A week before he boarded a plane from Washington D.C. bound for Toronto, before the opening ceremonies of these Pan American Games and before the start of his only event of the five-day swimming competition, Olympian Andrew Gemmell‘s dad made an off-hand comment about his son while watching Andrew’s younger sister Erin compete in a summer league meet.
“I guess it’s time he figures out this pool thing,” said Bruce Gemmell, dad and coach for the former Georgia standout.
The younger Gemmell, Andrew, not Erin, had made his mark in swimming beyond “this pool thing.” As an open water swimmer, the Nation’s Capital swimmer won a fair share of international medals during his time representing the red, white and blue abroad.
[Results: 2015 Toronto Pan American Games]
But after failing to qualify for the Kazan World Championships in April, when he finished fifth in the men’s 10-kilometer at U.S. nationals, Gemmell had to turn his attention inward, away from the sanctuary of lakes and shorelines that he has made his swimming home since 2009.
Saturday night, Gemmell finished in 15 minutes 9.92 seconds in the men’s 1,500-meter freestyle at CIBC Pan Am/Parapan Am Aquatics Centre and Field House, unable to chase down favorite Ryan Cochrane of Canada, who had the crowd with him for every meter of the mile event. Cochrane, an Olympian like Gemmell, finished in a meet record of 15:06.40. Brazil’s Brandonn Almeida claimed bronze in 15:11.70.
Gemmell had been a member of the U.S. national team for every major international competition since 2009. This summer will be his first time not joining the U.S.’s top squad at the year’s premier competition.
Gemmell had been a staple on national “A” team, albeit often overlooked as a distance and open water swimmer. He won silver in the 10K event at the 2009 World Championships in Rome and the 2010 Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, Calif, and gold in the gold, 5K team event at the 2011 Shanghai Worlds. But he missed the Olympic team in open water and settled for ninth in the 1,500 free in London, and then finished 13th overall in the 5K open water event at the Barcelona Worlds the next year.
And because of an oddity in the Olympics selection promise for open water, Gemmell must spend the next year entirely focused on the pool — unless neither American finishes in the top 10 at worlds this summer in Kazan. If one or both do, they will automatically qualify for the Rio Games, leaving hopefuls like Gemmell high and dry.
[Allison Schmitt downs 36-year-old meet record at Pan American Games]
His performance Saturday just barely cracks the top 30 in the world. Far from the best performance for the Americans in Toronto.
The U.S. women concluded their time Pan American Games with a record in the 4×100 medley relay, smashing the mark they set in prelims by .82 seconds. The team of Natalie Coughlin, Katie Meili, Kelsi Worrell and Allison Schmitt combined for the record, beating Canada and Brazil.
Coughlin set a meet record in the 100 backstroke in leading off the Americans in 59.05. She lowered her own record set during prelims of the relay event, as well. They were only five seconds shy of the world record, unsurprising as the U.S. bookended its relay with gold medalists and packed two Olympic hopefuls in the middle, and in one day lowered the meet record by more than four seconds.
[Kelsi Worrell scorches 100 butterfly at Pan American Games]
Dancing queen Sierra Schmidt, a 17-year-old rising high school junior out of North Baltimore, led from start to finish in taking down the Games record in the women’s 800 freestyle in a lifetime best of 8:28.91. She crushed Kaitlin Sandeno’s 1999 mark of 8:34.65 and vaulted herself to 12th in the world. Chile’s Kristel Kobrich of Chile, the defending champion, took silver (8:29.79), followed by Venezuela’s Andreina Pinto for bronze (8:31.08).
Caitlin Leverenz won gold in the women’s 200 medley, also in record time, touching in 2:10.51 and lowering her own Games record. It was U.S. sweep of the top of the podium, as Meghan Small edged Canada’s Sydney Pickrem, 2:11.26 to 2:11.29.
In the men’s 4×100 medley, the Americans put up a fight against the defending champion Brazilians, who took down an eight-year mark previously held by the U.S. by nearly two seconds. They touched in 3:32.68, followed closely by Team USA in 3:33.63 and Canada in 3:34.40.
In the silver medalist finish, Giles Smith nearly handed the Americans a lead heading into the anchor leg after they had fell behind during the opening statements. Smith split 51.85 in the butterfly leg, easily the fastest in the field.
