ATLANTA — After a pair of dominating wins, Katie Ledecky finally met her match at the Atlanta Classic.
It wasn’t exactly a fair fight.
Ledecky finished third in the 100-meter freestyle Sunday, failing to catch Simone Manuel or Lia Neal after a sluggish start. Manuel won in 54.11 seconds, holding off Neal on the return lap. The runner-up touched in 54.31, followed by Ledecky at 54.55.
Ledecky was sixth at the turn and couldn’t make up the gap, even though she posted the second-fastest time (27.89) on the return lap. Then again, she was competing about 50 minutes after finishing fifth in the 200 individual medley, an event that won’t be part of her program at the US Olympic trials next month.
Ledecky easily won the 200 and 400 free over the first two days of the meet, to go along with a third-place showing in the 400 IM. The competition was much tougher in the 100 free, with a final that included four other Olympic medalists as well as Manuel, who has won relay golds at the last two world championships.
The 19-year-old Ledecky failed to match her best time in the 100, a 53.75 at the Austin Grand Prix in January. That had been the fastest for an American women this year until Dana Vollmer beat it Sunday, posting a time of 53.59 in the morning prelims at the Charlotte Grand Prix.
Nathan Adrian added another victory as well, dominating the men’s 100 free after taking the 50 free the previous night.
The defending Olympic gold medalist in the 100, Adrian finished strong in the down-and-back dash for a time of 48.29 — about a half-body length ahead of Brazil’s Marcelo Chierighini. Afterward, the winner went for a long massage and was one of the last swimmers to leave the building, rushing out just before nightfall.
Lochte wins 200 IM
In Charlotte, world record-holder and triple Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte won the 200-meter individual medley title Sunday at the US Pro Swim Series meet in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The 31-year-old American won in 1min 58.97 with countryman Conor Dwyer, a world and Olympic relay swim champion, second in 2:00.90 and Hungary’s Norbert Szabo third in 2:01.56.
Lochte set the 200 IM world record of 1:54.00 at the 2011 World Championships in Shanghai. He took Olympic 200 IM silver in 2004 and 2012 and bronze in 2008 and is the reigning Olympic 400 IM champion.
Three Canadians took titles — Dominique Bouchard in the women’s 200 backstroke in 2:09.14, Penny Oleksiak in the women’s 100 free in 53.41 and Santo Condorelli in the men’s 100 free in 48.41.
Russian-born Serbian Arkady Vyatchanin won the men’s 200 back in 1:59.09.
American Leah Smith won the women’s 800 free in 8:27.79 for her third title of the meet, having earlier taken the 200 and 400 free. — Agencies
