2024 NOVA SPEEDO GRAND CHALLENGE
After a lightning-fast weekend of racing in Irvine — a final tune-up for many forward of Olympic Trials subsequent month — we needed to take a crack at a subjective top-10 rankings from the 2024 Speedo Grand Problem.
10. Leon Marchand – 59.06 100 breast
The 22-year-old French celebrity kicked off his weekend with a win within the 100 breaststroke, posting a personal-best 59.06 to take down his personal meet file from prelims (1:00.62). On Friday morning, Marchand snuck underneath the outdated meet customary of 1:00.63 set by four-time Olympic champion Kosuke Kitajima again in 2010.
Earlier than Friday, Marchand’s greatest time stood at 1:01.02 from the 2023 French Elite Championships. The Longhorn Aquatics professional now ranks eighth on the earth this season.
9. Hubert Kos – 1:56.46 200 again
The 21-year-old Hungarian claimed the 200 again crown in 1:56.46, a pair seconds off his greatest time from his 2023 world title (1:54.14). Though he was half a second off his season-best 1:55.95 from December, Kos nonetheless impressed with a time that might have finaled on the final Olympics in Tokyo. The NCAA runner-up additionally triumphed within the 100 again with a time of 53.81, inside a second of his personal-best 53.08 from final month.
8. Simone Manuel – 1:57.03 200 free
Sure, on paper, Manuel’s runner-up end in Saturday’s 200 free tremendous ultimate was not as quick as coaching mate Paige Madden‘s victory in 1:57.00. However we discovered extra from Manuel’s swim as her time of 1:57.03 broke her into the highest 30 rankings globally this season, leapfrogging Erin Gemmell because the fourth-fastest American behind Madden (1:57.00), Anna Peplowski (1:56.99), and Katie Ledecky (1:54.97). That makes her a robust contender to qualify for the U.S. girls’s 4×200 free relay subsequent month in Indianapolis. Madden, in the meantime, was already the third-fastest American within the 200 free this season.
7. David Johnston – 3:48.06 400 free
Johnston crushed a 15-year-old meet file held by Tunisian Olympic champion Ous Mellouli (3:49.74) together with his victory in 3:48.06, barely outdueling The Swim Staff coaching associate Marwan Elkamash (3:48.21) in a good end.
It’s an encouraging signal for Johnston forward of subsequent month’s U.S. Olympic Trials. The 22-year-old owns a season-best 3:46.99 from the 2024 World Championships in February, rating him twenty third on the earth this season and 2nd amongst Individuals behind Kieran Smith (3:46.80).
6. Paige Madden – 4:03.02 400 free
Madden lowered her 400 free meet file from prelims with a personal-best 4:03.02 on Friday evening, 5 seconds away from Sandpipers 18-year-old Katie Grimes (4:08.21). The 25-year-old College of Virginia graduate shaved virtually a second off her previous-best 4:03.98 from the Tokyo 2021 Olympics in 2021, the place she finally positioned sixth within the ultimate (4:06.81).
Earlier than Friday, the meet file stood at 4:07.96 by Jeanne Jackson from manner again in 2005.
Madden now ranks ninth on the earth within the 400 free this season and 2nd amongst Individuals behind solely Katie Ledecky (3:59.44). She additionally gained the 200 free in a season-best 1:57.00, placing her twenty fifth on the earth this season and third amongst Individuals behind Anna Peplowski (1:56.99) and Katie Ledecky (1:54.97)
5. Regan Smith – 56.26 100 fly
Smith cruised to a dominant 100 fly victory in a lifetime better of 56.26 on Saturday evening, dropping a tenth off her previous-best 56.36 from March. The 22-year-old Longhorn Aquatics standout stays the fifth-fastest performer on the earth thus far this season behind Gretchen Walsh (56.14), Angelina Kohler (56.11), Zhang Yufei (55.86), and Torri Huske (55.68).
4. Simone Manuel – 53.10 100 free
Manuel erased her personal 100 free meet file from prelims (54.08) with a profitable time of 53.10 on Sunday evening— her quickest since her personal-best 52.04 on the 2019 World Championships.
The 27-year-old Longhorn Aquatics veteran now ranks eleventh globally within the 100 free this season and third amongst American girls, simply forward of Gretchen Walsh (53.17) and behind Torri Huske (53.08) and Kate Douglass (52.98). After battling overtraining syndrome within the lead-up to Tokyo a number of years in the past, Manuel is again on the high of her recreation and in nice form to make her third U.S. Olympic group this summer season.
Since her comeback underneath Bob Bowman, Manuel has steadily dropped her season-best 100 free time down from 54.21 final summer season to 53.65 in December to 53.35 in March and 53.25 final month.
3. Gabi Brito – 25.71 50 free
The Seaside Cities Swimming 13-year-old positioned third within the 50 free on Friday evening with a personal-best 25.71. Brito reached the wall behind latest USC graduate Caroline Well-known (25.58) and 27-year-old Olympic champion Simone Manuel (24.69), however forward of latest USC graduate and Ecuadorian Olympian Anicka Delgado (25.81).
Brito turned the quickest 13-year-old within the U.S. ever, sitting simply forward of Kate Douglass’s 25.80 from 2015. She’s additionally tied for the twelfth within the U.S. ladies’ 13-14 nationwide age group (NAG) rankings, and simply .02 seconds shy of the U.S. Olympic Trials lower (25.69).
2. Leon Marchand – 1:55.74 200 IM
Marchand captured the 200 IM on Friday evening with a meet file of 1:55.74, the fourth-fastest time of his profession and the second-fastest on the earth this season behind Wang Shun‘s 1:54.62 from final September. What made the victory so spectacular was that it got here quickly after his lifetime greatest within the 100 breast (59.06) earlier within the session. The 400 IM world file holder has been as quick as 1:54.82 en path to his second consecutive world title final summer season.
-
Regan Smith – 57.51 100 again
Numerous meet data and lifelong bests have been set over the weekend, however just one American file was damaged courtesy of the red-hot Smith. She lowered her personal American customary of 57.57 from the 2019 World Championships whereas additionally taking down her U.S. Open file from March (57.64). Smith stays the second-fastest 100 backstroker on the earth this season behind solely Australian world file holder Kaylee McKeown (57.33 final October).
