SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side, or you can find the poll embedded at the bottom of this post.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers whether Katie Ledecky should opt for the 200 free or 400 IM at NCAAs this year:
RESULTS
Question: Which event should Katie Ledecky swim on day 3 of NCAAs?
- 400 IM – 50.4%
- 200 free – 49.6%
The people have spoken, and Katie Ledecky will be swimming the 400 IM at this year’s NCAA Championships.
Just kidding.
While Ledecky has no obligation to honor the results of an unscientific poll of swim fans, those fans did narrowly vote for the 400 IM over the 200 freestyle as Ledecky’s day 3 event for the 2018 NCAA Championships.
The poll was extremely tight, coming down to just 3 votes – that’s the closest poll result in SwimSwam history and underscores just how tough the decision could be for Ledecky and Stanford coach Greg Meehan.
From a team perspective, Stanford could potentially win either race without Ledecky. Ella Eastin is the defending champ in the 400 IM, and Simone Manuel was third last year in the 200 free. Ledecky tied for the 200 free title last year with Mallory Comerford of Louisville, who does return. A few weeks earlier, she blasted an American record 400 IM to win the Pac-12 title, leading to speculation she could swim the race at NCAAs.
Just last month, Ledecky won the 400 IM at the Art Adamson Invite in College Station, Texas, further stoking the fire that this could be a postseason race for her. Fans voting for the IM over the freestyle is probably wishful thinking, but who can blame them? Ledecky running down the field at the end of a 400 IM would make for one of the most exciting races of an NCAA meet that could be a bit lacking in true title races with champions and heavy favorites returning in nearly every race.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks voters to pick the more impressive of Zane Grothe‘s pair of American distance records from the past weekend.
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ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE
The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner
I’m one of the votes for the 200 free. I think Katie has a chance at breaking Missy’s 200 free record at this NCAA. Also, she has the chance to get under the 15 min mark in the 1650 free. She can change it to the 400IM next season.
I would like Katie to swim both the 200 + 400im. She can take the 400im easy and Stanford would still have a 1,2,3 points. I am looking forward to a 200 with.both Katie and Comerford dualing it out. I believe Katie will win that matchup, now that everyone knows about mal closing speed
I think she should swim it, I just want to see a really good race between her and Comerford though I do believe she has a better chance of winning the 400 IM.
As for Grothe, dropping time in the mile is not as hard compared to the 500 and though he is a whole four seconds faster than anybody else. I think being a second faster than anyone else in the 500 and going a 4:07 after so many 4:08s is insane.
If you scale it up, he broke the record by more time per 100 yards in the mile than he did in the 500.
After getting DEMOLISHED in the 200 free this summer clearly everyone just thinks she should drop the event everywhere.
(…jay kay people just like seeing new things.)