Regan Smith Wins Two More as Indy Summer Cup Concludes; Chris Guiliano, Simone Manuel Post Quick 100 Freestyle Times
Swimmers that train at the University of Texas continued to put up wins in Indianapolis during their final tune-up for next month’s World Championships in Singapore. Regan Smith picked up two more wins plus a personal-best time in a runnerup effort while Chris Guiliano and Simone Manuel, both of whom are expected to contribute to favored U.S. 400 freestyle relays next month, swam strong times in the 100 freestyle.
Smith, who previously clocked 56.52 in the 100 butterfly Thursday night before winning the 200 fly and 100 backstroke Friday, dominated the 200 back in 2:06.84, exactly one second behind her season-best mark of 2:05.84; that time ranks third in the world this year behind Kaylee McKeown and Claire Curzan. Rounding out the top three were Indiana swimmers Mya Dewitt (2:13.00) and Miranda Grana (2:14.83).
Later on, Smith finished six-and-a-half seconds clear of the field in the 200 IM, touching in 2:10.35 to beat out the Indiana duo of Reese Tiltmann (2:16.96) and Peplowski (2:17.03).
Guiliano swam a time of 47.72 to grab the win in the men’s 100 free, following up on a strong 47.79 in prelims. Guiliano is currently ranked No. 7 in the world, having gone 47.49 at U.S. Nationals, but he will not race the event individually at Worlds after finishing behind Jack Alexy and Patrick Sammon at the selection meet. Matt King took second in 48.31 with Ruslan Gaziev third (48.94), followed by a barrage of Texas swimmers in Hubert Kos (49.42), Shaine Casas (49.63), Luke Hobson (49.64) and Leon Marchand (49.70).
In the women’s event, Manuel swam a time of 53.25 for the win. She also finished third in the event at Nationals, but her time of 52.83 was her quickest since 2019 and good for No. 4 in the world, even though fellow Americans Torri Huske and Gretchen Walsh went quicker. Taking second here was Smith, whose rare appearance in the 100 free resulted in an enormous best time. Entering with a top mark of 55.23, Smith went 55.00 in prelims and then 54.15 in the final. Anna Peplowski took third in 55.36.
Marchand, already the winner of the 100 breaststroke in Indianapolis, picked up the top spot in the 200 IM in 1:57.23. The Olympic gold medalist and two-time world champion in the event clipped seven hundredths from his season-best mark while remaining No. 8 in the world rankings. He was followed by fellow Longhorn swimmers Kos (2:00.16), Baylor Nelson (2:01.31) and Rex Maurer (2:01.55).
Kos won the 200 back in 1:56.74, finishing ahead of teammates Marchand (1:57.14) and Carson Foster (2:00.07). Kos has dominated this event internationally in recent years, winning the world title in 2023 and Olympic gold last year.
David Johnston, heading to the World Championships to represent the U.S. in the 1500 free, posted a time of 8:01.34 to win the 800-meter distance over Levi Sandidge (8:06.92) and Caue Cluck (8:20.39). Reagan Mattice was the winner of the women’s 1500 freestyle in 16:54.31, with Adele Sands (17:03.94) and Claire Parsons (17:29.39) rounding out the top-three.