2016 Arena Pro Swim Series Austin: Ledecky, Sjostrom Star At Day 2 Finals

• Friday, January 15 – Sunday, January 17
• Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, University of Texas
• Austin, Texas
• Psych sheets
• Saturday Finals Heat Sheet
• Live Stream 
• Live Results

Saturday night’s finals feature perhaps the showdown of the meet: 100 free champ Sarah Sjostrom meeting 400 free champ Katie Ledecky in the 200 freestyle. Night 2 also features a return to the 400 IM for Olympic champ Ryan Lochte, plus college star Ryan Murphy‘s 200 back and a potential 200 back/400 IM double for Katinka Hosszu, not to mention the splash-and-dash 50 frees for both men and women.

Keep refreshing this page for live event-by-event recaps, and follow @SwimSwamLive on Twitter for up-to-the-second results from Austin.

Women’s 400 IM – Finals

The first win of the night went to defending series points champion Katinka Hosszu, who defended her first of two top seeds out of prelims with a 4:36.27. The Hungarian was dominant the whole way, swimming with a high tempo and powering away over the final 200 meters for a crushing win.

American high school senior Becca Mann went 4:39.03 with a very poised swim alongside the reigning world champ. That’s just about two seconds off Mann’s lifetime-best – after just missing the Olympic cutoff in the open water 10K, Mann could be shooting for a berth in this race or the 400 or 800 frees.

Third, fourth and fifth went to products of Texas colleges. Former Texas A&M Aggie teammates Sarah Henry (4:40.92) and Cammile Adams (4:41.50) were third and fourth with current Texas Longhorn Madisyn Cox (4:43.46) fifth after scratching the 200 free to focus on this event tonight.

2012 Olympians Caitlin Leverenz (4:43.54) and Elizabeth Beisel (4:44.02) were sixth and seventh, with Texas A&M’s Sydney Pickrem, a Canadian, rounding out the A final in 4:45.34.

The B final went to Patricia Castro Ortega of Division II Queens University in 4:45.34.

Men’s 400 IM – Finals

The men’s 400 IM felt a bit like a throwback to days gone by, with Ryan Lochte crushing the field to win comfortably in just his 7th time swimming the event since winning Olympic gold in 2012. Lochte’s time of 4:12.66 was easily the fastest he’s been since May of 2013.

At age 31, it appeared Lochte might be focusing more on sprint races and giving up the 400 IM he won in London, but his dominant performance this weekend suggests the 400 IM might at least be a possibility for Lochte, who beat most of the main contenders for the U.S. Olympic team in the race here.

World Champs bronze medalist Chase Kalisz, the fastest American in the event last year, went 4:14.64 for second, and California Golden Bear Josh Prenot was 4:15.07 for third place honors.

Scotland’s Dan Wallace took 5th in 4:18.37 for Gator Swim Club. Behind him, a pair of young talents battled for 6th, with 17-year-old Sean Grieshop topping Cal freshman Andrew Seliskar 4:21.24 to 4:21.90.

Tunisian Olympic mile champ Ous Mellouli was 4:23.51 to take 8th in that heat.

Women’s 200 Free – Finals

What looked like the closest race of the night turned into yet another Katie Ledecky blowout as the reigning world champ crushed a new lifetime-best of 1:54.43 in the 200 free to top Sweden’s Sarah Sjostrom by more than a body length.

That time for Ledecky nearly broke the U.S. Open record for the fastest swim ever done on American soil, and it did take down the 17-18 National Age Group record preiously held by Missy Franklin at 1:54.81.

What’s impressive is how effortlessly Ledecky is still dropping time despite already being the best freestyler in the world from 200 meters on up.

Sjostrom, who could very well challenge Ledecky for the 200 free gold medal in Rio if she enters the race, was 1:56.14, losing track of Ledecky early and not quite coming up with the firepower to run her down late. Still, Sjostrom beat Franklin by well over a second, as Franklin was 1:57.49 for bronze.

Melanie Margalis beat out Leah Smith for fourth, 1:58.01 to 1:58.32. Behind them, Sarah Henry was 2:00.34, swimming back to back races with the 400 IM. Mission Viejo’s Stephanie Peacock was 2:00.84 for 7th and Shannon Vreeland took 8th in 2:02.26.

