Luca Urlando looks on.
In a weekend that saw multiple Olympic medalists in action at the TYR Pro Swim Series stop in Clovis, California, it was a teenager who looks to be heading in that same direction himself who turned the most heads.
Luca Urlando, 17, toppled the 17-18 National Age Group record previously held by none other than Michael Phelps in the 200-meter butterfly, the teenager’s best event. Phelps set the record of 1:53.93 in 2003. Urlando did it on Friday night with a time of 1:53.84. It’s the third-fastest time of any American swimmer, behind Phelps’ world record time of 1:51.51 and Tyler Clary’s time of 1:53.64 from 2009.
Urlando also won the men’s 100-meter butterfly on Thursday night with a time of 52.20 seconds to overtake veteran Giles Smith, with a time of 52.63, and Ryan Coetzee and his time of 53.57.
Rounding out the weekend, Urlando took first in the men’s 200 IM, finishing with a time of 2:00.12 to register the third-fastest time by an American in the event this year.
Olympic gold medalist Kelsi Dahlia (née Worrell) also had a big weekend, competing in three races on Friday night and winning one.
She started out with the 200-meter butterfly, leading from start to finish and clocking a time of 2:10.69. She then finished fourth in the 50-meter freestyle behind Catie Deloof, who dipped under 25 seconds with a time of 24.99, Luxembourg’s Julie Meynen and Mallory Comerford.
Then, in the women’s 50-meter butterfly, Dahlia got her second podium of the night when she finished second to Kendyl Stewart by three one-hundredths of a second.
Dahlia was also second on Thursday night in the women’s 100-meter butterfly, out-touched at the last second by Louise Hansson. Dahlia’s time of 57.45 was a new season’s best, however, and the fastest by an American this year. She closed out the weekend with a second-place finish in the women’s 100-meter freestyle.
Two-time Olympic medalist Leah Smith set a new season’s best in the women’s 200 freestyle with a time of 1:57.40, edging past Mallory Comerford in the final meters. Smith also won the women’s 800-meter freestyle on the first night, finishing with a time of 8:22.87 ahead of Erica Sullivan in second place.
Sullivan took first place in the women’s 1,500-meters on the last day of competition and Comerford took the win in the women’s 100-meter freestyle.
Catie Deloof won the women’s 50-meter freestyle, dipping under 25 seconds with a time of 24.99, on Friday night to go along with a third-place finish in the 100 backstroke.
Ali Deloof took first in the women’s 50-meter backstroke with a season’s best time of 28.05, fourth by an American woman this year.
Isabelle Stadden, just 16 years old, who came in under one minute in the women’s 100-meter backstroke at 59.71, also took first in the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:08.67.
Justin Ress took down Olympian Matt Grevers in the men’s 50-meter backstroke, finishing with a time of 25.05 to Grevers’ 25.21. Grevers would return the favor the next night in the men’s 100-meter backstroke, beating Ress with a time of 53.59 seconds. Ress was second in 54.25.
Trey Freeman won the men’s 200-meter freestyle and Olympic gold medalist Townley Haas was second.
Brandon Fischer, 30, took first in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke as well as the 50-meter breaststroke.
Michael Chadwick laid down his fastest time of 2019 in the men’s 100-meter freestyle, clocking a time of 48.70 to win the final event of the competition.
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.
