2024 PRO SWIM SERIES – WESTMONT
- March 6-9, 2024
- FMC Natatorium – Westmont, Illinois
- LCM (50 meters)
- Start Times
- All Prelims: 9 a.m. (Central Time)
- Thurs.-Sat. Finals: 6 p.m. (Central Time)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- How To Watch
- Live Results
- Results also available via Meet Mobile: “2024 TYR Pro Swim Series – Westmont”
- Day 1 Finals Live Recap
- Day 2 Prelims Live Recap | Day 2 Finals Live Recap
American swimmer Torri Huske is taking big advantage of her NCAA redshirt season, posting a 56.13 in the 100 fly on Thursday at the Pro Swim Series stop in Westmont, Illinois.
That’s her best time since winning the 2022 World Championship in 55.64, the best time she’s ever been outside of a national or international championship meet, and the 5th-best time of her career. It also broke the Pro Swim Series Record in the event.
Splits Comparison, Huske’s best times:
Meet | 1st 50 | 2nd 50 | Total Time |
2022 Worlds | 25.72 | 29.92 | 55.64 |
2021 Olympic Trials Final | 25.65 | 30.01 | 55.66 |
2021 Olympic Final | 25.84 | 29.89 | 55.73 |
2021 Olympic Trials Semi | 25.96 | 29.82 | 55.78 |
2024 PSS Westmont | 26.03 | 30.10 | 56.13 |
What’s encouraging here for Huske is the closing split of 30.10. Even when she’s not at her best, her opening speed, the strength of her race, remains strong. But hold off the likes of Regan Smith (more on that soon), she needs to be good on the back-half.
At last year’s Worlds, for example, she opened in 26.04, which was basically a dead-heat with Zhang Yufei (the eventual winner), but a closing 30.57 split faded her to bronze.
Smith, meanwhile, swam a 56.36 for 2nd place on Thursday, splitting 26.83 and closing in 29.53. Nobody at last year’s World Championships closed better than 30.09 (Zhang).
For Smith, that swim is a lifetime best, .24 seconds faster than she did almost exactly a year ago at the Pro Swim Series in Fort Lauderdale (56.60). Under normal circumstances, that would be a thrill – but the goal for Smith and her coach Bob Bowman this year was to change the pattern of last year, where she couldn’t match her electric spring times in the summer.
This is Smith’s first 100 fly other than an October exhibition swim during an Arizona State dual meet.
Huske’s swim is the 38th-best performance of all-time while Smith’s is the 73rd-best performance of all-time.
The two now rank 2nd and 3rd, respectively, in the world this year (Huske swam 56.21 at the US Open in December).
2023-2024 LCM Women 100 Fly
WALSH
55.18 WR
2 | Torri HUSKE | USA | 55.52 | 06/16 |
3 | Regan SMITH | USA | 55.62 | 06/16 |
4 | Yufei ZHANG | CHN | 55.86 | 09/27 |
5 | Angelina KOHLER | GER | 56.11 | 02/11 |
Two seasons ago, Smith and Huske were teammates on the varsity team at Stanford, and along with Claire Curzan, they were capable of putting together some of the nastiest relays the NCAA has ever seen.
But all three have taken different paths toward this summer’s Olympic Trials. Smith turned pro and moved to Tempe to train at Arizona State. Curzan took the year off and transferred to Virginia for fresh training and wound up swimming at the World Championships and performing very well. Huske stayed at Stanford, but redshirted the collegiate season, and the results on Thursday were clear.
Three swimmers with a common thread, all choosing very different paths, but with one thing in common: they’ve all sat out this collegiate season for which they were eligible. And it’s all going to come to a head (throw in Gretchen Walsh and Kate Douglass for good measure) in Indianapolis.