Simone Manuel looks to the scoreboard after winning the final of the 100-meter freestyle at the 2017 Arena Pro Swim Series Santa Clara at George F. Haines International Swim Center on June 2, 2017 in Santa Clara, Calif.
Simone Manuel lived up to her top seeding in the 100-meter freestyle as the final Arena Pro Swim Series meet continued Friday in Santa Clara, California.
Manuel, who won two gold and two silver medals at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, held off Stanford teammate and two-time Olympian Lia Neal to win in 54.31.
“It didn’t quite feel like a cruise, but I’m happy with it,” Manuel, who tied with Canada’s Penny Oleksiak to win the event in Rio as both women set a new Olympic record, told NBC Sports.
The win was Manuel’s third straight in the event in the Pro Swim Series.
Neal, whose time of 54.64 earned her second place, was a relay medalist at the last two Olympic Games.
The event, which began on Thursday, continued with eight events on Friday.
In the men’s 100 free, Nathan Adrian made a move just past the halfway point to win with a time of 48.55. Adrian, an eight-time Olympic medalist who won four medals in 2016, held off Olympic teammate Caeleb Dressel, who finished second with a time of 49.26.
Three U.S. Olympic gold medalists took the top three spots in the men’s 100 butterfly. Jack Conger, who was part of the Olympic champion men’s 4x200 freestyle team, won with a time of 52.24. Dressel, a two-time relay gold medalist in Rio, finished second with a time of 52.29, just ahead of Tom Shields at 52.58. Shields was part of the winning 4x100 free team in Rio.
In the women’s 100 butterfly, Olympic gold medalist Kelsi Worrell turned in a season-best performance to win with a time of 57.44, more than a second ahead of Hellen Moffitt. Moffitt took second with a time of 58.99. Worrell was seeded first in the event.
In the men’s 200 breaststroke, Josh Prenot, who won silver in the event in Rio, used a back-half surge to win with a time of 2:10.80.
Clark Smith, who made his Olympic debut in 2016 and won gold as a member of the 4x200 freestyle team, won the men’s 400 free with a time of 3:49.40. He edged fellow 2016 Olympian Jay Litherland, who was second with a time of 3:50.96.
Rounding out the evening’s competition, Madisyn Cox won the women’s 200 breaststroke and Katie Drabot won the women’s 400 freestyle.
The event continues through Sunday. It is the last major competition before the Phillips 66 National Championships, part of the Team USA Summer Champions Series, presented by Comcast, which begin June 27 in Indianapolis.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
