IRVING, Calif. – Avon’s Madison Kennedy finished in the top 10 in the 100 meter freestyle at the 2014 U.S. national swimming championships Wednesday. Kennedy finished 10th with a time of 54.86 seconds in the B final. It was her best-ever finish in the 100 free at the U.S. national championship meet.
Kennedy’s preparations will now turn toward the 50 freestyle on Sunday where she is seeded No. 1, thanks to her career-best time of 24.78 seconds at the Charlotte Grand Prix in May.
Kennedy was seeded 11th in the 100 freestyle. She finished 10th in the qualifying heats with a time of 54.72 seconds. She was 0.07 of a second away from swimming in the championship final.
In the B final, Kennedy dueled with two-time Olympian Allison Schmidt. Kennedy had the lead after 50 meters with a time of 26.25 seconds with Schmidt in sixth place with a time of 26.6. But Schmidt finished strong to beat Kennedy by just 0.12 of a second. There were 102 swimmers that qualified to swim the 100 freestyle race.
Previously, Kennedy’s best time in the 100 meter freestyle at the U.S. nationals was 55.98 at the 2011 national meet at Stanford. Her best finish was 29th at the 2013 nationals in Indianapolis. Kennedy did take eighth in the 100 free at the 2012 U.S. Olympic trials.
In the 100 freestyle championship race, 2012 Olympian Missy Franklin, 19, surged in the final 10 meters to beat Texas sprinter Simone Manuel by 0.23 of a second to win her second straight national title in the 100 freestyle. Manuel had the fastest time after 50 meters (25.64) but Franklin rallied in the final 50 meters to win with a time of 53.43 seconds. Manuel was second in 53.66.
On Sunday, qualifying races begin at noon, EST with the finals scheduled for 9 p.m. NBC will be covering the championships on Sunday with a broadcast from 4-6 p.m. and another on NBC Sports Network from 11 p.m. to midnight.
In the 50 free, Manuel is the second seed (24.80 seconds) with former California teammate and 12-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin seeded third (24.97). The University of Georgia’s Megan Romano is the fourth seed with a qualifying time of 24.98 seconds.
Kennedy’s best finish at the nationals in the 50 free was second place finishes in 2010 (25.09 seconds) and in 2009 (25.15) in this same pool in Irvine.
The meet serves as the U.S. national team selection meet for several upcoming international events including the 2014 Pan Pacific championships in Australia later in August and the 2015 World Championship meet in Kazaan, Russia. Performances from the nationals will also help USA Swimming select teams for the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, Canada and the 2015 World University Games in South Korea.
Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of The Collinsville Press. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.


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