Jacob Pebley – OlympicTalk

Katie Ledecky made it three wins in three days in Indianapolis, taking the 200m freestyle by 2.64 seconds at the Pro Series meet on Friday.

Ledecky clocked 1:55.42, which ranks third in the world this year. The two fastest swimmers, Canadian Taylor Ruck and Australian Ariarne Titmus, were not in Friday’s race.

Earlier in the meet, Ledecky smashed her 1500m freestyle world record by five seconds on Wednesday and swam the second-fastest 400m free in history on Thursday.

Her 200m free on Friday, while 1.69 seconds off her personal best from the Olympics, came an hour after she placed third in a 400m individual medley.

“I’m pretty happy with it coming off the 400m IM,” Ledecky said on Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA.

Full meet results are here. The meet finishes Saturday, with Ledecky entered in the 200m individual medley and 800m freestyle. NBCSN, NBCSports.com/live and the NBC Sports app will air live coverage at 7 p.m. ET.

Also Friday, 12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte competed for the first time this spring, placing fourth in the 200m free and 100m butterfly at a meet in Atlanta. Lochte is scheduled for three meets in four weeks, including his first Pro Series meet since the Rio Olympics and his 10-month suspension in Santa Clara, Calif., next month.

Swimmers are preparing for the U.S. Championships in July and Pan Pacific Championships in August, the two meets that will determine the 2019 World Championships team.

An hour before her 200m free, Ledecky placed third in the 400m IM, an event she doesn’t swim at major meets. Melanie Margalis, fourth in the 200m IM at the 2016 Olympics and 2017 Worlds, and NCAA champion Ella Eastin went one-two in personal-best times.

Ledecky clocked 4:38.88, 1.93 seconds behind Margalis and .45 behind her Stanford teammate Eastin. Ledecky’s time was her third-fastest ever in the 400m IM, trailing her personal best of 4:37.93.

In other events, world champion Chase Kalisz won the men’s 400m IM by 6.54 seconds in 4:10.55, the second-fastest time in the world this year behind his own 4:08.92 from March 2.

Simone Manuel took the 50m free in 24.59, the fastest time by an American this year. Manuel is the Olympic silver medalist and world bronze medalist in the splash and dash. Australian Cate Campbell has the fastest time in the world of 23.78, but she’s not in Indianapolis.

Eight-time Olympic medalist Nathan Adrian won the men’s 50m free in 21.97, well off Brit Pen Broud‘s fastest time this year of 21.30. Neither Proud nor world champion Caeleb Dressel were in the field.

World bronze medalist Jacob Pebley prevailed in a 200m backstroke that lacked Olympic champ Ryan Murphy. Pebley clocked 1:57.03, 1.18 seconds off his fastest time this year.

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Ryan Murphy was the only man to earn 100m and 200m backstroke medals at worlds, but neither was gold like in Rio, leading to a frank assessment.

“I’m definitely not the best backstroker in the world at this point,” Murphy told media in Budapest after taking silver in the 200m back Friday. “It’s a title I want. So I’m going to do everything I can to get that back.”

The U.S. returned to the world podium in the 200m back, its most storied individual event, but a Russian is at the top.

Evgeny Rylov held off Murphy and Jacob Pebley in the last 50 meters to win Russia’s first men’s global title since Alexander Popov swept the 50m, 100m and 4x100m free titles at the 2003 Worlds.

The Olympic bronze medalist Rylov clocked 1:53.61, topping Murphy by six tenths despite having the slowest final split of the top six swimmers. Pebley was a further .85 back, edging Russian Kliment Kolesnikov for bronze by .08.

The U.S. used to own the 200m back, winning 20 straight major international meets (Olympics/Worlds/Pan Pacific Championships) from 1995 through 2014.

But Americans were shut out of the medals entirely at the 2015 Worlds before Murphy restored order in Rio.

Murphy swept the backstrokes in 2016, including breaking the 100m back world record. But the 22-year-old relinquished both titles in Budapest by going six tenths slower in the 100m and 200m than a year ago and taking home silver and bronze medals.

Murphy pointed to a more taxing academic slate as a senior at California, where he took a lighter class load in the Olympic year.

“No one’s going to outwork me the next three years,” said Murphy, who turned pro after the last NCAA season. “I just didn’t have that same level of focus, that same amount of motivation to be great [this year].”

Pebley, 23, improved upon his fifth-place finish in the Olympic 200m back by going .46 faster in Budapest.

Rylov, 20, lowered his European record by .36 this year and figures to be a major rival for Murphy and Pebley for years to come.

Men’s 200m Backstroke Results
Gold: Evgeny Rylov (RUS) — 1:53.61
Silver: Ryan Murphy (USA) — 1:54.21
Bronze: Jacob Pebley (USA) — 1:55.06
4. Kliment Kolesnikov (RUS) — 1:55.14
5. Xu Jiayu (CHN) — 1:55.26
6. Peter Bernek (HUN) — 1:55.58
7. Ryosuke Irie (JPN) — 1:56.35
8. Danas Rapsys (LTU) — 1:56.96

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Katie Ledecky crushes 200m freestyle field in Indianapolis

Ryan Murphy: I’m definitely not world’s best backstroker

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