Reported by Jared Anderson.
2017 ARENA PRO SWIM SERIES – ATLANTA
- May 4-7, 2017
- McAuley Aquatic Center
- Atlanta, Georgia
- Long Course (50m)
- Prelims/Finals: 10 AM / 7 PM (EST)
- Psych Sheet
- Meet Central / Live Stream
- Live Results (Omega)
- Results Also on Meet Mobile (search Atlanta)
Update: though it’s not specifically spelled out in the series rules, in the event of a tie, USA Swimming appears to be tallying both swimmers at the point total for the placing where the tie occurred. In other words, two swimmers tying for 3rd both appear to receive 1 point, rather than splitting the third-place point value (1 point) between them for half a point each. We’ve updated this story to reflect that policy. The official Pro Swim Series rules document does not address the effect of ties on either points or prize money, but for the purposes of accurate money lists, we’ll tally money as following the same policy as points, meaning two athletes tying for a win each earn $500, rather than $400 for splitting the 1st- and 2nd- place prize money.
Chase Kalisz put together another massive points haul at the Arena Pro Swim Series stop in Atlanta, enough to run down up Josh Prenot for the series points lead with two stops remaining.
Kalisz went a perfect 4-for-4 in Atlanta, winning not only his native 200 IM and 400 IM but beating Sinaporean Olympic champ Joseph Schooling in the 200 fly and American Olympian Cody Miller in the 200 breast. Kalisz is closing in on $4,000 in total prize money for the series – a substantial haul considering he’s only been a pro swimmer for about two months.
Kalisz’s 20 points in Atlanta ties Daiya Seto‘s Austin haul for the biggest single-meet point tally of the series on the men’s side this season.
For the women, Melanie Margalis continues to lead, but her days appear numbered. That’s because Katie Ledecky is charging, with 33 points over the past two meets alone. (Margalis currently leads with 39). Like Kalisz, Ledecky didn’t compete in the first two stops as college season was still running, but she’s racked up enough points in the last two stops to be in position to take the lead next month in Santa Clara.
Margalis has plateaued a bit after a 19-point outing in the season opener, but she still leads all athletes male or female with 39 points and $3900 in prize money for the series.
Here’s a look at the top scorers from Atlanta and the updated tallies. The tour continues in Santa Clara next month, then concludes with U.S. Nationals in Indianapolis in June, worth double points.
TOP ATLANTA POINT-GETTERS
Women:
| RANK | ATHLETE | ATLANTA MONEY | ATLANTA POINTS |
| 1 | Katie Ledecky | $1,500 | 15 |
| 2 | Hali Flickinger | $1,100 | 11 |
| 2 | Simone Manuel | $1,100 | 11 |
| 4 | Melanie Margalis | $800 | 8 |
| 4 | Lilly King | $800 | 8 |
| 6 | Brooke Forde | $600 | 6 |
| 6 | Joanna Evans | $600 | 6 |
| 8 | Kelsi Worrell | $500 | 5 |
| 8 | Katie Meili | $500 | 5 |
| 8 | Ali DeLoof | $500 | 5 |
| 11 | Madison Kennedy | $300 | 3 |
| 11 | Erin Voss | $300 | 3 |
| 11 | Lauren Case | $300 | 3 |
| 11 | Grace Ariola | $300 | 3 |
| 11 | Hellen Moffitt | $300 | 3 |
| 11 | Miranda Tucker | $300 | 3 |
| 11 | Monika Gonzalez-Hermosilla | $300 | 3 |
| 11 | Sandrine Mainville | $300 | 3 |
| 11 | Vien Nguyen | $300 | 3 |
| 20 | Rebecca Smith | $100 | 1 |
| 20 | Cassidy Bayer | $100 | 1 |
| 20 | Claire Adams | $100 | 1 |
| 20 | Andee Cottrell | $100 | 1 |
| 20 | Bethany Galat | $100 | 1 |
| 20 | G Ryan | $100 | 1 |
| 20 | Kierra Smith | $100 | 1 |
| 20 | Melissa Postoll | $100 | 1 |
| 20 | Olivia Smoliga | $100 | 1 |
| 20 | Mallory Comerford | $100 | 1 |
| 20 | Amanda Weir | $100 | 1 |
Men:
| RANK | ATHLETE | ATLANTA POINTS | ATLANTA MONEY |
| 1 | Chase Kalisz | 20 | $2,000 |
| 2 | Park Tae Hwan | 15 | $1,500 |
| 3 | Ryan Murphy | 8 | $800 |
| 4 | Felix Auboeck | 7 | $700 |
| 4 | Ryosuke Irie | 7 | $700 |
| 6 | Jay Litherland | 6 | $600 |
| 6 | Joao de Lucca | 6 | $600 |
| 8 | Andrew Wilson | 5 | $500 |
| 8 | Blake Pieroni | 5 | $500 |
| 8 | Michael Andrew | 5 | $500 |
| 8 | Tom Shields | 5 | $500 |
| 12 | Jacob Pebley | 4 | $400 |
| 12 | Michael Chadwick | 4 | $400 |
| 12 | Nicolas Fink | 4 | $400 |
| 15 | Cody Miller | 3 | $300 |
| 15 | Jack Conger | 3 | $300 |
| 15 | Joseph Schooling | 3 | $300 |
| 18 | Grant Sanders | 1 | $100 |
| 18 | Josh Schneider | 1 | $100 |
| 18 | Marcelo Acosta | 1 | $100 |
| 18 | Marcos Lavado | 1 | $100 |
| 18 | Patrick Callan | 1 | $100 |
| 18 | Richard Funk | 1 | $100 |
| 18 | Santiago Grassi | 1 | $100 |
POINTS & PRIZE MONEY SYSTEM
Each swimmer earns points and prize money for 1st, 2nd or 3rd place finishes in individual Olympic distance events at every stop of the tour. Relays and non-Olympic events (50 fly, 50 back, 50 breast, women’s 1500 free, men’s 800 free, etc) do not count for points or money.
