Avon’s Madison Kennedy
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Avon’s Madison Kennedy trains every day with two-time Olympian Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace at SwimMAC in Charlotte. “Going next to Arianna, you’re going to go fast,” Kennedy told Swimming World Magazine Saturday night.
Both went quickly in the finals of the 50 meter freestyle at the Arena Grand Prix in Charlotte. Vanderpool-Wallace, who is from the Bahamas, won the 50 free in 24.65 seconds, just 0.01 off her lifetime best.
Kennedy swam her best 50 meter time ever, taking second in 24.78 seconds. Kennedy’s time is the 13th best time in the world this year in the 50 free. Vanderpool-Wallace’s time is the eighth best time in the world so far.
U.S. Olympian Jessica Hardy was third in 24.46 while Wisconsin sprinter Ivy Martin was fourth in 25.53. Kennedy and Martin had the fastest times in qualifying of 25.68 seconds.
WATCH: 50 freestyle final from the Charlotte Grand Prix
Kennedy swam in the 50 backstroke on Friday at the Grand Prix and finished 10th overall with a time of 29.60 seconds.
She also swam on SwimMAC’s winning 400 freestyle relay team that won in 56.52 seconds. Kennedy, Katie Meili, Patricia Castro Ortega and Vanderpool-Wallace made up the team.
On Sunday, Kennedy will compete in the 100 meter freestyle, where she is seeded seventh with a time of 54.45 seconds.
In 2013, Kennedy tied for second in the 50 freestyle with a time of 25.12 seconds with Megan Romano behind Jessica Hardy (25.09).In the 100 freestyle, she was sixth with a time of 56.50.
The Charlotte Grand Prix is the fifth of six Grand Prix swim meets, which provide the nation’s best swimmers with six opportunities to face top-flight competition on U.S. soil. The series concludes June 19-22 with the Arena Grand Prix at Santa Clara (California).
WATCH: Madison’s interview with Swimmer’s World after the 50 free final on our YouTube page.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login