26TH INTERNATIONAL MEETING USTER
- February 3rd & 4th
- Indoor Pool Buchholz, Uster, Switzerland
- LCM
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- Day 1 Recap
- Live Results
Yesterday the spectators at the Indoor Pool Buchholz in Uster Switzerland were treated to an impressive performance by Canada’s Kylie Masse, where the world record holder clocked the 2nd fastest 200m backstroke time in the world this season in 2:07.47. The 22-year-old brought the heat on day 2, giving the crowd something to behold with her 58.54 gold medal-garnering effort in the 100m backstroke sprint.
Splitting 28.58/29.96, Masse stopped the clock at 58.54 to fall within .44 of her own world record mark of 58.10 set at last year’s World Championships. The Canadian had already earned a new meet record this morning with her prelim swim of 59.37, representing the only swimmer to venture into sub-minute territory entering tonight’s final.
With her wicked-fast performance this evening, Masse scorched her season-best of 59.38 from January and rocketed up to #1 in the world rankings as the only swimmer in the world under 59 seconds. As the world record holder, Masse was already a favorite to take Commonwealth Games gold in the event ahead of Aussies Emily Seebohm and Kaylee McKeown and others, but a shiny new WR mark may now enter the conversation as a possibility come April.
2017-2018 LCM WOMEN 100 BACK
BAKER
58.00*WR
View Top 26»2 Kylie
MASSECAN 58.54 02/04 3 Emily
SEEBOHMAUS 58.66 04/07 4 Olivia
SMOLIGAUSA 58.75 07/28 5 Regan
SMITHUSA 58.83*WJR 07/28
Thoroughbred sprinter Ben Proud of Great Britain did major damage in the men’s 50m freestyle, firing off a super quick time of 21.52 for the victory in Uster tonight. That time would have placed 6th in the final in Budapest last year, a race in which the Energy Standard swimmer placed 3rd in 21.43. Proud’s personal best rests at the 21.32 he collected at 2017 British Championships.
Tonight’s result distances Proud even more ahead of his hunters as the #1 fastest swimmer in the world this season, a very good place to be just weeks out from the Commonwealth Games.
2017-2018 LCM MEN 50 FREE
PROUD
21.11
| 2 | Bruno FRATUS | BRA | 21.35 | 04/21 |
| 3 | Andrea VERGANI | ITA | 21.37 | 08/08 |
| 4 | Kristian GKOLOMEEV | GRE | 21.44 | 08/09 |
| 4 | Vladimir MOROZOV | RUS | 21.44 | 08/08 |
A battle between Hungarian teammates in yesterday’s 200m fly saw the young World Junior record holder Kristof Milak come out ahead of his veteran countryman Laszlo Cseh. But, the tables were turned tonight, with Cseh finishing with the gold in 52.58 ahead of Milak’s 52.63. Cseh was 52.51 in Luxembourg last month, while Milak had yet to contest the event this year. Both men are positioned within the world’s top 10 to this point in the season.
Canada’s Penny Oleksiak made some magic in the women’s 200m freestyle, cranking out a solid time of 1:57.79 to easily take the gold as the only swimmer of the field to venture into sub-2 minute territory. In fact, her outing tonight checks in as the 17-year-old’s 2nd fastest of her career, falling just .2 shy of her own 1:57.59.
With her effort tonight, Oleksiak sits just outside the world’s top 10 in the event, a list which includes Canadian teen teammate Taylor Ruck occupying the 6th spot. Against the likes of Aussies Emma McKeon and Ariarne Titmus, Oleksiak’s progression in this distance sheds positive light on the Canadians’ 4x200m free relay chanced in the Gold Coast.
