Wednesday, June 1, 2022
Erica Sullivan Wins 1500 in Return to Long Course Swimming
The TYR Pro Swim Series Mission Viejo opened this evening with the men’s and women’s 1500-meter freestyle, seeing U.S. National Team member Erica Sullivan win the women’s event followed by David Johnston’s first-place finish in the men’s field.
Sullivan clocked a time of 16:34.91 to finish first by more than 25 seconds. The swim was her first long course meter appearance since winning silver at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and her first time competing since injuring her shoulder at April’s Open Water National Championships.
“This is a meet of being really kind to myself and just getting a starting point,” Sullivan said. “It’s not the time that I wanted—it’s not a good time at all—but I know what I need to do so I’m excited and I feel hopeful for what’s coming in these next few weeks so I can be ready for Nationals.”
Team Santa Monica’s Mattea Sokolow (16:59.96) and Sullivan’s University-of-Texas teammate Olivia McMurray (17:03.35) rounded out the top three.
The men’s event also saw a Texas Longhorn finish first via Johnston’s 15:18.32. The time is the third fastest performance he has ever swum, even besting his performance in the finals of last summer’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming.
“It was just good to get my first swim [of the meet] in,” Johnston said. “It’s been a long time since I haven’t been tapered so I’m getting into a little bit of a training block with Mark [Schubert] and the team and it’s good to get out here and get the first race underway. I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend.”
The top three was rounded out by Egypt’s Marwan El-Kamash and The Swim Team’s Isaac Fleig, who finished in 15:32.02 and 15:42.00, respectively.
The win gives Sullivan her sixth TYR Pro Swim Series win of her career, while Johnston picks up his first.
The TYR Pro Swim Series Mission Viejo continues through Saturday evening, with prelims beginning at noon ET and finals beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Tomorrow’s prelims can be streamed on www.usaswimming.org/watch while finals can be viewed on Olympic Channel.