Rylee Erisman Produces Spectacular Triple to Wrap Up World Junior Championships
It’s not unusual for an athlete to take on a double in international competition. A triple? Well, that is a more uncommon sight, but a challenge that the United States’ Rylee Erisman embraced on the final night of the World Junior Championships in Otopeni, Romania.
A 16-year-old from Florida, Erisman has been a headliner for Team USA at World Juniors, most notably through her gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle. In that event, Erisman clocked 52.79 to become the sixth-fastest American in history, and earn a berth to next summer’s Pan Pacific Championships in Southern California. On Sunday night, she raced finals in the 50 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 400 medley relay – all in just under an hour.
Erisman handled her daunting night impressively, as she captured the gold medal in the 50 freestyle, silver in the 200 freestyle and anchored the United States to victory in the 400 medley relay.
The 50 freestyle was the first event of the session for Erisman, who figures to have a bright future for the United States in senior international competition. In the one-lap dash, Erisman was timed in 24.70 to top Great Britain’s Theodora Taylor (24.72). Thirt-three minutes later, Erisman climbed the starting blocks for the 200 freestyle, where she rallied for second place in 1:56.76. That time left Erisman a half-second behind China’s Yang Peiqi, who registered a mark of 1:56.25. Yang also won the 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle and 1500 freestyle.
The meet closed with Team USA beating China and Russia in commanding fashion in the 400 medley relay. Erisman was on the end of the relay and supplied a dynamic freestyle split of 52.75, which turned a tight race with China into a runaway. Erisman outsplit Yang by 1.39 seconds.
