The following was provided to The Washington Post and Reachforthewall.com in a press release by USA Swimming.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Olympic gold medalist Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.) was victorious in the 400-yard individual medley and finished second in the 200 free on the opening night of the Arena Grand Prix at Minneapolis at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center.
U.S. National Team members Megan Romano (St. Petersburg, Fla.), B.J. Johnson (Seattle, Wash.), Claire Donahue (Lenoir City, Tenn.) and Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.) also earned individual event victories in the short-course yards meet, which serves as the first of six stops of the 2013-14 Arena Grand Prix Series.
Complete results are available online via usaswimming.org. The Minneapolis leg of the Grand Prix series is the only meet contested in short course yards.
In the final individual event of the session, Dwyer touched first to take the 400 IM with a time of 3:40.03. Michael McBroom (The Woodlands, Texas) was second in 3:47.66, followed by Spain’s Guillermo Blanco in 3:48.26.
In the men’s 200 free, Dwyer was edged by North Baltimore Aquatic Club training partner Yannick Agnelof France, who finished first in 1:31.90. Dwyer was second in 1:32.09, and Nikita Lobintsev of Russia took third in 1:33.45.
In her third and final swim of the night, Leverenz won the women’s 400 IM in 4:07.06, besting runner-up Megan Kingsley (Mount Pleasant, S.C.), who finished in 4:11.94, and Breanne Siwicki, who took third in 4:13.40.
“I haven’t raced since Worlds, so it’s been a solid three months plus that I haven’t raced,” said Leverenz, who also finished eighth in the 200 free and fifth in the 100 fly. “It was really good to get the cobwebs off and get up and do my thing – go up and race.”
Romano won the women’s 200 free with a time of 1:45.29 to best the University of Minnesota pair of Kiera Janzen (Robbinsdale, Minn.) and Tori Simenec (Salem, Ore.), who took second and third in 1:45.43 and 1:46.02, respectively.
In the men’s 100 breast, Johnson earned the win in 52.58. Finland’s Eetu Karvonen was second in 52.73, and Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill.) took third in 52.90.
Donahue took the 100 fly, her signature event, with a time of 51.80. Rebecca Weiland (Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) finished second in 52.47, and Kingsley earned her second podium of the night, taking third in 54.08.
In other races, Minnesota’s Haley Spencer (O’Fallon, Mo.) won the women’s 100 breast in 1:00.26
Canada’s Kierra Smith was second in 1:00.33, and Laura Day (Peyton, Colo.) finished third in 1:02.44. Brazil’s Cesar Cielo won the 100 fly in 46.19, followed by Great Britain’s Adam Brown, who was second in 46.66, online pharmacy no prescription and Australia’s Dan Lester, who placed third in 46.95.
—
About USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 400,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.