2017-2018 LCM WOMEN 200 FREE
RUCK
1.54.44
| 2 | Katie LEDECKY | USA | 1.54.56 | 06/08 |
| 3 | Rikako IKEE | JPN | 1.54.85 | 08/09 |
| 3 | Ariarne TITMUS | AUS | 1.54.85 | 04/05 |
| 5 | Charlotte BONNET | FRA | 1.54.95 | 08/06 |
Oleksiak also won the women’s 100m butterfly in 58.05 over Italy’s Elena Di Liddo‘s mark of 58.11. Both women surpassed the old meet record of 59.16.
Additional Winners on the Day:
- French swimmer Marie Wattel was tonight’s 50m freestyle winner for the women, taking the race in 25.15, a new meet record. Oleksiak finished in 25.58 for silver.
- Britain’s Daniel Cross earned a new meet record, winning the men’s 100m back in 55.50.
- Both of Britain’s breaststrokers took home 2 golds on the night, with Jocelyn Ulyett and Andrew Willis each winning their respective 50m and 200m breaststroke events. Ulyett topped the women’s sprint in 31.59 and clocked 2:29.84 to win the 200m distance. For Willis, he edged the field with a mark of 29.16, while adding gold to his kitty with his 200m time of 2:15.41.
- Portugal’s Victoria Kaminskaya was this evening’s 400m IM winner, notching a new meet record of 4:46.48. Hungary’s Benjamin Gratz took the men’s edition of the race in 4:22.84.
- Hungary’s Nandor Nemeth was victorious in the men’s 200m freestyle, nabbing the win in a modest 1:50.02. Milak was well out of the race, finishing 7th in the B final in 1:54.11 perhaps as a warm-up for the 100m fly
Kylie is looking very good, Her clashes with Seebohm and others will be great to watch! Canadas sprinters also looking very good, again the clashes with the Aussies will be mouthwatering and fast!
Yup, I’m looking forward to CG’s…and Proud is a refreshing male sprint watch for this meet as well. Masse is all business and a great role model for young Canuck gals.
PS— those dissing Comm. Games will miss several World Records and Nat records. I also think the Aussie women can take the 400 fr relay record down further. I think Bronte should only swim Relays. Ruck will break Oleksiak’s 100 free NR.
Jesus! Masse means business. So much can happen between now and Tokyo but what a warning shot to everyone! I wonder if she can go 2:04.
If she does it it will be the final nail in the coffin of Franklin’s legacy. If to forget about this “class act” blah-blah-blah stuff and the huge number of relay medals then as an individual performer she had only one outstanding result. That is her 200 backstroke already six years old unreachable world record.
I agree, if that WR goes down far enough and soon enough, I can see Franklin being easily forgotten in swim history, with some defending against fluke status for years to come.
Impressive her 200 back yesterday.
She’s improving her endurance and, with her speed, swimming (tapered) a 60″ flat at 100m is plausible. Then two 32″..
If not this season, certainly within 2020.
I wouldn’t say certainly. Only one woman has been under 2:05.6 textile- Missy (2:05.1/2:04.7/2:04.0) and only three women have been under 2:05 and two of them (2:04.9 and 2:04.8 were done in the suit era). Masse’s current PB is 2:05.97, done in semis. She needs to show she can really swim a 2:05 and swim it when it matters before you can think about 2:04, and even then it’s a far cry from Missy’s WR. A lot of people seem to forget just how dominate 2012/2013 Missy way. Her 200 Back WR is 1.6 seconds faster than the next best textile performer ever. Could Masse do it? Maybe, but at this point I see it as unlikely because Missy’s 200… Read more »
No doubt that also drawing near Franklin’s 200 back WR is a difficult task. I remind well Missy in her golden period: the 200 back was her “bread and butter event”: she was incredible in her capability to swimming fast during all the 200m (northeless subpar turns).
