 33.27 – just shy of his fastest swim last season, but again faster than anybody else has been since January 1, 2012. American Roy Perkins was 2nd in 35.55.
Silverman added to his two distance wins a victory in the S10 men’s 50 freestyle, swimming a 24.72. With no 800 or 1500 on the Paralympic schedule, Silverman will be relying on his swims in the shorter races to qualify him for Worlds.
Canadian Brianna Nelson likely sealed her spot for Worlds in the 200 IM, where she won the S7 in 3:06.81. That ranks her 2nd on the Modified World Rankings (see link at top of post).
In the SM8 women’s 200 IM, American Jessica Long made the best of her rest by swimming a 2:38.11 for the victory. Bird from Canada took 2nd in 3:14.98: 25-seconds behind.
In the men’s 100 backstroke, Tom Miazga, a 2008 Paralympian, was looking for redemption after missing the team for London. He won the race going-away in 1:12.69, but will still have to likely improve elsewhere to rank high enough in the MWR to stamp his ticket to Montreal.
Justin Zook, meanwhile, didn’t quite wrap-up his spot for Worlds with a win in the S10 backstroke in 1:01.55. For the defending Paralympic champion, that time puts him 5th in the MWR.
Cortney Jordan won the women’s 100 backstroke in 1:30.23; there’s huge Australian superstar Jacqueline Freney and anybody else in that race, but that time still puts Jordan 3rd in the MWR.
And finally, Aurelie Rivard took another event victory at this meet, winning her 4th race in the S10 backstroke with a 1:12.68. She’ll have one more to go on Saturday, the 400 free, to make a perfect sweep.
