Fast Swimmers at the Fort Lauderdale Open

May 3, 2026, 15:02

Introduction

Many famous swimmers raced in Fort Lauderdale. They wanted to practice and get ready for big races.

Main Body

Gretchen Walsh was very fast. She broke the world record in the 100-metre butterfly. Her time was 54.33 seconds. Leon Marchand also won two races. Summer McIntosh won the 400-metre and 200-metre freestyle. She had the fastest time in the world this year. However, she and her coach want to fix some mistakes in her swimming. McIntosh also raced in the 200-metre breaststroke. She came in sixth place. She did this to learn and get better. Josh Liendo also raced and got second place in one event.

Conclusion

The swimmers broke records and learned how to swim better. Now they prepare for the next big competitions.

Learning

The 'Action' Pattern

Look at how we describe things that happened in the past. We just add -ed to the end of the word to show the action is finished.

Race $\rightarrow$ Raced
Want $\rightarrow$ Wanted
Learn $\rightarrow$ Learned

Watch out! Some words are 'rebels' and change completely. They don't use -ed:

$\circ$ Break $\rightarrow$ Broke $\circ$ Win $\rightarrow$ Won $\circ$ Come $\rightarrow$ Came $\circ$ Do $\rightarrow$ Did

Simple Rule: If you see -ed, the person is talking about yesterday or a finished event.

Vocabulary Learning

record (n.)

a written account or a best performance

Example:She set a new record in the race.

freestyle (n.)

a swimming style where the swimmer can choose any stroke

Example:He swam a freestyle in the final.

butterfly (n.)

a swimming stroke with both arms moving together

Example:She won the butterfly event.

breaststroke (n.)

a swimming stroke where arms move together and legs kick

Example:The breaststroke is slower than freestyle.

coach (n.)

a person who trains or teaches

Example:Her coach helped her improve.

mistakes (n.)

errors or wrong actions

Example:They fixed their mistakes after the race.

practice (v.)

to train by repeated exercise

Example:They practice every day.

competition (n.)

a contest or event where people compete

Example:The competition will start tomorrow.

fastest (adj.)

the quickest among others

Example:She had the fastest time.

event (n.)

a happening or activity

Example:The event lasted two hours.