Tag: men’s swimming and diving

Josh Liendo wins silver in 100m butterfly, earns first Olympic medal

Florida Gators swimmer Josh Liendo captures the silver medal for Canada in the 100-meter butterfly final at the Paris Olympic Games.

Florida junior swimmer [autotag]Josh Liendo[/autotag] competed in the 100-meter butterfly final and will bring home a silver medal for his home country of Canada.

It was just yesterday that Liendo appeared in his first Olympic Finals of his young career, taking part in the 50-meter freestyle final.

The 21-year-old finished with a time of 21.58 seconds, his fastest ever in the 50-meter freestyle, but it was not enough to make the podium as he finished in fourth by just two-hundredths of a second behind France’s Florent Manaudou (21.56 seconds).

Liendo swam well during the 100-meter butterfly semifinal, finishing in second (50.42 seconds) and securing a spot to compete for a medal in the final.

Looking at his 100-meter butterfly final, Liendo had the gold medal in his sights from the get-go. He was ahead of the pack for most of the race but it wasn’t until the final 10 meters that Kristóf Milák of Hungary pulled ahead and won it at the last second.

Milák finished with a time of 49.90 seconds while Liendo followed close behind with a final time of 49.99 seconds. Nonetheless, it was a terrific showing from the junior Florida Gator swimmer.

Liendo at the Paris Olympics

Liendo competed in 10 events and appeared in three finals during his Olympic debut, capping it off with a medal under his belt. Going up against the best swimmers in the world, the Canadian certainly proved that he fits right in with this elite group of athletes.

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Kieran Smith’s Olympic hopes crushed in heat stage

After claiming bronze in Tokyo, former Florida Gator Kieran Smith won’t move past heats at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Former Florida Gators swimmer [autotag]Kieran Smith[/autotag] won’t be repeating as a medalist at the 2024 Paris Olympics after failing to qualify for the 400-meter freestyle final on Saturday.

The American finished with the 11th fastest time of the morning, clocking a 3:46.47 and placing sixth in his heat. Only the top eight overall times advance to the final, with two reserves in case of injury.

Smith was the lone medalist from the 2020 Tokyo Games hopeful to repeat coming into the event. Tokyo gold medalist Ahmed Hafnaoui (Tunisia) has been dealing with an injury all summer, and Australian silver medalist Jack McLoughlin retired two years ago.

Fellow American Aaron Shackell placed sixth overall and advanced to the evening’s final.

Kieran Smith as a Florida Gator

Smith spent four years (2018-22) swimming for the Gators, earning 28 All-American nods, four SEC team championships and two national championships.

He burst onto the scene as a freshman, earning SEC Co-Freshman of the Year honors after winning the 200m individual medley with a swim in 2019. As a sophomore, Smith performed even better, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 100m, 200m and 500m freestyle.

Smith won his first NCAA Championship in the 200m freestyle as a junior. He also placed second in the 500m free that year. His second national championship came as a member of the 200m freestyle relay team which set a program record of 1:14.11.

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Gators alumnus sweeps men’s distance events at U.S. Olympic Swimming trials

Bobby Finke earned first-place finishes in both the men’s 800-meter and 1500-meter freestyle events, sending him on his way to Paris.

Florida swimming’s former standout [autotag]Bobby Finke[/autotag] defended his 1500-meter freestyle title on Sunday, and in doing so, swept the men’s long-distance competition at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Finke’s final time in the event of 14:40.28 reset the U.S. Open Record he recorded last June. He finished 12 seconds ahead of the second-place competitor this weekend.

The UF alumnus is now set to compete in the men’s 800-meter freestyle and 1500-meter freestyle events at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Four Gators men were named to the U.S. Olympic Team. Head Coach Anthony Nesty will serve as head coach for the U.S. men’s swim team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

2024 U.S. OLYMPIC MEN’S SWIMMING TEAM

  1. Jack Alexy (100 free)
  2. Hunter Armstrong (4×100 free relay, 100 back)
  3. Shaine Casas (200 IM)
  4. Brooks Curry (4×200 free relay)
  5. Caeleb Dressel (4×100 free relay, 50 free, 100 fly)
  6. Matt Fallon (200 breast)
  7. Nic Fink (100 breast)
  8. Bobby Finke (800 free, 1500 free)
  9. Carson Foster (400 IM, 200 IM)
  10. Chris Guiliano (200 free, 100 free, 50 free)
  11. Ryan Held (4×100 free relay)
  12. Thomas Heilman (200 fly, 100 fly)
  13. Luke Hobson (200 free)
  14. David Johnston (1500 free)
  15. Chase Kalisz (400 IM)
  16. Drew Kibler (4×200 free relay)
  17. Matt King (4×100 free relay)
  18. Keaton Jones (200 back)
  19. Josh Matheny (200 breast)
  20. Ryan Murphy (100 back, 200 back)
  21. Blake Pieroni (4×200 free relay)
  22. Aaron Shackell (400 free)
  23. Kieran Smith (4×200 free relay, 400 free)
  24. Charlie Swanson (100 breast)
  25. Luca Urlando (200 fly)
  26. Luke Whitlock (800 free)

Olympics details

Swimming at the 2024 Olympic Games will be held at the Paris La Defense Arena, located in the city of Nanterre. Indoor swimming kicks off July 27 and runs through August 4; in total, 35 medal events will be competed.

