WATCH: Andrew Hits 50.80 100 Fly, Bacon & Smith Duel In 200 Back At Indy PSS

2021 PRO SWIM SERIES – INDIANAPOLIS (#4)

The penultimate night of finals from the Indianapolis Pro Swim was chock-full of exciting races, headlined by a record-setting swim from Michael Andrew in the men’s 100 fly and an epic head-to-head duel between Phoebe Bacon and Regan Smith in the women’s 200 back.

Andrew took over a half-second off his personal best time to win the 100 fly in 50.80, lowering Caeleb Dressel‘s Pro Swim Series Record of 50.92 and becoming the second-fastest man in the world this season. Read more on Andrew’s swim here.

You can watch Friday night’s 100 fly final below, courtesy of USA Swimming on Twitter:

In the women’s 200 back, Bacon and Smith battled stroke-for-stroke for the entire race, with Bacon nipping Smith at the wall by .06 in 2:06.84. The time marks a massive personal best for Bacon, who had taken her PB down from 2:08.82 to 2:08.34 in the prelims.

Bacon and Smith (2:06.90) now rank third and fourth in the world this season, respectively.

You can watch their duel below:

For a full recap of Thursday night’s action from Indianapolis, click here.

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Anon
3 years ago

USRPT does not place an emphasis on kicking – no board kicking. Here is Dr. Rushall on Dana Vollmer in the FL:

“Do the legs and hips need to travel so far vertically when those movements only create drag resistance? Would the swimmer benefit more from a smaller kick and hip action which would increase streamline, reduce drag, and place the swimmer closer to the surface?”

So MA’s kick is in line with those principles.

Ol' Longhorn
3 years ago

One thing I noticed, which I hope will help on his 2 IM (where I’ve harped on it before), he took his first breath after 2 strokes off the start, then settled into an every other rhythm. A lot of times, especially in the 2 IM for some reason, he’ll forget to breathe for the first half-length, and it costs him at the end. If he’s actually learned air management, he’ll improve a lot on his free leg. Same with his very long extended cross-over turns — that’s a lot of breath-holding sighting the wall and going into an underwater pull. The best don’t seem to take that long stroke to sight the wall.

GrameziPT
3 years ago

Very impressive from andrew. Kind of feel (based on the footage) that is legkicks during the race are not that strong. Even comparing with the other racers. It’s scary to think that if he add a powerful legkick like Dressel, we could be talking about another American swimming a 49

There's no doubt that he's tightening up
Reply to  GrameziPT
3 years ago

One does not simply add a powerful leg kick.

Louiggi
3 years ago

These are great am and pm single session race times.
Guess he’s aiming for:
50 breast 3x
100 breast 3x
50 fly 3x
100 fly 3x
50 free 3x
100 free 3x
50 back 3x
Relays…?!
Tokyo 8day schedule should sit well.
…Hope the capacity is there.

Mclovin
Reply to  Louiggi
3 years ago

Dude wtf

CasualSwimmer
Reply to  Louiggi
3 years ago

The famous olympic 50 breast, 50 fly and 50 back !

25Backstroke
Reply to  Louiggi
3 years ago

Can’t tell if troll comment or just dumb. He doesn’t swim 100 Free, there are no 50s at the Olympics, and he’s shown he can take swimming Prelims, Semis, and Finals just fine.

Scotty P
3 years ago

Casually scrolling through SwimSwam before bed , saw this and was like….wooooaaaahhhh

Oh my
3 years ago

50.80 with no kick. Amazing swim but imagine how quick MA would be if he had a butterfly kick.

PFA
3 years ago

Such an insane week of swimming Michael Andrew with these best times, Kaylee Mckewon with a new LTB in both the 100 & 200 back and .06 off the world record in the 100 and now Claire Curzan with a new WJR in the 50 free 24.16 #2, or 3 in the world this year and #3 American all time.

MX4x50relay
Reply to  PFA
3 years ago

24.16 50 free? Did I miss something

Coach Mike 1952
Reply to  PFA
3 years ago

Nothing online about a 24.16 anywhere. Where did you see / hear about this?

Coach Mike 1952
Reply to  Coach Mike 1952
3 years ago

It’s now official, but this comment was written > 12 hours ago when no one had official sources folks & nobody replied either! So take it easy.

About James Sutherland

James Sutherland

James swam five years at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, specializing in the 200 free, back and IM. He finished up his collegiate swimming career in 2018, graduating with a bachelor's degree in economics. In 2019 he completed his graduate degree in sports journalism. Prior to going to Laurentian, James swam …

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