Los Angeles (AFP) – Simone Manuel and Torri Huske closed out the Westmont Pro Swim Series with impressive victories on Saturday as seven-time Olympic gold medallist Caeleb Dressel settled for silver in the 100m freestyle.
Manuel, who shared 100m freestyle gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics but has been working her way back after a break from the sport, won the women’s 100m free in 53.35sec — her fastest 100m free time since November of 2020 putting her four-hundredths of a second in front of Huske.
Manuel notched her second win of the week after a victory in the 200m free on Thursday.
Huske, meanwhile, added the 200m medley title to the 50m free and 100m butterfly victories she posted earlier in the week.
Huske led from start to finish to win in 2min 08.83sec — becoming the eighth-fastest American ever in the event and laying down a marker with the US Olympic trials to decide the team for the Paris Games less than 100 days away.
Huske improved on her previous personal best of 2:09.10 for a comfortable win over Leah Hayes (2:10.62).
Dressel, targeting Paris after a lengthy break from the sport, won the 100m fly and the 50m free this week, but it was Jack Alexy who stormed home to win in 48.37, two-tenths of a second in front of Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Dressel.
Ryan Held was third in 48.66.
The men’s 200m medley saw Spain’s Hugo Gonzalez and American Chase Kalisz tie for the win in 1:57.76.
Gonzalez was more than half a second back heading into the final freestyle leg but stormed home to catch Kalisz.
Regan Smith, coming off an impressive 200m butterfly-100m backstroke double on Friday, won the 200m backstroke in 2:03.99 — seventh-fastest all-time.
She was more than three seconds in front of runner-up Rhyan White.
Olympic and world champion Ryan Murphy, eighth-fastest in the heats, won the men’s 100m back in 1:48.34 to complete his backstroke double.
© 2024 AFP
