Updated with splits
2019 MEL ZAJAC JR. INTERNATIONAL MEET
- May 24-26, 2019
- Vancouver, Canada (University of British Columbia)
- LCM (50m)
- Meet website
- Estimated timeline
- Psych sheet
- Live Stream
- Live Results
After having earned four personal bests thus far at the 2019 Mel Zajac Jr. International Meet, DART Swimming’s Luca Urlando has done it again: earning yet another lifetime best of 1:54.35. That time shatters the 17-year-old’s previous best time of 1:55.21, which was achieved at the 2018 Phillips 66 National Championships, by almost a full second.
Here’s a comparison of the splits from Urlando’s previous and current lifetime best performances:
|
Urlando – Mel Zajac
|
Urlando – Summer Nats
|
|
| 1st 50 split | 26.05 | 25.79 |
| 2nd 50 split | 28.45 | 28.98 |
| 3rd 50 split | 29.43 | 30.04 |
| 4th 50 split | 30.42 | 30.4 |
| FINAL TIME: | 1:54.35 *New PB* | 1:55.21 Old PB |
Not only did he obliterate the meet record of 1:58.12, which was established by the University of Calgary’s Adam Sioui in 2008, but that time is also the third fastest time in the world this year. His 1:55.76 from the 2019 Speedo Sectionals – College Station meet rendered him currently ranked sixth, which made him the fastest American in the world this year. As of right now, the second fastest American in the world is Caeleb Dressel, who out of nowhere posted a 1:56.29 at the 2019 Atlanta Classic.
With the times he’s been throwing down combined with a rapid rate of improvement, Urlando has established himself as a primary contender for a 2020 Olympic bid, particularly in the 200 fly. If he had swam that exact time, Urlando would have won this event at the 2016 US Olympic Trials, beating out both Michael Phelps‘s 1:54.84 for first, as well as Tom Shields‘s 1:55.81 for second.
Additionally, given that Urlando will be competing at the 2019 FINA World Junior Championships in late August, there’s a possibility that he currently isn’t fully rested. Perhaps in a few months he could close the gap between him and Phelps’s 17-18 NAG of 1:53.93 from 2003, which was also a new world record at the time.
2018-2019 LCM MEN 200 FLY
MILAK
1.53.19
| 2 | TAMAS KENDERESI |
HUN | 1.53.42 | 03/27 |
| 3 | DAIYA SETO |
JPN | 1.54.44 | 04/05 |
| 4 | FEDERICO BURDISSO |
ITA | 1.54.64 | 04/02 |
| 5 | MASATO SAKAI |
JPN | 1:55.40 | 05/11 |
The hero we needed
A bit out of context, but is he first generation American? Both his name and family name sound very much Italian.
yeah, from his dad’s family tree
Thx
it could come from Argentinian origin ( lots of italians migrated there at one point ) with that name …
True, but after two migrations, sticking to the old country’s names would be unusual
Dang, he’d beat Dressel by over a body length, and we all know Dressel’s 200 fly was a legendary swim. Some had Dressel breaking the WR soon.
MA can’t beat Grant Hackett in the 1500, I guess he sucks.
We had almost forgotten how AWFUL your Dressel-2fly takes were last week. Thank you for reminding us.
The whole DART team definitely rested and shaved. How much rest, couldn’t quite tell ya.
Video?
Every fast swimmer should wear a cap that says “tapered” or “not tapered.”
If only we could develop a test to validate. Maybe some kind of blood test that measures lactate levels?
And of course, we’d have to also give suspensions for athletes who taper before the Olympic Games.
Russia’s response
Is it not the biggest question though? Just looking for a Y or N. Either way the news is fun.
I still don’t understand how even the younger kids pull swims like this off several times a year. The kids I coach do it, even as a coach I don’t get how they do it. Reminiscing on my career where I could pull off one or two decent swims a year (as a 18 year old) makes me shake my head at these kids that are good in so many different events in different meets throughout the year
In NorCal Luca is insane but Andrei Minakov is chilling somewhere in Concord or Russia (wherever he is) saying “hold my butterfly… Read more »
This helps show how great Phelps was.
Never thought of that before. Thanks.
lol😅
Something tells me this kid doesn’t train USRPT….
I think his 24.1 50 fly told you that.
I’d take a 1:54 low 200 fly if it meant I could only go 24.1 in the 50