Canadian 15-year-old Taylor Ruck won the B final in 1:58.74, crushing the consolation final at the age of 15.

Men’s 200 Free – Finals

It was French domination in the men’s 200 free, with Jeremy Stravius and Jordan Pothain taking 1st and 3rd. Stravius was 1:47.56 to roll away from the field, and Pothain really charged through the third 50 to jump into the lead of the pack behind Stravius.

In between was Texas Longhorn freshman Townley Haas, who went 1:48.35 to come within a second of his personal best in the pool he now calls his training home. Pothain was 1:48.62 for third.

Michael Phelps took fourth, just two tenths back of Pothain at 1:48.87. Phelps had a solid front half, but fell out of the hunt a bit at the 150-mark in what will be his only swim tonight.

Scotland’s Dan Wallace was fifth in 1:49.56, followed by Queens University’s Dion Dreesens (1:49.57) and Cal’s Long Gutierrez (1:50.51). Rounding out the heat was Badger Swim Club’s Zane Grothe at 1:52.27.

Women’s 200 Back – Finals

After scratching out of the 400 IM, Stanford pro Maya DiRado found some outside smoke to win the 200 back. Swimming from lane 7, DiRado went 2:08.19 to pull off a big win against Pro Swim Series champ Katinka Hosszu and reigning Olympic champ Missy Franklin.

Hosszu and Franklin dueled in the middle of the pool with Hosszu taking silver in 2:08.63. Franklin was 2:09.31.

Cal freshman Kathleen Baker nearly nipped Franklin as well, but struggled a little down the stretch to go 2:09.36 for fourth. Canada’s Dominique Bouchard was 2:09.70 for fifth, the last swimmer under 2:10.

Multi-time Zimbabwean Olympian Kirsty Coventry was 2:10.05 for sixth, beating hometown hero Quinn Carrozza of Longhorn Aquatics (2:12.79) and Canadian and former NCAA champ Brooklynn Snodgrass (2:13.35).

Men’s 200 Back – Finals

In the men’s 200 back, it was California swimmers who dominated, much like the French swimmers in the 200 free. Cal junior Ryan Murphy was the runaway winner, going 1:55.99 after a great opening 100 split of 56.5. His teammate Jacob Pebley was third at 1:58.52.

Slipping in between was Arkady Vyatchanin, the former Russian national who is seeking an Olympic bid with Serbia for 2016. Vyatchanin was 1:58.52.

100 back Olympic champ Matt Grevers went 1:59.31 to take fourth and round out the sub-two-minute crowd.

NC State’s Hennessey Stuart was just off the barrier at 2:00.00. Canada’s Markus Thormeyer, who snuck into the A final when Olympic champ Tyler Clary scratched, made the most of his opportunity, going 2:00.83 to drop 1.7 seconds off his prelims swim and take 6th.

28-year-old Rex Tullius was 2:00.88 and Great Britain’s Jay Lelliott rounded out the heat in 2:03.42.

Women’s 50 Free – Finals

Though she couldn’t match Ledecky in the 200 free, Sarah Sjostrom showed why she’s among the worlds elite in the 50 free. The Swede crushed the field, going 24.17 – a time that would have won silver at last year’s World Championships. (Sjostrom won bronze in Kazan with a 24.31).

Top prelims qualifier Madison Kennedy was 24.72 for second, touching out her SwimMAC teammate Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace by about a tenth (24.84).

Canadian Chantal Van Landeghem took fourth in 24.92, eking out the spot over 19-year-old Canyons sensation Abby Weitzeil (24.93) and Egyptian national Farida Osman (24.95).

France’s Anna Santamans was 25.05 for seventh, with Canadian Sandrine Mainville (25.47) capping off the heat.

Veteran sprinter Natalie Coughlin went 25.19 to win a B final full of international experience. Fellow U.S. Olympian Dana Vollmer was 25.24 for second and Sweden’s Therese Alshammar was third in 25.38.

Men’s 50 Free – Finals