By Coleman Hodges on SwimSwam
2022 US SUMMER NATIONALS
- Tuesday July 26 – Saturday, July 30, 2022
- William Woollett Aquatics Center, Irvine, CA
- Prelims 9 AM / Finals 5 PM (U.S. Pacific Time)
- Meet website
- Meet information
- Psych Sheet
- OMEGA Live Results
Reported by Sophie Kaufman.
After treating us to an epic battle in the women’s 400 IM on Day 3 of U.S. Nationals, neither Katie Ledecky nor Leah Smith raced any of Day 4’s events. However, they did each time-trials events; Ledecky swam the 200 fly, and Leah Smith the 100 breast.
Ledecky teased that she would swim “fun events” in Irvine, including time-trialing the 200 fly and 200 IM. On Day 4, she raced the 200 fly, which she described as her “best event when she was younger.”
She clocked 2:15.20 in her race. That’s actually a new best time for her; her previous best was 2:15.62, which she swam eight years ago at the 2014 Virginia State Championships. Ledecky took the race out fast, splitting 1:02.81 at the 100 turn. She paid for it on the way back; her second 100 split was a 1:12.39. Still, it’s a best time for Ledecky, who until last night hadn’t swum one since May 2018. Ledecky is expected to time-trial the 200 IM on Day 5.
In the 100 breast, Smith swam 1:11.10, a personal best by almost five seconds. Like Ledecky, her best time in this off-event had stood for a long time: she set her previous mark in 2015 at a Virginia Last Chance Meet. Smith was out in 32.99, and back in 38.11.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: WATCH: Katie Ledecky 200 Fly, Leah Smith 100 Breast Time Trials