2025 World Cup: Carmel - Mary-Sophie Harvey Scratches 200 Free Final
The 2025 Swimming World Cup in Carmel, Indiana, is underway, and the second prelims session delivered some intriguing developments. Canadian swimmer Mary-Sophie Harvey, a silver medalist at the World Championships last December, qualified for the 200-meter freestyle final with a time of 1:54.81, just over three seconds slower than her previous performance. However, Harvey has decided to scratch the event, a strategic move given her focus on the 400-meter individual medley (IM) timed final later in the day.
This decision has led to a reshuffling of lanes for the final. Australian Brittany Castelluzzo, who finished in 1:55.54, now takes the eighth lane, bumping her from ninth. The absence of Harvey in the 200 free final opens up opportunities for other swimmers, but the real drama unfolds in the 400 IM.
Harvey's primary competition in the 400 IM will likely come from Team GB's Abbie Wood, who narrowly edged Harvey for the bronze medal at the 2024 World Championships with a time of 4:24.34, compared to Harvey's fourth-place 4:26.09. Additionally, Ireland's Ellen Walshe, a 2021 World silver medalist, is a force to be reckoned with, having recently broken an Irish national record in the 200-meter butterfly.
Harvey has a strong history in the 400 IM, having won at the World Cup in Shanghai (4:28.03) and Incheon (4:26.23) during the previous season. She also secured a runner-up position at the final stop in Singapore, setting a personal best of 4:25.33.
On Friday, Harvey's performance included a fifth-place finish in the 400-meter freestyle (4:01.09), an eighth-place finish in the 200-meter breaststroke (2:23.26), and a 10th-place finish in the 100-meter individual medley (59.66), all of which were slightly below her personal bests. She is now set to compete in the 800-meter freestyle and 200-meter IM, aiming to conclude the meet on a high note.
The scratch report for the men's and women's events reveals no changes, indicating a smooth progression through the preliminary rounds. The focus now shifts to the finals, where the real competition will unfold, with significant prize money on the line for the top 20 finishers at each stop.
