Luke Hobson blazes to 200m free victory at US Swim Championships

CHICAGO – Luke Hobson clocked a blistering 1min 43.73sec to win the 200m freestyle on June 4 at the US Swimming Championships in Indianapolis, Indiana, sending a signal before the World Championships in Singapore.

Hobson, bronze medallist in the 200m free at the 2024 Paris Olympics, became the fifth-fastest performer in history in the event, joining superstar Michael Phelps as the only Americans to break 1min 44sec.

“That was awesome – 1:43 has kind of been a goal of mine for a couple of years now,” Hobson told broadcaster Peacock. “And just to have it happen here – I’m super excited and looking forward to Singapore.”

Gabriel Jett finished second in 1:44.70 to punch his ticket to Singapore, where the World Championships run July 11-Aug 3.

In the women’s 200m free, 18-year-old Claire Weinstein surged late to turn the tables on superstar Katie Ledecky, winning in 1:54.92 – the fastest time in the world this year – as Ledecky finished second in 1:55.26.

Nine-time Olympic gold medallist Ledecky had already booked a trip to a seventh World Championships with a scintillating victory over Weinstein in the 800m free.

Torri Huske, the 100m butterfly gold medallist at the Paris Olympics last summer, was third to put herself in the mix for a coveted relay spot at worlds.

Claire Curzan, a six-time world champion who failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics, continued her return to form with a victory in the women’s 200m backstroke, clocking 2:05.09 to beat former world record-holder Regan Smith (2:05.84).

Gretchen Walsh lowered her own American record in winning the 50m butterfly with a victory in 24.66sec, with Kate Douglass second in 25.39.

“I wanted to go best time, so that would have been anther American record, but I didn’t expect to break it by that much,