Night one at the 2012 Longhorn Aquatics Elite Invite was blazing, with a slew of best-times, world-wide top-10 times, and all-around fast swimming. It’s three-weeks out from the Olympic Trials, and it looked every bit of that in Austin on Friday night.
Women’s 100 Free
Out of the mountains of Colorado and into the Austin hill country, North Baltimore’s Allison Schmitt just put the nation on notice – she’s not just a middle-distance freestyler. After putting up a 53.94 on night 1 of the Elite Invite, she might prove to be that fourth piece that the Americans needed to challenge the Dutch in the 400 free relay.
Coming back from a few weeks of altitude training, that’s a lifetime best for her by over half-a-second. It also puts her 9th in the world this year, and makes her the fastest American. Since last summer’s World Championships, she’s been really going after this event more-and-more, and she’s really found herself in the position to be a big difference-maker for the American relays.
She bettered another Georgia Bulldog who had an outstanding time – Megan Romano, who was 2nd in 54.16. That’s a major best-time for her as well. Though she’s often very good in-season, this swim shows that in the past year she’s taken her speed to a whole new level: she’s now the third-fastest American this year. The 200 free on Saturday should come with a lot of anticipation.
That left Missy Franklin in 3rd in 54.73. That time holds her pace from what we saw her last time out in Indianapolis, and shows that even as the Olympic pressure ratchets up, she’s holding similar times.
Amanda Weir was 4th in 54.97, followed by Shannon Vreeland in 55.47 and First Colony 15-year old Simone Manuel in 55.97.
Men’s 100 Free
Not to be outdone by the womens’ speed Texas swimmer Jimmy Feigen was able to drop a chunk off of a great prelims time to swim a 48.63 in the men’s 100. That’s by-far the best he’s been in textile, and is almost as good as he was in polyurethane in 2009 – still three weeks out from Trials. He was due for a breakout year, I think everyone has seen it coming, but he now deserves to be in the conversation for that 4th spot on the American free relay as they search for a new spark to chase down the Australians.
Though Michael Phelps probably wasn’t expecting much coming down from the Springs at this meet, I don’t think he’ll be jumping-for-joy at his 49.05 silver medal. Then again, it’s about what he did at this same pool in January, so not much disappointment there either. He’s still got some work to do before trials though.
Trinidad & Tobago swimmer George Bovell was the only other swimmer under 50-seconds; he swam a 49.84 to take the bronze.
Garrett Weber-Gale placed 6th in 50.61, and Dax Hill was 7th in 50.77.
Notably, winning the B-Final, Texas sophomore-to-be Clay Youngquist in 50.56. That’s faster than he’s ever been outside of the 2010 Jr. Pan Pac Championships, which is still the best long course meet of his career. He’s another swimmer due for a big meet at trials.
Women’s 200 Breast
For the second-straight meet, Texas’ Laura Sogar looked like Laura Sogar of 2008, when she was one of the biggest prospects in the country. She lowered her collegiate-best again with a 2:27.76, a half-second drop from two weeks ago. It will be exciting to see where her times go at Trials.
Recent North Baltimore transfer Annie Zhu was 2nd in 2:30.16. She’s looked very good since making the move from Asphalt Green, and has consistently been going 2:29’s and 2:30’s in 2012. We’ll have to see what happens with her taper, as she’s been on the verge of best-times all year long. She bettered her future Georgia teammate Melanie Margalis, who was 3rd in 2:33.69.
Another Longhorn swimming very well is Catherine Wagner. She swam her best time of the year in 2:35.02 for 4th.
Men’s 200 Breast
Brendan Hansen was better in finals than he was in prelims, with a 2:13.54 to run away with the men’s 200 breast title. Jack Brown took 2nd in 2:16.72, and local Nitro swimmer Will Licon was 3rd in 2:16.79
Georgia swimmer Nic Fink was only 4th, but his 2:16.92 shows the big improvements he made in his first year in Georgia. He’s been a great short course swimmer to this point of his career, but that’s a second-and-a-half drop for him in long course.
Former NCAA Champion Eric Friedland was 5th in 2:17.43, and North Baltimore Chase Kalisz was 6th in 2:17.85 – he was actually slower than prelims surprisingly, and the North Baltimore men didn’t start this meet with the same positive results from their training at the Olympic Training Center as Allison Schmitt did, though they would pick things up later in the session.
Women’s 400 Free
We indulged during Mexican Trials in a lengthy discussion of the impressive record of badly-injured Texas A&M swimmers making brilliant returns, the legend continues with Sarah Henry. After being out of the water for a huge chunk of 2011 with another ACL injury, she came back in this meet and won this 400 free in 4:09.16 – which is the best time of her career by three seconds. That was good enough for a win in an Allison Schmittless race, as the only swimmer better than 4:10.
