World Cup Westmont – Day Three Finals: Shaine Casas Goes Distance for 400 Medley Victory
Just one session remains of the World Cup stop in Westmont, and if the opening days of action are any indication, the evening should provide some dazzling performances. Already, Regan Smith has equaled her world record in the 100-meter backstroke and set an American record in the 200 butterfly. Meanwhile, Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan destroyed the world record in the 200 freestyle.
On Sunday night, Smith will return to the pool for a duel with Aussie Kaylee McKeown in the 200 backstroke while O’Callaghan will chase a title in the 100 freestyle. Gretchen Walsh (100 butterfly) and Luke Hobson (200 freestyle) will contest events in which they own the world record and Canadian Ilya Kharun will chase his latest World Cup victory, this time as the top seed in the 200 butterfly.
Here is an event-by-event recap of the Day Three finals:
Men’s 400 Individual Medley
One week after racing the 400 IM in an unseeded heat, American Shaine Casas contested the timed final of the event at night and walked away with a victory. As expected, Casas built a lead during the opening butterfly and backstroke legs and held off countryman Carson Foster. Casas registered a time of 3:57.41, with Foster taking second place in 3:58.18. They were the only athletes to break the four-minute barrier.
Casas opened up a 1.37-second advantage on Foster during the first half of the race and slightly added to the edge on breaststroke to lead by 1.79 seconds entering the freestyle leg. While Foster cut into his deficit over the last 100 meters, it was not enough to reel in Casas.
Women’s 1500 Freestyle
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