FLORIDA SWIMMING OT QUALIFIER
- Saturday, February 15 – Monday, February 17
- Orlando, FL
- Long Course Meters
- 2020 Olympic Trials Cuts
- Live Results (meet mobile, search “Orlando”)
World Champion Caeleb Dressel swam to a 50 free win on night 2 of the 2020 Florida Swimming OT Qualifier. Dressel raced to a 22.04, exactly 1 second off his American Record from 2019 Worlds. That ties as his 3rd fastest ever in-season swim. Notably, Dressel also swam the 400 free, an event we don’t typically see him in. He won the B final in 4:00.06, dropping 7 seconds from his lifetime best set back in 2012 when he was still in high school. Dressel made a significant drop on his last 100, going from a 1:02.07 on the 3rd 100 to a 58.74 closing split.
Teammate Ryan Lochte had swum a 4:08.14 in the 400 free prelims, but didn’t swim the race in finals. His only swim tonight was the 100 back, in which he placed 2nd in 56.20 behind fellow Florida postgrad Bayley Main (55.74). Main was just 5 hundredths off his best, which stands at a 55.69 from 2017 per the USA Swimming database. Canada’s reigning Olympic bronze medalist Kylie Masse dominated the women’s 100 back in 59.74. That’s the 4th fastest time in the world this year.
We saw a Pac-12 Champion and SEC Champion battle in the men’s 400 free final. Gator Swim Club’s True Sweetser, who is currently taking a redshirt year from Stanford, held off Mitch D’Arrigo on the final 50. Sweetser touched just 2 hundredths ahead in 3:55.22.
Laker Swim’s 14-year-old Addison Reese made a huge drop in the 200 fly, breaking 2:18 for the first time in 2:15.84. That was a best by over 2 seconds and she’s now just over a second away from the trials cut. Taking 2nd in that race was Sarasota’s Emma Weyant in 2:16.23. Her finals time beat her former best from last month’s Knoxville Pro Swim Series by 2 seconds, though she had already swum a 2:16.92 in prelims.
Weyant came back to win the 400 free, posting a 4:12.01. Behind her, 14-year-old teammate Addison Sauickie qualified for Olympic Trials in 4:15.56. She had never broken 4:20 before this meet. Emma’s younger sister Gracie Weyant, 14, had already qualified for Olympic Trials in the 200 breast. She’s now even further under the mark, swimming a lifetime best 2:31.70 to win the race.
Episcopal’s Jace Crawford was within a few tenths of his best as he won the 200 fly in 2:02.14. T2’s Mason Laur (2:02.53) was a close 2nd. Bolles’ Martin Espernberger made a massive drop today, lowering his best by nearly 4 seconds to take bronze in 2:03.19.