- 1st: $500 and 5 points
- 2nd: $300 and 3 points
- 3rd: $100 and 1 point
At Summer Nationals, those point totals will be doubled to 10, 6 and 2.
The overall point winners from the entire series for both men and women will earn $10,000 apiece, as well as a 1-year lease of a BMW car. Athletes of any nationality can earn the cash bonus, but only U.S. citizens can win the BMW. If a foreign athlete or an athlete maintaining their amateurism status wins the tour, the car will be passed on to the next eligible finisher, but if a swimmer maintaining their amateurism status wins the series, the $10,000 bonus will not be passed on to the next finisher.
*Though not addressed in the series rules, a tie appears to net each swimmer the points of the position for which they tied. For example, a tie for first gives both swimmers 5 points, instead of adding up the first and second place points (5+3=8) and splitting them between the two (for 4 apiece). This appears to be reflected in the point standings tallied by USA Swimming on its website.
POINTS & MONEY LISTS
Reminder: these lists track money earned, not necessarily money accepted. Athletes maintaining their amateurism status for high school or college swimming are restricted in how much prize money they can accept.
WOMEN’S POINTS
| RANK | ATHLETE | POINTS | MONEY | AUSTIN | INDIANAPOLIS | MESA | ATLANTA |
| 1 | Melanie Margalis | 39 | $3,900 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 8 |
| 2 | Katie Ledecky | 33 | $3,300 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 15 |
| 3 | Hali Flickinger | 29 | $2,900 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 11 |
| 4 | Simone Manuel | 23 | $2,300 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 11 |
| 5 | Mary-Sophie Harvey | 22 | $2,200 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| 6 | Kelsi Worrell | 20 | $2,000 | 0 | 5 | 10 | 5 |
| 7 | Katie Meili | 18 | $1,800 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 5 |
| 8 | Ashley Twichell | 16 | $1,600 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | Ali DeLoof | 15 | $1,500 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 10 | Hilary Caldwell | 10 | $1,000 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Breeja Larson | 9 | $900 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | Eva Merrell | 9 | $900 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 11 | Leah Smith | 9 | $900 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 11 | Zhu Menghui | 9 | $900 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Mallory Comerford | 9 | $850 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0.5 |
| 16 | Kayla Sanchez | 8 | $800 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Lilly King | 8 | $800 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 16 | Michelle Williams | 8 | $800 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Molly Hannis | 8 | $800 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | Federica Pellegrini | 7 | $700 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Madison Kennedy | 7 | $700 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| 20 | Madisyn Cox | 7 | $700 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 23 | Brooke Forde | 6 | $600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 23 | Erin Voss | 6 | $600 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 23 | Hannah Miley | 6 | $600 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Joanna Evans | 6 | $600 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 23 | Lauren Case | 6 | $600 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 23 | Amanda Weir | 6 | $550 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 |
| 29 | Chloe Tutton | 5 | $500 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Lucie Nordmann | 5 | $500 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Rebecca Smith | 5 | $500 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 29 | Sarah Gibson | 5 | $500 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Cassidy Bayer | 4 | $400 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Erica Seltenreich-Hodgson | 4 | $400 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Hannah Saiz | 4 | $400 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Kendyl Stewart | 4 | $400 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 | Abbie Wood | 3 | $300 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Danielle Hanus | 3 | $300 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Delfina Pignatiello | 3 | $300 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Grace Ariola | 3 | $300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Hannah Moore | 3 | $300 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Hellen Moffitt | 3 | $300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Jazmin Carlin | 3 | $300 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Jessica Fullalove | 3 | $300 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Ky-lee Perry | 3 | $300 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Liu Yaxin | 3 | $300 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Louise Hansson | 3 | $300 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 37 | Mie Nielsen | 3 | $300 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 37 | Miranda Tucker | 3 | $300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Monika Gonzalez-Hermosilla | 3 | $300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Sandrine Mainville | 3 | $300 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 37 | Sarah Darcel | 3 | $300 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Vien Nguyen | 3 | $300 | 0 |
So assuming Kalisz could won 4 events at every stop like he has in the last two he could make 20k, and get a car, not bad