2025 Pro Swim Series – Fort Lauderdale
- Wednesday, April 30 – Saturday, May 3, 2025
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida
- Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center
- LCM (50 meters)
- Meet Central
- Psych Sheets
- Live Results
- Live Recaps
- Prelims:
- Finals: Day 1
Day 2 Prelims Heat Sheet
I hope you all have got some shades cause you are gonna need them as the stars are out in force this morning. All four legs of the USA’s Olympic Gold Medal and World Record crushing Women’s Medley relay are in action this morning.
Torri Huske leads the way as the top seed in the Women’s 100 free, entering with a time of 52.29. Her heat alone is chock-full of talent, as the newly emerging stars of the future, swimmers like Rylee Erisman and Madi Mintenko will look to earn a spot in the final against the likes of Claire Curzan and Simone Manuel. The other two circle-seeded heats are just as stacked as Kate Douglass, the #2 seed and Gretchen Walsh (the butterflier on the Paris relay), the #3 seed will have to contend with the likes of Penny Oleksiak, Maxine Parker, Alex Walsh, and Taylor Ruck. The 100 free also sees Bella Sims return to racing in the state of Florida after announcing her intentions to transfer from the University of Florida.
The next event on the women’s docket sees the World Record holder, Lilly King, make her return to the Pro Swim Series after skipping out on the Sacramento stop. King, who placed 2nd in Westmont to Douglass, is the top seed. Sandwiched between the two is King’s fellow Olympic 100 breaststroke representative and Douglass’s training partner, Emma Weber. Douglass will have a quick turnaround with just one event between the 100s of free and breast, but she won’t be alone in pulling the double as A. Walsh, the reigning NCAA champ, finds herself next to her UVA teammate in this event.
Working through the medley relay in reverse order, means that we will next see Regan Smith enter the water. Like Douglass, Smith has a quick turnaround as she is the top seed in the 50 back and 200 fly. Now an Olympic event, the 50 back field is loaded; fellow Olympic medalists Katharine Berkoff and Kylie Masse are the #2 and #3 seeds, but as it is a 50, so anything can happen and they’ll have to put up a fast swim to stay ahead of a competitive field that includes the likes of Rhyan White, Curzan and Ruck. Two other names throwing their hat into the ring are Simone Manuel and Torri Huske. Of note, Huske, like Douglass, has the 100 free/100 breast double but will have a quicker turnaround, and with the 50 back making a third event in the morning, she will certainly be busy.
Smith leads the 200 fly field by a little more comfortable margin than in the 50 back, but that by no no way means its an easy field, as her fellow Olympian Alex Shackell is the #2 seed. Denmark’s Helena Rosendahl Bach, the reigning world silver medalist, rounds out the top seeds, but Bach will have to contend with the USA’s 15-year-old star in the making, Audrey Derivaux.
The last event on the women’s docket, may be the most exciting to watch tonight. While fireworks are still possible, the clash between Summer McIntosh, the Olympic silver medalist and Katie Ledecky, the Olympic bronze medalist, is likely to really heat up tonight. Last night, Ledecky smashed the 1500 field, winning by over 30 seconds in a time that marked the 2nd fastest performance ever.
And then there’s the men…
Yeah, all those exhilarating races were just on the women’s side.
The men’s 100 free is bound to be exciting, and with the return of Caeleb Dressel, everyone will be eager to see what form he is in. He’s not the only Olympic Champion to make their return to competition as four-time Olympic Champion Leon Marchand will be swimming out of lane 9 in the 3rd of eight heats in the 400 free. Entered with his US Open setting yards time, Marchand has yet to compete since those Paris Games, but with the withdrawal of Aaron Shackell and David Johnston, the Frenchman may have suddenly become the favorite in the event.
Dressel’s gold medal relay teammates, Chris Guiliano and Hunter Armstrong, are also in the 100 free fields, giving the event three gold medalists in lane 4 for the circle-seeded heats.
While the 100 breaststroke lacks any Olympic golds, it will be no less entertaining as a talented crop of Americans, led by Michael Andrew, will look to cement a spot as the USA’s top breaststroker. Andrew, the American record holder, had an off year in 2024 but has swum two strong performances at the other Pro Swim events and will look to continue that form.
The last two events on the men’s side, the 50 back, and 200 fly, are by no means less exciting as former World Record holder Hunter Armstrong will look to hold off NCAA star Hubert Kos in the sprint event, while the 200 fly pits Olympic bronze medalist, Ilya Kharun against Carson Foster. Joining that field is Aaron Shackell, who opted for this event instead of the 400 and Doha bronze medalist Martin Espernberger.
