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American Men Make Wholesale Changes for Finals of 800 Free Relay

The American men had the second-fastest 800 free relay in prelims, combining for a 6:55.02, but after seeing the dramatic shifts in effort from prelims to finals on Wednesday, they’re taking no chances.

They’ve swapped out three of the four swimmers on their 800 free relay in finals, keeping only Matt McLean (though they’ve moved him from leadoff to the #2 spot).

The prelims relay:

  • Matt McLean – 1:43.65
  • Michael Klueh – 1:43.94
  • Michael Weiss – 1:44.19
  • Darian Townsend – 1:43.25

The finals relay:

  • Conor Dwyer
  • Ryan Lochte
  • Matt McLean
  • Tyler Clary

That finals relay will have the task of chasing down the top-seeded Italians, who were a 6:54.70 in prelims. A 6:54 won’t even get close to gold, but the Italians will have to find improvements with the same four swimmers to avoid a repeat of the 400 free relay – where they were the top seed in heats, but failed to medal in finals.

The most likely improvements for the Italians would come from Marco Belotti and Filippo Magnini, the 2nd and 4th legs, who were 1:43.97 and 1:43.44, respectively, in prelims. Both have been better on flat starts in their career, though Magnini’s 200 has waned as he’s gotten older.

Most of the top prelims relays stayed pat, including the 3rd-seeded Brazilians. In prelims, they were led by a flat-start 1:42.02 from Joao de Lucca to a 6:55.50.

The 4th-seeded Russians, who also happen to be the World Record holders, swapped two legs and added Mikhail Polishchuk and Danila Izotov onto their 6:56.72 prelims relay. That will put them in title contention.

The most interesting relay is the South Africans, who in prelims were 6th in 6:58.03. They swapped in the individual 200 free champion Chad le Clos to replace Calvyn Justus (1:45.89 in prelims). That move alone could pick them up 5 seconds, and the rest of their relay (especially the likes of Myles Brown and Sebastiean Rousseau) are capable of faster than they were in prelims.

The 5th-seeded Belgians, 7th-seeded Danes, and 8th-seeded Germans all left the same four in their relays, though all were reordered.

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Dunc1952
9 years ago

It obviously worked out ok eventually, luckily; that’s not the same as saying Townsend would not have done as well or better. Clary was not only coming out of a 400 IM earlier in the night, but one in which he had not performed very well. Beyond this, Clary’s life best in 200 SCM flat start is 1:43.86 from the 2013 Duel in the Pool, with no other SCM times under 1:46 on his resume. (1:48.96 LC; 2 x tech suit 133s; best textile swim 1:34.97 in a 3rd place at the Minnesota Grand Prix 2 weeks ago).

On the other hand, for Townsend I found a 1:42.01 from the tech suit era and 6 performances from 2012 alone between… Read more »

ERVINFORTHEWIN
Reply to  Dunc1952
9 years ago

I really appreciate what u wrote here . I was of course not completely aware that David Marsh was the head Men’s team coach – of course , david is very well known for his great knowledge of the sport , especially on the sprint section . He made the wise choice . I didn’t know what would happen with that brand new team for tonight’s race . The best came out from that incredible race ( which i still didn’t even see yet !!! ) and the public was surely delighted to witness the great battle .

ERVINFORTHEWIN
9 years ago

Why Putting Clary who was allready in a 400 IM instead of Townsend ???? Is Clary capable of 1.43.25 ? where , when ? I love the swimmer but this doesn’t sound to be a wise choice . The race will tell . Lochte + Dwyer ( swimming better ) + MCLean + Townsend would fit way better . Townsend first Us citizen participation to a major World swimming championship deserves better than that .

iLikePsych
Reply to  ERVINFORTHEWIN
9 years ago

I would have agreed with you, but I think the finals result should have properly ended your doubts.

Boss
Reply to  iLikePsych
9 years ago

Wow i would say it was a coin flip with Clary and Townsend but the Finals results squashed that! Maybe someone showed this to Clary before the race haha

BKP
Reply to  Boss
9 years ago

Ha! I was thinking the same thing….what a motivator that would be! To think that Clary would put up that good of a time in a freestyle event is crazy! That’s his Lezakian moment!

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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