Georgia’s Amber McDermott took 2nd in 4:10.40; she hung right with Henry for the first 300 meters of this race, but Henry put up a great closing lap to pull away. McDermott’s Georgia training partner Wendy Trott was 3rd in 4:12.55 (her back-half was better than her first 200 meters). Gillian Ryan was slower than prelims for 4th in 4:14.75.
Missy Franklin, swimming out of the B-Final, put up a 4:13.36 – a lifetime best for her.
Men’s 400 Free
The men’s 400 free final was a very stratified result, with Michigan-affiliated swimmers taking the top three spots, and then Texas Longhorns completing the rest of the A-Final with the 4th-8th finish positions.
The win went to the postgrad Matt Patton in 3:51.07. Ryan Feeley was 2nd in 3:52.14. That swim for Feeley was successful because:
- It was a second-place finish against a good field
- It was the fastest he’s ever been in-season
- Because he perfectly executed a negative-split, going about half-a-second faster on the back 200 meters.
Connor Jaeger took 3rd in 3:52.94.
The newcomer of the Texas distance group Jake Ritter continued to position himself as a breakout star of this summer’s trials with a 3:54.75 for 4th. That’s another full second off of his best time, which makes six-seconds dropped in the last two meets. Michael McBroom was 5th in 3:55.21.
Women’s 100 Fly
Texas’ Kathleen Hersey looked as good as the rest of her fellow Longhorn Aquatics swimmers have in this meet, and took the win in the 100 fly in 58.79. That’s her best time of 2012 by more than a second.
Future Cal Bear Kelly Naze, who currently trains with the Denver Hilltoppers program, was 2nd in 1:00.30, and another Texas swimmer Ellen Lobb took 3rd in 1:00.88 – a lifetime best for her.
Men’s 100 Fly
Michael Phelps looked much better in this meet-ending 100 fly than he did in the 100 free earlier, with a 52.02 for the win. That’s a season-best for him (though he didn’t swim the race in Columbus, where he looked so good in his other races). That puts him in the top 10 in the world this year, though Tyler Clary has still been faster among Americans.
His training partner Chris Brady also looked great with a 53.25, which is right what he went in Columbus (again where the North Baltimore crew was fairly rested).
China’s Wu Peng took 3rd in 53.67, and Texas’ Neil Caskey was 4th in 53.77 – his best time ever in textile.
Mark Dylla (54.62) and Dan Madwed (54.80) finished 6th and 7th in the A-Final.
Feigen might be the surprise on 100 free , with a 47.90 !
Feigen is going to clown everyone in the 100.
men 400m Free relay USA can win if 3 guys can swim under 48 seconds unless they take silver or bronze
That’s why guys we are full of specific questions about those 2 relays !
1) 400 free relay : Us needs 6 good times under 48.00 before the final . Mystery prevails .
2)400 medley relay : Us is the strongest If Adrian doesn’t get caught at the end like in 2011 , If Shanteau or Hansen swims really fast ( the japanese can lead on the 2 first legs !!! ) . Without M phelps last year on the butterfly , that final was lost !!! Gangloff is too slow after the first 50 . But i beleive that did take notice of those huge details LOL .
FOR the backstroke leg , they have Thoman… Read more »
PVK went a best time in the 4 IM in Charlotte by like 7 seconds. It wast the only event that he suited up for. Hes doing the same work as Lochte/Dwyer/Beisel right now so I think he will show up at Trails prepared to go fast. I believe he was 1:46.0 last year on the relay so in the Olympic limelight when veterans like him generally show up big time he will be 1:44 high on the relay.
The WR is a 6:58.4. With Phelps and Lochte possibly going 1:44 lows or 1 43s, with two more solid swims on there they might be able to get this WR. Its the Olympics, these guys will show up ready… Read more »
Don’t discount Fred Bouscet (sp?) on the fly leg. He has been 51 plus flat start and is capable of a 50 plus.
He has been, this is true…but France didn’t even put him on their Olympic Team, so barring a last-minute change of heart…
Also he has been this 4 years ago, I don´t think he could keep the same pace now..
He hasn’t been faster than 53 mid unsuited. Also, judging by difference in speed between his 50 free/fly and 100 free between now and then, I doubt he is capable of a “50 plus”.
Oh Joe… newsflash for you:
Bosquet is not going to the olympics. He was not selected
Andy Dixon , i totally agree with u concerning Lochte ! first , he rarely swims the 100 free and most of the time , he is in heavy training . So to be on that relay in the final , he should be fast enough ( 48.00 or lower ) and not be too tired from the 200 free semis … That should give space for a ” Grevers ? ” or ” Webber Gale ?” or “Walters ? ” or surprise , surprise , surprise . that’s very exciting , nerv racking hehehehe .
As far as the 400 Freestyle relay goes, we must remember that Weber-Gale did split a 47.32 anchoring the prelims medley relay at Worlds last summer. Had he done that on the 400 free relay as oppose to his 48.33, the Americans would have won. That relay race looks to be epic this summer.
