World University Games: Leah Hayes and Teagan O’Dell Begin March Toward Medley Sweep in Day Five Prelims
A few days after they claimed the gold and silver medals in the 400-meter individual medley, Leah Hayes and Teagan O’Dell began their quest for a sweep of the 200 IM at the World University Games in Berlin. Prelims of the event were held on Monday morning, along with qualifying in the men’s 100 butterfly, women’s 200 freestyle, men’s 50 breaststroke, women’s 50 backstroke, men’s 800 freestyle and the mixed 400 freestyle relay.
Here is how the Day Five prelims unfolded:
Men’s 100 Butterfly
Germany’s Bjorn Kammann and Ole Mats Eidam occupied the top-two positions in the 100 fly, with Kammann turning in the only sub-52 performance of the morning. Kammann led the way in 51.94, followed by Eidam in 52.12. Poland’s Adrian Jaskiewicz was third in the morning, going 52.32. Eidam was just off the podium in the 50 fly, finishing fourth, while Kammann was seventh in that event.
Women’s 200 Freestyle
Only two women were able to break two minutes in the opening round of the 200 freestyle, and both were from the United States. Isabel Ivey (Florida) led her heat from the start and touched the wall in 1:59.23, which was a little more than a half-second clear of the 1:59.83 of Cavan Gormsen (Virginia). Ivey and Gormsen were members of Team USA’s triumphant 800 freestyle relay on Sunday night.
Men’s 50 Breaststroke
Italy has enjoyed several strong performances this summer in the 50 breaststroke, including Ludovico Viberti breaking the national record in the 50 breaststroke. That momentum was carried forward by Federico Rizzardi, who posted the quickest time of prelims by a sizable margin, going 27.13. Great Britain’s Archie Goodburn followed in 27.41 while American Nate Germonprez (Texas) and Japan’s Reo Okura tied for third in 27.51.
Women’s 50 Backstroke
The United States will try to make it a sweep of the backstroke events, as Leah Shackley (200 back) and Kennedy Noble (100 back) have already earned gold medals in Berlin. In the heats of the 50 backstroke, Shackley (North Carolina State) topped the field with a time of 28.03, while Noble (North Carolina State) recorded a mark of 28.20. In between the Americans was South African Olivia Nel, who went 28.19.
Women’s 200 Individual Medley
Coming off a dominant victory in the 400 individual medley, the United States’ Leah Hayes (Virginia) made a statement in the prelims of the 200 medley, as her time of 2:10.71 was more than two seconds faster than the No. 2 time of countrywoman Teagan O’Dell (Cal), who covered her four laps in 2:13.10. O’Dell was the silver medalist in the 200 IM and is moving toward her second trip to the medals stand. Canada’s Ashley McMillan was third in 2:14.86.
Men’s 800 Freestyle
Only 11 men took to the water for the prelims of the 800 freestyle, but Italy’s Tommaso Griffante still pushed the pace during his swim, clocking a 7:55.78 for Tuesday night’s final. Aleksandr Stepanov (Independent Athletes) was next in 8:00.75. The top five times came from the second of two heats while American Ryan Erisman (Cal) won the opening heat and qualified sixth in 8:02.81.
Mixed 400 Freestyle Relay
The United States easily delivered the fastest time of the session in the mixed 400 freestyle relay as the foursome of Owen McDonald, Mitchell Schott, Caroline Larsen and Julia Dennis combined for a swim of 3:26.13. Schott turned in a 48.05 split on the second leg as the Americans were less than a second off the meet record held by China at 3:25.38.