And i thought that her fantastic WR would have been a stepping-stone for years: but now there are great, young swimmers (beside Masse, Regan Smith, Kaylee McKeown and the 14 year-old Chinese Xuwei Peng) with incredible talent, so that also swimming 2.04 low will be a possible target
I would also just highlight that Masse last year was focusing on the 100Bk WR and seemed to swim the 200 simply because it was an extension of her backstroke training, still resulting in a 2:05 high. Her training this year has shown results in a wider range of events: notably the 400 Free – were she went a 4:06 SC un-tapered and early in the year with heavy training; indicating a slight more emphasis on endurance. Applying that to her 200 Back in conjunction with her already steep improvement rate, I think it isn’t absurd to believe she has the capability of breaking Missy’s WR.
I would love to see a 2:04 from Seebohm this year. She’s healthy, strong, and riding a wave of confidence after Budapest. It’s her time.
Interesting meet indeed, with Kylie Masse superstar: 27.84 in the 50 back, approximately the same time swum last year, but huge improvements in 100 back with 58.54 (last year 59.37) and in 200 back with 2.07.47 (last year 2.10.35).
Also Penny Oleksiak on the right track: 53.94 in the 100 free and 26.11 in 50 fly in the first day, and then three races in the second day with a 1.57.79 in 200 free with a fast first half (56.23 at 100m), a hard-fought win in 100 fly (58.05 to overcome Elena Di Liddo in the last 10 metres) and a good 25.38 in the 50 free.
Benjamin Proud simply explosive, with a great self-confidence (he wore his… Read more »
To put her 200 swim into perspective, she split 1:54.94 on the Olympic relay.
Yes. She was an enthusiastic 16 year-old in a great “swimming momentum”.
Then, in 2017, a troubled season hampered by some injuries (she was absent at the Usa meetings).
At the end of the season, the decision to leave HPC and coach Titley to train with her previous coach, at Toronto Swim Club.
At CG and Panpacs we’ll see how Oleksiak will perform: good impression watching her fast-splitting the 200 free today (56.2 at 100m) northeless the workload she (and every swimmer) is having in this period.
I’m more excited by 1:57 here than 53.9.
53.9 – 52.7 = 1.2
1:55.4* – 1:57.6 = 2.2
I’d love to see Masse take a crack at the 100 Fly; She was a 57 SC a couple years ago (before her breakthrough and was arguably more a Flyer than a BackStroker) and has no doubt improved overall as a swimmer. She would probably be competitive internationally in the low 57 range LC, maybe 56’s?
If Ledecky and Sjostrom give up on making another step forward at 200 free then this event after being for the last eight years the most intriguing and the most developing one will go back into obscurity of dark ages. We have witnessed the bouquet of brightest names who enriched the sport with unforgettable races – Pellegrini (1:52.9), Muffat (1:54.6), Schmitt (1:53.6), Franklin (1:54.8), Sjostrom’s (1:54.0), Ledecky (1:53.7)
Don’t see who can take the baton to continue this relay.
I don’t think Ledecky is done with her leg and by the time she is, there will probably be some young new star ready to make her mark. Or maybe Missy will make a huge come back, unlikely, but definitely not out of the question.
200 free WR is steadily the 1.52.9 swum in 2009 by Pellegrini, so I don’t think that women’s 200 free has been the most developing distance in the last 8 years..
At London 2012 Allison Schmitt swam a great 200 free (London was the Olympics of “pure 200 freers” with also Agnel on the men’s side), and she had the swimming characteristics to give a run at WR.
Ledecky is an incredible mid-distance swimmer, winning also in the 200 free because..too strong.
So, the situation now sees Ledecky as the clear front-runner with, in my opinion, Ariarne Titmus and Taylor Ruck as the most promising among the “millenials” (also the young Chinese swimmers to consider). Emma McKeon for a medal.
The only reason for me whinging is that people call1:58-1:57 time a promising one. What do they expect after tapering? 1:56, 1:55 high. It will be probably enough to medal but it doesn’t make me excited.
High-tech suits’ performance improvement effect can be estimated as 1.5 – 2%. If it is so in Pellegrini’s case then in 2009 she was in 1:55.2 – 1.54.8 range should she swim in textile suit. Only she and her coach knew that for sure. Now only she does and she never made this information public and never will. I’ll do the same should I be Pellegrini.
