Olympic Champ Tyler Clary Scratches 200 Back At Austin Pro Swim

Olympic gold medalist Tyler Clary will not race the 200 backstroke on day 2 of the Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin, focusing instead on the 400 IM later in the night.

Clary was the third qualifier in the event behind the University of California duo of Ryan Murphy and Jacob Pebley. But Clary is also the third seed in the 400 IM later in the night, and the rest between those two events would get significantly shorter in the finals session. Clary is no longer listed on the heat sheets of the 200 back, but is on the 400 IM list.

The only other scratch out of an A final is Texas Longhorn Madisyn Cox, who bowed out of the 200 free after taking 8th. Cox will also swim the 400 IM later in the night and is seeded 7th.

With Cox out, the 9th-place tie between Taylor Ruck and Stephanie Peacock became more meaningful. Though there isn’t a swim-off listed on Meet Mobile, Peacock is now listed in the A final, with Ruck leading the B heat tonight.

Cox’s scratch also would have moved Maya DiRado into the B final, but the Stanford alum also bowed out. That allows 15-year-old Easop Lee into the consolation final tonight.

One more notable scratch is Katie Meili, who is no longer listed in the 50 free after qualifying 11th. Meili will not compete tonight, but is among the favorites in the 100 breast tomorrow.

Full Saturday finals heat sheets

Here are all of the scratches from the A and B finals according to tonight’s heat sheets:

Women’s 200 free:

• 8th – Madisyn Cox
• 17th – Maya DiRado

Men’s 200 free:

• None

Women’s 200 back:

• None

Men’s 200 back:

• 3rd – Tyler Clary

Women’s 50 free:

• 11th – Katie Meili

Men’s 50 free:

• None

Women’s 400 IM:

• None

Men’s 400 IM:

• None