The Olympic swimming competition concludes with the men’s and women’s open water (10km marathon swimming) races taking place Aug. 8-9. The full Team USA roster for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be confirmed in July.

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Florida swimming earns 200-meter medley relay national title on opening day

The Gators men’s swimmers are once again among the best in the business when it comes to aquatic sports.

The Florida men’s swimming program came away with two top-five finishes in the 200-meter medley relay and the 800-meter freestyle relay inside the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Wednesday night en route to a 200-meter medley relay national title on opening day.

Adam Chaney, Julian Smith, Josh Liendo and Macguire McDuff set a new NCAA championship meet and program record in the 200 medley relay with a time of 1:20.15 seconds to claim the crown. The second-seeded Gators got off to a strong start off the block with Chaney’s 20.29 backstroke split against the No. 1 seed Arizona State Sun Devils, as well as the NC State Wolfpack and California Golden Bears.

Smith’s 22.55 breaststroke time kept the Orange and Blue in the thick of things, giving Liendo the seam to the top spot with his 18.97 in the 50 butterfly swim.; McDuff brought Florida across the finish line with a 50 free time of 18.34.

Jake Mitchell swam a 1:30.89 as the anchor in the 800-meter freestyle event to boost his team from sixth to third place in the final heat with a flat 6:08.00. Florida earned fourth place overall and its final heat time ties the program’s second-best ever which was set in 2022.

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Five Florida swimmers earned medals at Phillips 66 Championships Wednesday

Five Florida swimmers earned medals at the Phillips 66 Championships on Wednesday night as the Gators continue to dominate the water.

Five Florida swimmers earned medals at the Phillips 66 Championships on Wednesday night as the Gators continue to dominate the water at this summer’s latest competition. Caeleb Dressel, Annie Lazor, Katie Ledecky, Bella Sims and Kieran Smith all took home some hardware after putting up superb performances in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Volunteer coach Ledecky earned a silver medal for her 1:55.28 in the women’s 200m freestyle — just .02 away from first — while incoming freshman Sims took home the bronze in the same event with a personal-best 1:56.08 — almost a second better than her previous top mark.

In the men’s 200m free, Smith notched a 1:45.63 time — dropping .47 seconds off his prelim time — to earn silver. The other member of the men’s team to earn a medal was Dressel, who dropped an event-best .44 seconds off his prelim time to swim a 23.35 as he continues his work his way back into Olympian form.

Finally, assistant coach Lazor added to the Gators’ haul with a 2:25.86 finish to earn the bronze in the women’s 200m breaststroke.

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Gators swimmer sets record at Phillips 66 National Championships

Florida swimmer Bobby Finke earned a significant achievement on the opening night of the Phillips 66 Championships on Tuesday.

Florida swimmer Bobby Finke earned a significant achievement on the opening night of the Phillips 66 Championships on Tuesday. The senior from Clearwater, Florida, set the U.S. Open and Championship records with his 1500m freestyle time of 14:42.81 — the fifth-fastest in the world this season.

It was also eight seconds faster than any of his competitors.

Additionally, Finke — along with his female colleague, Katie Ledecky — earned a national title. Ledecky, who is currently volunteering as a coach with the Gators while she trains under head coach Anthony Nesty, swam her third-fastest 800m free time ever (and fastest since 2016) with an 8:07.07 final time.

Like Finke, the former Olympian also blew the competition out of the water, winning her event by a 13-second margin.

Other results include Mason Laur’s career-best 1:55.67 in the 200m butterfly and Macguire McDuff’s personal-best 48.24 in the 100m free for the men. On the women’s side, incoming freshman Bella Sims placed seventh with a 53.73 giving her a new personal best.

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Gators News: Four Florida fall sports ranked in top 10

Both of Florida’s swimming & diving teams sit in first place entering the final day while the volleyball team prepares for its final weekend

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We are just a day away from the big game between the Florida Gators and the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville, Tenn. While Vandy does not strike fear in the hearts of most football fans, every game counts and on any given day anything can happen. But there is a lot more happening than the ol’ pigskin game that brings pride to the Gator Nation.

Four Florida athletic teams currently sit in the top 10 of their respective sports, with men’s swimming and diving as well as volleyball at No 5, football at No. 6, and women’s swimming and diving at No. 10.

Speaking of the men’s aquatic team, the swimmers swept all of their events and the Gators finished up with seven total event victories to lead the pack at the Auburn Invitational. Meanwhile, the women also fared well at the same competition, with freshman Cecilia Porter shattering the 100 breast school record by .33 seconds to give the Lady Gators the overall lead heading into the final day. The event competition as well as dual meets for the fall conclude today.

Finally, there is the volleyball team (5-1, 5-1 SEC), which has had quite a successful season heading into their last two matches of the year on their home floor against the Georgia Bulldogs (3-3, 3-3 SEC) tonight. UF holds a 66-9 series advantage over UGA, sporting a dominating 63-1 record with coach Mary Wise at the helm.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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