Washington (AFP) – US Olympian Connor Jaeger won the men’s 800-meter freestyle and compatriot Ashley Twichell took the women’s 1,500 free Thursday to open the US Pro Swim Series meet at Charlotte, North Carolina.
Jaeger, who placed sixth in the 1,500 free at the 2012 London Olympics, won his fourth consecutive Charlotte 800 crown in 7min, 54.49secs, the sixth-best time in the world this year. Countryman Zane Groethe was second in 7:57.00 with El Salvador’s Marcelo Acosta third in 8:05.79.
Jaeger, 25, was second at 1,500 in last year’s world meet in Russia, where he set the American record of 14:41.20.
Twichell, 26, won in 16:11.19, the second-fastest time in the world in 2016, to defeat Chile’s Kristel Kobrich by 4.96 seconds. American Gillian Ryan was third in 16:32.21.
The meet, the fifth of seven stops in the US series of warm-up events for August’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics, continues through Sunday.