Swim Coach’s Summary: Indianapolis Grand Prix
National Swimming Coach Ben Smith reported on the weekend’s results from the Indianapolis Grand Prix, one of the fastest meets of the year.
“Roy was in top form for his 50 free Friday morning. He was in a strong heat but showed no mercy by winning convincingly. He seemed to rectify the slow start from London by getting off the blocks fast and not letting anyone catch him,” said Coach Smith.
“He was seeded 6th in the A final with a stacked field. He was able to beat team mate Cullen Jones in the morning and would be up against him again in the finals. Also in the field will be George Bovell who finaled at last year’s worlds, Josh Sneider and the fastest swimmer in the US Nathan Adrian. The final looked to be exciting as Roy would be aiming to lower the 22.75 from the morning heats which was his second fastest time ever.
“In the final of the 50 free Roy was able to swim 22.76 which was 1 hundredth of a second slower than the morning and dropped him to 7th place. The start issues that he had in London seem to be rectified which is giving him good position against these top swimmers. The last 15 meters of the race will be his focus for his upcoming training so that he can finish faster.
“Coming into this meet Lisa and Julian had two different plans of preparation and expectations. Lisa was rested and ready to hit the selection time at this meet. Her recent results in Florida and Columbus showed that her training was paying off and that she was ready for fast swimming. With the way she looked in the 200 we were hoping for it to translate into a great 100.
“Julian on the other hand had finished his University season where his focus was on swimming fast in yards. He spent the last month working on his Long course swimming and decided not to rest or shave for this meet. The goal was to swim fast without the rest and shave and then drop his times at the Charlotte Ultra-swim in May.
“Lisa was up first in the morning heats where she built her lead from the first twelve and a half meters. She pulled away from the field soon after the turn and looked strong throughout the race. She finished in 1:12.10 which lowered her National record and placed her 15th and in the B final. This is by far the fastest she has been since returning home to Bermuda and was a good indication that she is on the right course.
“Julian had a strong 100 breast where he swam a 1:04.8. This is his second fastest time ever but not the time he was looking for. It was however good enough to get him into the C final and 23rd overall. Both of them are focused and ready to lower their times from the morning after correcting any mistakes that were picked up from the heats.
“In the finals of the Indy both Lisa and Julian were a little slower than their morning swims. They were both disappointed not to improve but were already thinking of the work ahead for their preparation for the Charlotte Ultra Swim.
“Meanwhile in Spain at the Spanish Nationals Kiera Aitken had some good results but came up a little short from the qualifying time. Her 29.3 in the 50 back broke her own National record and grabbed her a silver medal. In the100 she swam a 1:03 in the morning but was only able to hit. 1:04 in the finals. We know she will regroup and then hit the time at an upcoming meet.
“In all it was a successful weekend for Bermuda Swimming and we will be looking for more great results with Carifta coming up this week for our age groupers and then Charlotte,” concluded Coach Smith.
