Bobby Finke recorded the fastest men’s 1,500-meter freestyle time ever on American soil as part of USA Swimming’s Phillips 66 National Championships in Indianapolis on Tuesday.
Finke, who won gold in the event in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (held in 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic), finished with a time of 14:42.81 on Tuesday to take first and set a U.S. Open record. It took Finke 29.14 seconds to complete the final 50 meters.
Charlie Clark came in at second, 8.03 seconds behind Finke. Will Gallant rounded out the top three with a 15:02.63 finish.
Katie Ledecky also earned a commanding victory in her event, the women’s 800m freestyle.
Ledecky, who set the event’s world record by clocking an 8:04.79 back at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, posted an 8:07.07 mark on Tuesday, coming in 13.21 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Jillian Cox. Claire Weinstein took third at 8:21.00.
It marked the third-best time of Ledecky’s career in the 800m free.
In the men’s 100m freestyle, Jack Alexy won the A final with a time of 47.93. Brooks Curry (48.26) took the B final, Matthew Jensen (49.10) prevailed in the C final and Hudson Williams (49.87) won the D final.
Kate Douglass headlined the winners of the women’s 100m free, completing the event in 52.57 in the A final. Amy Fulmer clinched the B final with a 54.27, Anna Peplowski and Grace Cooper both had identical 54.85 finishes to top the C final, and Caroline Larsen’s 55.40 was enough to take the D final.
Carson Foster (A final), Aaron Shackell (B), Ryan Merani (C) and Michael Hochwalt (D) came out on top in the men’s 200m butterfly, while Regan Smith (A), Rachel Klinker (B), Sara Stotler (C) and Lainey Mullins (D) were the victors in the women’s 200m butterfly.
The national championships continue Wednesday with eight finals:
–Women’s 200m freestyle
–Men’s 200m freestyle
–Women’s 200m breaststroke
–Men’s 200m breaststroke
–Women’s 200m backstroke
–Men’s 200m backstroke
–Women’s 50m butterfly
–Men’s 50m butterfly
–Field Level Media