So I think you are not fair talking about the absence of strong development in W200free.
Pellegrini was in her peak shape in 2009, regardless of suit. I say 1:54.1, on par with Sjostrom’s best.
I reckon Schmitt’s London swim is the real WR, with Ledecky coming dangerously close in Rio. Sjostrom and Pellegrini are similar best all times relatively, but Pellegrini is the undisputed GOAT of the event due to consistency and longevity.
Yes, Pellegrini’s swimming career deserves standing ovations. But whenever we come to the “GOAT” classification then it could be different opinions because it is all a matter of taste. If you look for example who was the most consistent and reliable top times (under 1:54.5) swimmer then the answer is: Sarah Sjostrom. If you ask me who demonstrated the best performance, techniques and splits then it will be 2012 Olympic race by Allison Schmitt (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b3YgUGhMTB4 ) . If we are talking about the most aggressive swimmer in this event then I will choose Katie Ledecky. If to consider who is the most dangerous and the most respectful opponent who never gives up then it is great Federica Pellegrini.
The main problem of high-tech suits was that their performance improvement effect was different (also very different) for different swimmers.
Completely agree with Tammy (great comment) that Pellegrini in 2009 was in her peak shape (still Castagnetti as a coach, Worlds in Italy and the strong desire to sweep 200 and 400 free like didn’t happen at Beijing2008) so probably (impossible to have certainties) she would have been swimming better, perhaps far better than 1.55.0 (your medium prediction).without tech suits.
After the death of Castagnetti (great coach and man, Rip) at the end of 2009, Pellegrini had a difficult period to regain that 2009 ideal (technical and human) conditions.
We can only guess. What makes you to think that she peaked in 2009. 19 years old is not necessarily the age when middle distance swimmers who come from the sprint side are peaking. End even if she was in her best physical conditions it may not necessarily coincided with her best technique and experience of how to approach this race. If you analyze her splits in 2009 and later and especially her progress in 2009 you may come to the same conclusion that I did: she was that type of swimmer who benefited in great deal from high-tech suits. Her post 2009 career and fast departure from 400 free shows that she matured as a sprinter type swimmer who… Read more »
1) Pellegrini was born in 1988 (5 August), so she was 21, not 19, at Worlds2009
2) I’m Italian and I know pretty well Pellegrini’s career. Briefly I tried to write some significant facts happened just after Worlds2009 that had a negative impact on her.
3) What, in the end, matters are the results, not our conjectures. Everyone has his point of view..::all right, long live to different opinions!
You are right. Peace. You should mention beforehand that she is your compatriot. She is a great swimmer and at the end … who cares about technical details.
For now, Emma McKeon… Ruck, Oleksiak? For later, Claire Tuggle all the way!!!
I honestly think Tuggle will break 2:00 this summer.
Masse going 57 this year
You could almost say the only question is when. Will she do it at the Commonwealth Games, the Pan Pacific Games, or both?
Those 2 Big Meets will be very exciting to follow , no doubt about it .
58.54 made my eyes bulge – Very, very difficult to see Masse losing a 100bk race at world level right now. What a brilliant advert for perseverance too; This is what can happen if you keep working hard and let your body mature at its own pace kids.
Ben Proud looks utterly fantastic; Just as impressive as Masse at this meet. If anything, his start has improved from last year. It really caught my eye that this year he is hitting the water a foot or two further into the pool than those around him, similar to Dressel last year. A big swim is coming up in April.
If you look race footage, Proud always looks like he’s doing that against most of his competition. That’s why it was generally accepted he had the best start in the world. It wasn’t until Budapest where we saw Dressel hit the water even a bit ahead of Proud that we could see the difference in their starts.
No doubt, but Proud has improved both visually and on the scoreboard this year. He has a very good chance of revising his PB (21.32) either at commies or Europeans this summer.