Julia Smit (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.), who won two golds on Thursday, added another gold to her collection with a win in the women's 200m IM. Smit led the field throughout the race to set a Pan American Games record with a time of 2:13.07. Team USA's Emily Kukors (Auburn, Wash.) won silver in 2:13.88, and Canada's Stephanie Horner was third in 2:15.42.
"Yesterday was a little tough with back-to-back races, but I was able to make it to the final today and got a faster time," Smit said. "We wanted to get gold and silver in this event for the US," Kukors added. "But we also wanted to get our fastest times."
Ava Ohlgren (Northville, Mich.) won gold in the 200m free in a close race against Canada's Stephanie Horner. Ohlgren touched the wall in 2:00.03, just beating out Horner who finished in 2:00.29. Brazil's Monique Ferreira finished in 2:01.38 earning bronze, and Katie Carroll (Toledo, Ohio) was fifth in 2:02.74.
Matthew Owen (Scottsdale, Ariz.) came out on top in a close race for the top spot in the men's 200m free. Owen, who was in third after the first 100 meters, came from behind to win the gold in 1:48.78. Shaune Fraser of the Cayman Islands finished in 1:48.95 for silver, just two-hundredths of a second ahead of bronze-medalist Adam Sioui of Canada. Robert Margalis (St. Petersburg, Fla.) was seventh in 1:50.49. "I went out the first 100 relaxed," Owen said. "I felt great on the last 50 meters. I expected it would be a sprint at the end."
Following his swim in the 200m free, Margalis swam again to take silver in the men's 200m IM with a time of 2:00.69. Brazil's Thiago Pereira won his fourth gold and set his fourth Pan Am Games record in 1:57.79. Bradley Ally of Barbados took bronze in 2:00.96. Geoff Rathgeber (Kensington, Conn.) finished fifth in 2:02.58.
Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.), who swam in her first race of the meet Friday, won gold in the 800m free. Burckle finished in 8:35.10 and Mexico's Patricia Midori Castaneda Miyamoto took silver in 8:38.92. Canada's Savannah King earned bronze with a time of 8:39.36. Laurabeth Guenthner (Wellington, Fla.) was eighth at 8:48.92.
In the final of the men's 400m free relay, Team USA led the field at the halfway point, but was surpassed by Brazil in the last 200 meters to finish second. The team of Gabe Woodward (Bakersfield, Calif.), Ricky Berens (Charlotte, N.C.), Dale Rogers (Austin, Texas) and Andy Grant (Livermore, Calif.) won silver in 3:16.66, while Brazil's Fernando Silva, Eduardo Deboni, Nicolas Oliveira, Cesar Cielo Filho set a Pan Am Games record to win gold in 3:15.90. Venezuela finished in 3:18.97 for bronze.
In Friday's semifinals, Kathleen Hersey (Atlanta, Ga.) set a Pan American Games record with her time of 2:08.89 in the 200m fly. Hersey, who has already won two gold medals at the Games, will swim for another medal in Saturday's final. Courtney Kalisz (Bel Air, Md.) qualified in second place behind Hersey in 2:11.53.
On the men's side, Eddie Erazo (San Diego, Calif.) qualified second in the men's 200m fly semifinal, swimming a 1:58.41. Pat Cary (Coto De Caza, Calif.) finished in 2:00.36 to qualify seventh. In the men's 200m breast, Scott Spann (Austin, Texas) and Chris Ash (Canton, Ohio) both qualified for the final. Spann will enter the final in the top spot after swimming the semis in 2:17.17. Ash was sixth in 2:17.67. Following Friday morning's competition, Team USA has advanced two swimmers to every final at the 2007 Pan American Games.
Competition at the pool continues Friday evening with preliminary races starting at 7 p.m. local time. Olympian Gary Hall, Jr. (Miami Beach, Fla.) will headline Friday's prelims, competing in the 50m free. Finals and semifinals will continue Saturday at 10 a.m. where medals will be awarded in the men's 1500m free, 200m breast, and 200m fly, and the women's 200m fly.
About USA Swimming: As the National Governing Body for competitive swimming in the United States, USA Swimming formulates the rules, implements policies and procedures, conducts national championships, disseminates safety and sports medicine information and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition. USA Swimming has more than 300,000 members nationwide and sanctions more than 7,000 events each year. For more information, visit USA Swimming on-line.
