NAPOLI, Italy – Former Texas A&M swimmer Jonathan Tybur, advanced to the final in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2019 World University Games at the Piscina Scandone in Napoli, Italy.
Tybur, competing for Team USA, and former teammate Mauro Castillo, competing for Team Mexico, went head to head in the 200-meter breaststroke.
In the preliminary round, Tybur came in third in his heat with a time of 2:12.25, while Castillo swam 2:13.26 in a separate heat, as both would advance to the semifinals.
As the head coach of the Mexico team and in attendance at the 2019 World University Games, Texas A&M head men’s swimming coach Jay Holmes, commented on both Tybur and Castillo’s performances in the 200-meter breaststroke.
“In the prelims it was a bit of a contrast between Jonathan and Mauro,” said Holmes. “Jonathan was too wired and Mauro was too relaxed. They have trained together for five years now and know each other so well. They both leveled out their emotions in the prelims well enough to advance to the semifinals.”
In the semifinals, Tybur placed fifth to move on to the finals, clocking in at 2:12.31. Castillo lowered his time to 2:13.11, but did not advance to the finals.
“It was a really close race between both semifinal heats,” Holmes said. “Jonathan actually didn’t finish in his last 50-meters like we wanted. That will be something that he works on tomorrow in the final. Mauro was happy with how he executed the race plan. He said he actually wasn’t that tired after the race and said he could have done another one, but just couldn’t go any faster.”
After advancing to the finals in the 200-meter breaststroke, Tybur placed seventh with a time of 2:13.68.
“Jonathan has some high goals and he had already proven that he could go 2:12 here swimming under control,” said Holmes. “We saw that in the prelims and the semifinals, but doing a 2:12 is not what he came here to do. He did go out fairly hard in the final and really paid for it at the end.”
“We’re proud of him for being on Team USA and the final at the World University Games. It’s a great experience for him in this process of getting ready for next summer’s Olympic trials.”
In addition to Tybur and Castillo, Juan Rocha also competed in the 50-meter backstroke. Representing Mexico, Rocha finished with a time of 26.89 in the preliminary round. Alberto Gomezcompeted in the 100-meter freestyle. He came in 33rd with a time of 51.77 in the preliminary round.
The 2019 World University Games continues on Monday beginning with the men’s 200-meter backstroke and concluding the day with the women’s 100-meter butterfly.
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Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics