Gamecocks Pick Up Two All-America Performances in 500 Freestyle
- Day 2 Prelim Results
- Day 2 Finals Results
- Day 3 Prelim Heat Sheet
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. South Carolina men’s swimming picked up its first two All-America performances of the 2018 NCAA Championships as Akram Mahmoud and Fynn Minuth each qualified for Thursday night’s finals session in the 500 free. Mahmoud followed up a win in heat five of prelims with a 4:12.14 in the A-final to finish in fifth-place while Minuth finished third in the B-final with a 4:14.05.
Mahmoud adds to his decorated Gamecocks’ career with a third-straight All-America performance in the 500 free while Minuth, the second fastest seeded swimmer entering the event, earns his second-straight All-America performance in the 500.
DAY 2 RECAP
Mahmoud swam a prelim time of 4:12.52 in Thursday’s 500 to finish atop the fifth of seven heats, qualifying him for the A final of the evening session in seventh place. Minuth fell just over a second behind the pace for qualification into the 500 free A final, but placed into the B final with a prelim time of 4:13.94.
Minuth nearly matched his prelim time, finishing in 11th-place overall with a 4:14.05 in the B final to officially put the Gamecocks on the board in the individual events.
Mahmoud opened with a 48.29 100-yard split to start and finished the race with a 50.66 100-yard split to earn his fifth-place finish, putting the Gamecocks into 17th place in the team standings heading into day three of the meet.
QUOTABLES
“The distance events at the NCAA Championships the last few years have just been absolutely amazing, and our guys have played a major role in that. Every year when you get to this point at the National Championships, it’s about racing for points. We want to be fast, and we want to be on our times, but the bottom line is you’re trying to get as many guys into those A and B finals as you can and put as many points as possible on the board. Our guys did that today and we’ve got a big day tomorrow. The momentum that Fynn (Minuth) and Akram (Mahmoud) created for us today is going to carry over, and our guys are going to feed off that. The team battle is going to be close, and that’s what makes this meet so much fun. I like where we sit right now, and I think we’re going to have a great day tomorrow.”
— HEAD SWIMMING COACH MCGEE MOODY-
“It’s been a pleasure working with the whole coaching staff and having such outstanding and talented teammates. It’s an emotional week for me- we’ve finished the relay, the 500 and now it’s just one race to go (Saturday’s 1650 Freestyle). I’m just going to go out there and do it for my team and try to score as many points as I can. I’ll be there for them tomorrow, for the 400 IMers and breaststrokers. It’s going to be fun. “-On having one more race left in his college career
— SENIOR AKRAM MAHMOUD-
UP NEXT FOR CAROLINA
The Gamecocks will have swimmers competing in three events on Friday, including the 400 IM, the 200 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke as South Carolina looks to improve on its 17th-place position in the overall team standings.
For updates, follow South Carolina Swimming and Diving on Twitter at @GamecockSwim.
