2026 PRO SWIM SERIES – AUSTIN
Good Morning Swim Fans or should I say Bonjour, as the French have turned up in numbers and have been throwing down some fast swims over the past two days of racing in Austin at the first stop of the 2026 edition of the Pro Swim Series.
Looking to continue that momentum are the pair of Marie Wattel and Maxime Grousset. The French stars are the top seeds in their respective 50 fly events, with the latter looking to add yet another victory, as he won the 100 fly last night, defeating Caeleb Dressel, who will occupy lane 5 this morning, right next to the Frenchman in the last heat.
The 50 fly is not the first event on tap however, as we are first treated to the 200 free, which sees Americans Claire Weinstein and Luke Hobson as the top seeds. The two, each of whom were individual medal winners in this event at the most recent World Championships in Singapore, should easily advance but it won’t be a cake walk as the likes of Anna Peplowski, Simone Manuel and Rylee Erisman will all be vying for the middle lanes tonight in the women’s event. In the men’s event, Hobson will be under some pressure from training partners, Chris Guiliano and Carson Foster as well the likes of Kieran Smith and Gabriel Jett.
After the sprinters have their go in the 50 fly, the 400 IM takes to the pool as we are treated to a rare treat in that training partners and World records holder Summer McIntosh and Leon Marchand are each slated to swim in the final heat of their respective events. The pair are far and away ahead of the rest of the field, but Emma Weyant has been throwing down some strong swims this week and after Bobby Finke‘s 400 IM last summer in Indy, his performances today will be closely watched.
The morning wraps with the 50 back which see Regan Smith and Shaine Casas as the top seeds (on paper). Casas in entered in multiple events this morning, but has been no-showing the past two mornings so lane 4 may be empty, so look for the French star Yohann Ndoye Brouard to make a strong effort to obtain the top seed, but don’t sleep on the long arms of Jack Alexy, who is trying his hand in the backstroke.
Smith, who did not contest the 200 back yesterday, returns to the 50 as the top see and will square off against a pair of Frenchwomen as Analia Pigree and Beryl Gastaldello round out the top three seed, but don’t count out the young speed of Charlotte Crush, who is slated to swim right next to Smith in the last heat.
WOMEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – Prelims
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Anna Peplowski (ISC) – 1:58.49
Simone Manuel (TXLA) – 1:59.25
Claire Weinstein (UN-CA) – 1:59.88
Rylee Erisman (LAKR) – 2:00.34
Chloe Stepanek (LIAC) – 2:01.99
Blakely Hammel (EAJ) – 2:02.20
Ava Chavez (CAL) – 2:02.80
Brinkleigh Hansen (SPA-FL) – 2:03.84
It did not take any time to warm things up as with just three heats, the women’s 200 free started with a circle seeded heat. Simone Manuel, the #3 seed overall wasted no time in jumping out to an early as she hit the wall in 58.36, more than a second ahead of the next fastest swimmer, Blakely Hammel. More known for her 50 and 100 speed, Manuel has built an over a body length lead by the 150 and continued that into the final wall as she hit the wall in 1:59.25, winning by over 2 seconds, with Hammel back at 2:02.20.
The second heat saw a similar story as the first heat, with Indiana’s Anna Peplowski giving herself an over a body length lead at the 100. However, Peplowski, who is more distance orientated than Manuel opened in a very quick 57.06. Repping Indiana Swim Club, Peplowski closed in 1:01.43 to stop the clock at 1:58.49, a result that is just .30 off her prelims time from last month’s US Open. Taking 2nd behind her in the heat was Chloe Stepanek, who touched in 2:01.99.
Heat three was a different story than the previous two as top seed Claire Weinstein was under pressure from the get go as lane 5 was occupied by Rylee Erisman. The younger of the two, which is odd to say with Weinstein just 18, opened in 58.60, a split which gave Erisman a slim lead of just .01. Weinstein however not content to be beaten took over at the 150 mark and claimed the heat win with a 1:59.88, .46 ahead of Erisman’s 2:00.34.
MEN’S 200 FREESTYLE – Prelims
World Record: 1:42.00 – Paul Biedermann, GER (2009)
American Record: 1:42.96 – Michael Phelps (2008)
US Open Record: 1:43.73 – Luke Hobson, USA (2025)
PSS Record: 1:44.82 – Sun Yang, CHN (2016)
World Jr Record: 1:42.97 – David Popovici, ROU (2023)
Pool Record: 1:44.49 – Luke Hobson, USA (2025)
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WOMEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – Prelims
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MEN’S 50 BUTTERFLY – Prelims
World Record: 22.27 – Andrii Govorov, UKR (2018)
American Record: 22.35 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2022)
US Open Record: 22.84 – Caeleb Dressel, USA (2022)
PSS Record: 23.09 – Ilya Kharun, CAN (2025)
World Jr Record: 22.96 – Diogo Matos Ribeiro, POR (2022)
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WOMEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Prelims
World Record: 4:23.65 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
American Record: 4:31.12 – Katie Hoff, (2008)
US Open Record: 4:26.98 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
PSS Record: 4:26.98 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2025)
World Jr Record: 4:24.38 – Summer McIntosh, CAN (2024)
Pool Record: 4:34.25 – Kirsty Coventry, ZIM
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MEN’S 400 INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY – Prelims
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WOMEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – Prelims
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MEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – Prelims
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