The Arena Grand Prix: MICHAEL MCBROOM WINS GOLD AS ARENA GRAND PRIX AT ORLANDO CONCLUDES

The Arena Grand Prix at Orlando concluded Saturday night with four additional fallen meet records to cap off the three-day event. Swimmers from four different countries, U.S.’s Michael McBroom (Plymouth, Pa.), Cesar Cielo of Brazil, Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia and Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu earned the night’s new-meet accolades. (15/2)

A total of 15 new meet records fell during the three-day meet at the YMCA Aquatic Center in Orlando. This meet also included the return of the much-anticipated Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.). This was the first competition that featured the Olympian after he injured himself in the end of 2013.

Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.) started off the night with a win in the 800m freestyle. Completing the event in 8:35.20, she earned her second first-place win of the weekend.Andreina Pinto of Venezuela came in second with a time of 8:36.35 and Courtney Harnish(York, Pa.) was third with a time of 8:39.11.

Crushing yet another meet record, Hosszu took first place in the 200m I.M. by swimming the event in 2:11.27 - nearly four seconds faster than the previous record. Following her wasCaitlin Leverenz (Tuscan, Ariz.) who finished in 2:14.24 and Justine Bowker (Monroe, Mich.) in 2:16.11.

In the men’s 200m I.M., David Verraszto of Hungary swam a 2:01.90 for the win. Michael Weiss (Reno, Nev.) took second with a time of 2:02.40 and third place was given to Canada’sEvan White who finished in 2:03.13.

Elizabeth Simmonds of Great Britain scored a first-place finish in the 200m back with a winning time of 2:10.44. Another Canadian, Hilary Caldwell, came in to finish at second in a time of 2:10.94, while Hosszu ended in third in 2:11.74.

Russia’s Vyatchanin won the 200m back in a meet-record time of 1:56.95. He touched the wall ahead of U.S. National Team member Lochte, who finally made it to the series competition after being stuck in Charlotte, N.C. due to the inclement weather. Lochte finished second by earning a time of 1:58.12 and was followed by Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.) who finished in 2:00.16 to take third.

The women’s 100m free was won by Victoria Poon of Canada who finished in a time of 55.20. Megan Romano (St. Petersburg, Fla.) placed second in 55.25, while Arianna Vanderpool-Wallace of the Bahamas took third in 55.41.

Brazil’s Cielo swam a record-breaking 100m free, winning in 49.28. Jimmy Feigen (San Antonio, Texas) took second in 49.63, while Japan’s Miguel Ortiz took third in 50.33.

The men’s 1500 freestyle concluded the night’s individual competitions with a win by McBroom. He earned a time of 15:14.34 to knock off the previous meet record by over 15 seconds. Eric Hedlin of Canada placed second in 15:17.29 and third was given to Andy Arteta of Venezuela who swam a 15:29.27.

The Arena Grand Prix Series offers swimmers the opportunity to take home prize money for top finishes in all individual Olympic-distance events. In total, $150,000 in prize money is available to be distributed over the course of the six-meet series. At each meet, $500 will be awarded for a first-place finish, $300 for second and $100 for third in all individual events. Arena is serving as the title sponsor for the Arena Grand Prix Series for the second straight year.

In addition to the prize money, swimmers will compete for a Series grand prize from BMW. For the first time in the history of the Series, BMW will give the highest-scoring eligible male and female U.S. swimmer a one-year lease of a BMW ActiveHybrid 3 Series.

Male and female overall Arena Grand Prix Series champions will be honored at the conclusion of the 2013-14 series based on the number of points accumulated throughout the six meets. Participants will be awarded points in each individual Olympic event throughout the duration of the Series (Five points for first, three for second, one point for third place).