nigel.simon@guardian.co.tt
T&T swimmer Dylan Carter pocketed the top prize of US$100,000 after he finished the three legs of the FINA World Cup Swimming Series as the top-ranked swimmer, edging out USA’s Nick Fink for the top spot by 0.3 points when the curtain came down on the third and final stop at the Indiana University Natatorium in Indianapolis, USA on Saturday night.
In his final event, the men’s 50 metres butterfly Carter won gold in 21.99 seconds, .01 seconds off his personal best from the 2021 Short Course World Championship last December, and just .14 seconds behind the world record shared by Brazil’s Nicholas Santos and Hungary’s Szebasztian Szabo.
He was still well ahead of South Africa’s Chad Le Clos who took the second spot in 22.27 while Germany’s Marius Kusch took bronze in 22.46, just ahead of Canadian 17-year-old Ilya Kharun’s 22.47 seconds.
Carter’s swim also marked a new US Open record, taking down the previous mark of 22.06 seconds posted by Caeleb Dressel in 2019, and in the process, he earned 19.6 points to up his total to 172.6, which beat out Nic Fink (172.3) and South African Chad le Clos (166.3) for the overall crown.
Along with bragging rights, Carter took home US$142,000 from the Indianapolis, USA stop alone from his three Triple Crowns, $12,000 meet title, and $100,000 overall crown.
On Friday night, Carter won the men’s 50 backstroke swim to complete his second ‘Triple Crown’ in two days as he swam a massive personal best, ripping 22.72, the 11th best all-time, to undercut his former national record of 22.94 seconds. The time was also a new US Open record, breaking the record of Brazilian Guilherme Guido which was set in 2019.
Second-placed finisher Ryan Murphy was the only swimmer besides Carter under 23 seconds after he touched in 22.99 and his teammate Justin Ress, who won gold in this event at the Long Course World Championships, took third in 23.07 seconds.
A day earlier, when the third and final leg began Carter made it three Triple Crown winners in a row with his victory in the 50m freestyle in 20.71 with Australian Kyle Chalmers second in 20.81, and Ress, third in 21.23 seconds.
Commenting after securing his ninth gold medal after sweeping the 50 metres freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly events on Saturday night Carter said, “I am so happy, I am over the moon.”
He said, “The pressure really started to mount this weekend, but I really felt like I could do it. I think it is massive for T&T.
“The Olympics and World Championship is about who is best on that day, but the World Cup is about who is better for an extended period of time. It is really a phenomenal feat of not just fast swimming, but endurance. It is a big step for our sport in the Caribbean.”
Asked if he envisioned having so much success during the World Cup and winning nine of nine finals, the Commonwealth Games, and World Short Course medal winner replied, “It was a goal, but I can’t say I was expecting it. “But I mean, I had a really good meet run, so I’m really, really proud of that.”
With his fellow podium finishers on Saturday at his side, Carter added, “These are some of my best friends, Chad and Marius here. Marius and I lived together prior to the Tokyo Olympics, so we’re really, really close. It’s so fun racing these guys every night.”
Carter’s performance is the fastest in the world this year ahead of the 22.21 seconds posted by le Clos at the first stop of the World Cup in Berlin.
He said, “It is a massive step for me. I have always felt like I have had massive potential, but there was always something missing. I came home after this summer and went to my local gym. The amount of people who asked me if I was going to retire—I swam good times but people thought I was done, that I was never going to break through. That really drove me and that is part of the results you see here.”
Carter called his recent run of dominance in the 50s his ‘second career’ after previously specialising in longer-distance events.
“I have always swam up to 200, but I always wanted to have a bit of a second career, which is the 50s,” he said. “I always had a good 50 fly. It was always good for a 200 guy. I wanted to put it together and see what I could do. Training in Trinidad, I am training on my own a lot. It’s fun. It is a lot more fun than training for the 200. Swimming in a way that is sustainable and when you are happy, that is when you can see your career in front of you.”
He is expected to return home this week to compete in the National Short Course Age-Group Championship which splashes off on Thursday at the National Aquatic Centre, Balmain, Couva and run until Sunday as part of his preparations for the FINA World Short Course Championships in Melbourne, Australia from December 13 to 18, at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre. The events will be contested in a 25-metre pool.
