5 For Day 5: Races to Watch Wednesday/Thursday at the World Championships

Tonight, we will be doing a very special live broadcast preview 30 minutes before the beginning of prelims (8:30 US Eastern Time). Check it out in the upper-right hand corner of any page on The Swimmers Circle!

As a reminder, the prelims session will begin at:

• 6PM Los Angeles Time (Western)
• 8PM Chicago Time (Central)
• 9PM New York Time (Eastern)
• 2AM London Time
• 3AM Johannesburg Time
• 9AM Shanghai Time
• 11AM Sydney Time

Finals will begin 9 hours after prelims begin, which means:

• 3AM Los Angeles Time (Western)
• 5AM Chicago Time (Central)
• 6AM New York Time (Eastern)
• 11AM London Time
• 12AM Johannesburg Time
• 6PM Shanghai Time 
• 8PM Sydney Time

Prelims will consist of five races: the women’s 100 freestyle, the men’s 200 backstroke, the women’s 200 breaststroke, the men’s 200 breaststroke, and the women’s 800 free relay. In addition to the semi-finals of the four above-mentioned individual events, finals will hand out gold medals in 5 different events:

• Men’s 200 IM
• Men’s 100 free
• Women’s 200 fly
• Women’s 50 backstroke
• Women’s 800 free relay

Five Things to Watch For in Day 5 of the Meet:

1.  Lochte vs. Phelps in the 200 IM – Ryan Lochte got the better of Michael Phelps in the pair’s first matchup in the 200 free earlier in the meet. The two will square off for the 2nd, and last, final of the meet in today’s 200 IM final. Unlike the 200 free, this pair is the prohibitive favorites in this race. They will be swimming in the middle of the pool, and thus should be able to keep tabs on each other throughout the competition. Phelps will win the fly, Lochte will win the back. Phelps has been better in the breaststroke in this meet, though historically that has been reversed. The freestyle legis a toss-up for whoever has the most juice left. If neither gets caught up in an early race with Brazil’s Thiago Pereira, who will go out very hard and come back to earth on the freestyle, they could put up very fast times.

2. James Magnussen – James Magnussen has already shown himself to be the fastest 100 freestyler in textile ever in the relay. In tonight’s 100 free final, will the Australian feel the pressure to outdo his previous mark of 47.49, or will he simply be swimming for gold? Magnussen has been the fastest through two rounds of this race, but plenty in the field have a lot more to give, including the USA’s Nathan Adrian, Canada’s Brent Hayden, and Brazil’s Cesar Cielo. France’s superstar duo of William Meynard and Fabien Gilot will be lurking as well.

3. Still Recordless – Just when it’s about time to give up all hope on a World Record being broken in 2011, the women’s 200 breaststroke will begin. By many accounts, this was the best chance that anybody has in this meet, because in 2010 Soni was only half-a-second away from Annamay Pierse’s record set in 2009. Over 200 meters, that’s a very reachable drop. Pierse will also be in this race looking for a second-consecutive medal in the event, as will Russia’s Yuliya Efimova who hasn’t been great in this meet so far, but has shown the ability to put up a great 200 breaststroke.

4. Women’s 800 Free Relay – Finally, we get back to relay action on day 5 after three days absent of the team event. The Australians enter the meet as the favorite, followed by the Americans and the defending champion Chinese. The Hungarians too could make a challenge in this race, though the British don’t seem to have the gas to keep up after early returns. Swimmers on the first four relays we mentioned have been very hit-and-miss in this meet, with some greats swims from relay members (Dana Vollmer, Missy Franklin, Kylie Palmer, Agnes Mutina) while other have not looked as good. The benefits to the Americans and the Australians is that they seem to have more options to work with in their relays and nail down the combinations that are swimming hot right now. This will be a great fight to the finish.

5. Femke is Fading – The Netherlands’ Femke Heemskerk started this meet off with three-and-a-half awesome swims. She looked spectacular on the Dutch 400 free relay. She looked great through prelims and semi-finals of the 200 free (and still has the world’s top time in that race this year). She looked phenomenal through 100 meters of the final, but then the wheels fell off. It’s hard to believe that she’s already worn out, and so the 100 free prelims and semifinal will be her chance to start building her speed up again. She’s still the favorite in this race, but watch for the USA’s Natalie Coughlin, Great Britain’s Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Australia”s Alicia Coutts, and a slew of other swimmers will be chasing her down. Expect Coughlin to be the fastest in the first two rounds, thanks to her walls that are still the best in the world, but anyone who makes this final will have a chance at the gold.