The Week That Was: Team USA Dominates 2018 Short Course World Championships

caeleb-dressel-
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

The Week That Was is sponsored bySuit-extractor-logo

The last major international meet of 2018, the FINA Short Course World Championships, was underway this week, with a total of nine world records coming down over the six day meet. Read up on that meet and the other stories from the week that was!

The Week That Was #5 – Blake Pieroni Becomes First American To Sign With Mizuno

blake-pieroni-

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

US Olympian Blake Pieroni became the first American swimmer to sign with global specialty sporting goods company Mizuno. Pieroni has been a rising star on the U.S. National since he qualified for the 2016 Summer Games , winning a gold medal for the 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Currently, Pieroni is training for the 2020 Summer Games and just finished a successful Short Course World Championships where he won a world title in the men’s 200 free. During this partnership, Pieroni will wear Mizuno GX-Sonic tech suit and swim gear, along with other Mizuno training footwear and apparel.

The Week That Was #4 – Ted Bresnahan Announces Retirement As Head Coach of Hopkins

bresnahan-hopkins-dec18

Photo Courtesy: Hopkins Athletics

Legendary Johns Hopkins Water Polo Coach Ted Bresnahan has stepped down after 27 years at the helm of the Blue Jays program. During his tenure in Baltimore, Bresnahan led Hopkins to a 414-389 record that includes 17 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Championships. Bresnahan was named ACWPC National Coach of the Year in 2005, 2008, and 2014.

The Week That Was #3 – Erica Sullivan Becomes Third Fastest Performer in 1,000 Free

erica-sullivan-

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Erica Sullivan, representing her home club the Sandpipers of Nevada, became the third-fastest performer in the 1,000-yard freestyle this week in the opening finals session of the 2018 Pro-Am Classic in Lewisville, TX. Sullivan finished in 9:17.32, dropping more than 10 seconds from her previous lifetime best to move past Kate Ziegler as the third fastest performer of all-time. Sullivan now only sits behind only Katie Ledecky and Katie Hoff on the all-time performers list. Her opening split of 4:36.93 is also a best time for the 18-year old, dropping more than a second from her previous lifetime best from 2017. The U.S. National Team member will be enrolling in USC in January after sitting out the fall semester. Her time in the 1000 free would currently be ranked #1 in the NCAA for the 2018-19 season, and her opening 500 split would currently rank her fourth.

The Week That Was #2 – Chad le Clos Joins Chorus Criticizing FINA

chad-le-clos-200-fly-victory-sa-nationals

Photo Courtesy: Anesh Debiky

Joining a growing chorus of international swimmers criticizing FINA, Olympic gold medalist Chad le Clos threw his support behind the International Swimming League (ISL) this week with a post on his Instagram page. The South African swimmer, who was named the Best Male athlete at this week’s World Championships, stated that he will support the International Swimming League in 2019 following Short Course Worlds. In his post, which you can read in full here, he stated that while he acknowledges the role that FINA has played in his career, he also recognizes that swimming “needs innovation” and that he is worried about the future of the sport. Le Clos joins a growing number of athlete speaking out publicly against FINA, including Adam Peaty and Cate Campbell. Three swimmers, Michael Andrew, Tom Shields, and Katinka Hosszu, also filed a lawsuit against FINA in US court this week, arguing that the governing body is violating antitrust laws by threatening to sanction swimmers that were to compete in ISL events.

The Week That Was #1 – Team USA Dominates 2018 Short Course World Championships

fina-world-short-course-championships-hangzhou-china

Photo Courtesy: FINA

The 2018 FINA Short Course World Championships took place in Hangzhou, China this week, with Team USA dominating the medal table. The United States left with 36 total medals including 17 golds. Olivia Smoliga left China with eight gold medals, the most of any American woman at a single World Championship in history, while Kelsi Dahlia left with 7 golds and 9 medals overall. Six relay records were also broken throughout the meet, including five by the Americans, while three individuals set world records: Daiya Seto in the 200 fly, Kirill Prigoda in the 200 breast, and Ariarne Titmus in the 400 free. Katinka Hosszu and Chad le Clos were named Best Female and Best Male athlete of the meet. Hosszu won four gold medals throughout the week, including a four-peat in the 100 IM, while le Clos left with four total medals that included one gold in the 100 fly. You can see all the recaps from the 2018 Short Course World Championships here.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Thomas A. Small
5 years ago

Congratulations

1
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x