Darian Townsend won the 200 IM on Night 3 of the Mesa Grand Prix (Sponsored by VisitMesa.com), beating Ryan Lochte, but the real story with Darian is why he’s not going to SA World Champ Trials.
Recap of the 200 IM from Braden Keith:
Men’s 200 IM – Final
Ryan Lochte and Darian Townsend were locked nose-to-nose in a battle in this men’s 200 IM final, taking every stroke and every turn at almost identical splits.
If there’s an IM’er in the world that you don’t want to be locked even with in a 200 IM, though, it’s Darian Townsend. The veteran from South Africa took off on the closing freestyle leg to win over Lochte by about half-a-second, splitting 28.36 en route to a 2:01.04 victory. Lochte finished 2nd in 2:01.90.
Like Hosszu, Townsend seems to be benefiting from a big run at the World Cup in the fall.
Zac Dalby from Australia’s East Brisbane Swim team was 3rd in 2:04.72. Texas A&M’s Simon Frank took 4th in 2:04.88.
Mike Alexandrov placed 5th in 2:04.93, and Conor Dwyer was 6th in 2:05.97.
I’d say hes certainly earned a citizenship here.