Women’s 100 Freestyle – Prelims
- World Record: 51.71 – Sarah Sjostrom, SWE (2017)
- World Junior Record: 52.70 – Penny Oleksiak, CAN (2016)
- American Record: 52.04 – Simone Manuel (2019)
- U.S. Open Record: 52.54 – Simone Manuel, USA (2016)
- Pro Swim Record: 52.74 – Siobhan Haughey, HKG (2024)
Top 8
- Gretchen Walsh (NYAC) – 54.09
- Torri Huske (AAC) – 54.12
- Rylee Erisman (LAKR) – 54.17
- Simone Manuel (TXLA) – 54.53
- Sarah Fournier (CHI) – 54.45
- Penny Oleksiak (CAN) / Erin Gemmell (TXLA) – 54.53
- Kate Douglass (NYAC) – 54.72
Entered with a yards time, Heat 2’s Jenna Walters, representing Princeton University, had the fastest time of the morning, posting a 57.11 up until heat 5. Posting the first sub 57 times, in heat 5, was the 17-year-old Brynn Lavigueur. Out in 26.92, Lavigueur, representing Sarasota Sharks, took the win in 56.26, a new PB by over a second for the Texas commit.
Lavigueur’s time remained atop the leaderboard up through the start of the circle-seed heats, but it would not last long as NCAA champion Gretchen Walsh dove into the water. The World Record holder in the 100 fly, Walsh was out in a swift 25.95, and closed in 28.14 to take the heat win and post the fastest time so far of 54.09. While a little over a second off her seed time, Walsh will definitely have more in the tank tonight as she won the heat by over a second, with Gator Swim Club’s Isabel Ivey and Walsh’s sister Alex Walsh taking 2nd and 3rd in 55.11 and 55.21 respectively.
The next heat, saw fellow UVA swimmer, Kate Douglass enter the water. Whereas Walsh was clear away, heat 9 saw a tight race between Douglass and the Canadian pair of Sarah Fournier and Penny Oleksiak. Oleksiak trailed the other two at the halfway turn, with Douglass and Fournier flipping in an identical 26.36, but Fournier poured it on in the closing meters to take the win in 54.45, ahead of Oleksiak’s 54.53 and Douglass’s 54.72.
The last heat was a tight affair as Torri Huske out-dueled the youngster Rylee Erisman. The pair opened in 26.07 and 26.25, but Erisman used a strong back 50 to pass Claire Curzan and Simone Manuel and some within .05 of catching Huske. Huske, who finished in 28.05, hit the wall in 54.12, just ahead of Erisman’s 54.17. Curzan, after going out in a speedy 26.15, struggled on the back half and finished with a 54.89, which places 10th overall.
Men’s 100 Freestyle – Prelims
- World Record: 46.40 – Pan Zhanle, CHN (2024)
- World Junior Record: 46.86 – David Popovici, ROU (2022)
- American Record: 46.96 – Caeleb Dressel (2019)
- U.S. Open Record: 47.08 – Jack Alexy, USA (2024)
- Pro Swim Record: 48.00 – Nathan Adrian, USA (2016)
Top 8
- Tomas Navikonis (OSU) – 48.58
- Chris Guiliano (TXLA) – 48.61
- Shaine Casas (TXLA) – 48.87
- Tomas Lukminas (FORD) – 48.96
- Julian Koch (PITT) – 49.11
- Luke Hobson (TXLA) – 49.29
- Carson Foster (RAYS) – 49.37
- Mikel Schreuders (SUN) – 49.38
Both entered with yards times, Heat 2 saw a great duel between ASU’s Ilya Kharun and Pitt’s Julian Koch. Koch took the race out in a blistering 23.50, with Kharun a bit behind at 24.25. Kharun the Olympic bronze medalist in the 200 fly, may have seemed to be making inroads on the backhalf, but Koch kept the Canadian at bay to take the heat in 49.11, to Kharun’s 50.00.
Koch’s time would remain at the top until the arrival of the circle-seeded heats, where in heat 9, Tomas Navikonis, who swims for OSU , blasted that time out of the way, going 48.58.
In a heat with three empty lanes, including that of the #3 seed, Hunter Armstrong, Nakivoniks took the race out in 23.31. The Lithuanian native closed in 25.27 to win the heat by .38 over fellow countryman Tomas Lukminas, who was also under the 49-second barrier with his time of 48.96.
Heat 10 had just one no-show, but it was a big one as Caeleb Dressel did not take to the blocks for the penultimate heat. Stepping into his shoes with the early speed was Santo Condorelli, who blasted the first 50, opening in 22.03, under WR pace. However, as Condorelli did an open turn, it was made obvious he was going for a 50 time, as he ultimately finished in a time of 1:16.16
Taking over the lead from the Italian/Canadian/American swimmer was Shaine Casas, who split 23.40/25.47 to take the heat win in 48.87 and split the two Lithuanians on the record board.