Bahamian multi national record holder Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace made major statements in two short sprints, the 50 meters (m) free and fly events, over the weekend at the Arena Pro Swim Series in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Vanderpool-Wallace got the evening going with a dominant victory in the final of the women's 50m free. Her time of 24.35 seconds was just a hundredth of a second off her national record time of 24.34 seconds that she set at the Commonwealth Games last summer. However, she gave herself plenty of breathing room over second place finisher Natalie Coughlin who finished in 25.03 seconds.
The win on Saturday propelled Vanderpool-Wallace to third in the world rankings, the only athletes faster being the Campbell sisters from Australia (Cate and Bronte). Vanderpool-Wallace is scheduled to compete this summer in the Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada, and the 16th FINA (International Swimming Federation) World Championships in Kazan, Russia.
Later in the evening at the Arena Pro Series in Charlotte, Vanderpool-Wallace took the 50m fly in 25.93 seconds, well ahead of Claire Donahue who finished second in a time of 26.31 seconds. That time gave Vanderpool-Wallace the fifth fastest effort in the world this year, five tenths of a second off her national record time.
Following the races, Vanderpool-Wallace said that she was pleased with the way the she performed. In an interview with Swimming World Magazine following the series, she said she believes the races could be a sign of a fast summer.
"I came in really wanting to get close to my best times, and ended up off a hundredth of a second in the 50 free, so that was pretty exciting," she said.
"In the 50 butterfly, I kind of spun out the first five strokes, so I want to try and slow down a little bit and then start to fly after that. However, I'm pretty excited with how I did. Last year when I finished with a 24.34 at the Commonwealth Games, I came fourth, and that was kind of upsetting because it was probably top five in the world. I'm trying to go under 24 seconds this summer, so being able to do this now is definitely confidence building."
Right now, Vanderpool-Wallace said that she is uncertain as to whether she will be participating in the FINA World Championships this year, specifically because they are less than a week after the Pan Am Games.
"It's just a quick turnaround, but we'll see," she said. "The Pan Am Games are going to be incredibly fast. I think there are going to be a ton of people there that are going to shock the world, maybe faster than people are going to go at the world championships."
The 17th Pan American Games is scheduled to be held from July 10-26, 2015, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Approximately 6,135 athletes from 41 nations are expected to participate in 36 sporting disciplines.
Meanwhile, the FINA Worlds will be held from July 24 to August 9, 2015. This is the first time that Russia will host this event.
Competitions will be held in swimming, open water swimming, diving and high diving, synchronized swimming, and water polo at three main competition venues.
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