On the evening of April 30, the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center hosted a program that explains why there are disagreements over whether this sport is expanding or merely in-season purgatory. The men’s 100-meter free final was not attended by Caeleb Dressel. In the men’s 100-breast, nobody broke a minute. Leon Marchand’s time in the 200 fly was 1:53. The fourth-fastest women’s 50-meter backstroke in history was swum by Isabelle Stadden. In less than thirty minutes, Kate Douglass won both the 100 free and the 100 breaststroke. The entire evening may have been perplexing to the uninformed observer. Those who were paying attention would have seen it as a sneak peek at what will be released in July.
The UVA program’s victory in the women’s 100 free was the most comprehensive story of the evening. In the preliminary round, Gretchen Walsh, Anna Moesch, and Kate Douglass went 1-2-3. They swept the podium once more in the finals, but the order of finishes changed. With a time of 53.01, which was her fastest swim of the season and a significant improvement over her 53.45 in Westmont, Douglass went from third to first. Moesch, who was only 0.15 seconds behind her personal best, finished second in 53.25. Walsh finished third in 53.44, but she went 52.90 in the finals after finishing 54.09 in the prelims at this same meet the previous year. This means that 53.44 in an early-season session following a sprint double is not the ceiling anyone should be assuming.
The Stadden swim merits its own punishment. Katharine Berkoff is the reigning American record holder in the women’s 50 back at 26.97, a mark she set last year. Stadden posted 27.29 in finals on Thursday night — a tie with her personal best — good for the #4 performance in history globally. She won by nearly half a second over Berkoff, who touched in 27.74. This is an in-season, untapered competition in April. The message Stadden is sending ahead of Nationals is not subtle.
2026 Speedo Fort Lauderdale Open — Day 2 Key Results
| Meet | 2026 Speedo Fort Lauderdale Open |
| Dates | April 29 – May 2, 2026 |
| Venue | Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (LCM / 50 meters) |
| W 100 Free — Winner | Kate Douglass (NYAC) — 53.01 (season best); UVA swept podium: Moesch 2nd (53.25), Walsh 3rd (53.44) |
| M 100 Free — Winner | Chris Giuliano (TXLA) — 48.43; Navikonis 2nd (48.69), Sammon 3rd (48.76); Dressel and Casas missed A-final |
| W 100 Breast — Winner | Kate Douglass (NYAC) — 1:06.58 (doubled in under 30 minutes); McSharry 2nd (1:06.66), Jefimova 3rd (1:07.42) |
| M 100 Breast — Winner | Jack Kelly (NYAC) — 1:00.35; Call 2nd (1:00.72); no sub-1:00 swims |
| W 50 Back — Winner | Isabelle Stadden (AQJT) — 27.29 (tied lifetime best; #4 all-time globally); Berkoff 2nd (27.74) |
| M 50 Back — Winner | Hubert Kos (TXLA) — 25.12; Casas 2nd (25.21); Kos completed a 100 breast / 50 back double |
| W 200 Fly — Winner | Regan Smith (TXLA) — 2:05.00; Looney 2nd (2:07.93), Howley 3rd (2:08.26) |
| M 200 Fly — Winner | Leon Marchand (TXLA) — 1:53.08 (world-leading); Foster 2nd (1:55.09), Schott 3rd (1:56.41) |
| W 400 Free — Winner | Summer McIntosh (TXLA) — 3:58.91; Ledecky 2nd (3:59.02) — margin: 0.11 seconds |
| M 400 Free — Winner | Bobby Finke (SPA) — 3:51.09; Mulgrew 2nd (3:51.28), Smith 3rd (3:52.10) |
| Notable | Stadden’s 27.29 is the #4 performance all-time in the women’s 50 back globally; Marchand’s 200 fly was his exact Olympic event lineup; Douglass’s double came inside 30 minutes |
Marchand appeared at this meet swimming exactly the events he swam at the Paris 2024 Olympics: the 200 fly, 200 breast, 400 IM, and 200 IM. His prelims 1:56.80 in the 200 fly was controlled to the point of being politely misleading. Then he went 1:53.08 in finals, which is the world leader this season and made his morning swim look genuinely like a warmup. Carson Foster stayed with him through the first hundred meters and finished a respectable 1:55.09 in second — a real time from a real swimmer in real form. It’s possible Marchand has more to give in the actual tapered version of this race. The SwimSwam comment section seemed to operate on the assumption that a 1:50 is in range by summer. That’s not unreasonable.
The women’s 400 free final finished with Summer McIntosh winning by eleven-hundredths of a second over Katie Ledecky. McIntosh turned ahead at the halfway point and held it. Ledecky closed hard but couldn’t fully bridge the gap, touching in 3:59.02. In April, both were less than four minutes. At this point, there is a rhythm to their rivalry: McIntosh battles the front half, Ledecky builds from behind, and the final fifty meters determine everything. Ledecky defeated McIntosh at the same meet last year by finishing the final 50 seconds 1.65 seconds faster. The Canadian persisted on Thursday night. As the summer calendar develops, it’s a pattern worth keeping an eye on.
With a final fifty of 27.00, Bobby Finke won the men’s 400 free. He improved by two seconds from his preliminary final split of 29.13 to close in 56.71 over the final hundred. He finished fifth in the preliminary round. He put everything he had into the wall and blasted past William Mulgrew in the final turn to win the finals. Depending on how closely you’ve been following the men’s distance field, you may find it comforting or concerning that Finke hasn’t yet reached his full potential this season while watching this from poolside. Every moment spent watching the men’s 400 free at Nationals will be worthwhile.