Back to the men’s 4 x 100 relay. The U.S. would have won it last year if Lochte was on it. He was swimming hot and no doubt would have had a faster split than at least three of the four swimmers. But he does have to earn in at the trials, which will be tough with his schedule.
The medley relay is another interesting situation. The backstroke spots have always gone to the 1-2 swimmers at trials and I can’t see that changing so Lochte will have to swim his way on to the relay. We could lose that relay if our breaststroke leg doesn’t get better. We can’t rely on Phelps to just blow everybody away. Adrian… Read more »
France is the weakest of all medley relays.
Their Breaststroke is at 1.00.80
They will probably lead on Backstroke but after Breast they will be behind US JPN AUS BRA and maybe Germany. France is BY FAR the weakest of the top contendes (USA, AUS, BRA, JPN, GER, Maybe Russia also and France)
I’m from France so I know very well swimmers from my country and I can tell to american swimming fans they don’t have to be afraid of the french men’s 4X100 medley relay. We’ll play medals in the 2 other relays but in the 4X100 medley relay we have only the backstroke and the freestyle at a top level. The breaststroke is awful and the butterfly is full of questions.
USA are the big favorites for the gold medal, Japan is great for the silver medal and Australia must finish with the bronze medal.
Bobo Gigi, can you please tell me what makes Japan improved by a lot since last year to beat AUS for silver in London?
Brazil’s back and fly are weak, and the breast isn’t very strong. Germany is in a similar state, but with a weak free as well. Australia has 3 strong legs and a killer fourth, Japan is the opposite situation (2 great legs, 1 strong, 1 very weak), and the US has 3 strong/stellar legs and a questionable breast.
Chris
Brazil has the second fastest breaststroke. 59,63 on França and he will still lose about 5 kilos till olympic to reach peak. Brazil is only slower than JPN on Breast. So how is that not strong?
Brazil back is about on par with Germany, and Pereira was also not tapered when he went 53,8. Fly I can´t see anything better than 52 flat start.. But it is the same with JPN and Germany.
I don’t see Brazil being competitive for a medal, although I think they can be a very solid fourth. Brazil’s breastroker is quite good, but Kitajima is in a different league, Rickard is an incredible relay swimmer, and I think the Americans will have someone (likely Hansen) able to flatstart 59.7 or better (he was 59.13 in textile jammers at one point). Also, I just don’t think Silva has the experience and consistency to deliver a great performance. Unfortunately for Brazil, Pereira will probably focus on his medley races, whereas all the Japanese and German medley swimmers are very event specific. For the fly, Both the Japanese and Germans have guys who went 51 high this year.
Pereira already confirmed he will focus on medley and on the medley relay. he quit all his other events he qualified (200 free, 200 breast, 200 back) and he was untapered at maria lenk, PRO 16 coach is hoping for a 53 low for him at London.
França I Think he will make a good work, he was a very heavy swimmer in 2009 ( he weighted about 110 kilos) now he is getting leaner. but if he can keep up his perfomances of 50 breast at 100 he will be a contender. I think he may be able to go 59 low at peak
Brazil is about .2 seconds slower on fly. but Japanese best fly is also their… Read more »
In order for the US to have won that relay, Lochte would have to needed to split 47.3. The decision to put Weber Gale on the team was made by Greg Troy, Lochte’s coach. Yes, Lochte is an amazing swimmer, but the potential relay squad definitely trained together for weeks before the actual relay and the coaches probably had an idea who the final 4 would be before the prelims. WeberGale probably was already beating Lochte (48.1 trial time) in practice, and Lochte’s prelim swim didn’t indicate he could do better. I doubt Lochte being the team would’ve made any difference in the result.
I cant see Lochte being left off the 400 free relay this year. Not with how he has been training and is looking to peak in Omaha and London.
Well, if Lochte swims 48 flat in the trials, he would be picked.
Let’s see first if he can actually do that.
It is preposterous to claim that USA would have won men 4×100 free last year had Lochte been on it.
AUS beat USA by 0.96 seconds, and USA weakest leg was GWG with 48.33, so in order to beat AUS, Lochte would have to split 47.3.
Mind you, Lochte only split 48.28 in the prelims, as fast he could, knowing fully well that only the fastest would be picked to swim the final.
And the funny part (maybe not for an American) is that if GWG swam 47.30 like he was on the medley relay prelims, they would have won.
Lochte is a finals animal. He’s one of the few swimmers in the world that can step up in a finals situation and do whatever it takes. My point is you can disregard his prelims swim in Shangai. All I know is I would feel much better having Lochte on that relay. Period.
If Lochte doesn’t swim fast enough to make himself a definite 4 x 100 free finals guy, I don’t think he’ll want to swim it at all. With potentially 8 events on his plate with that relay I doubt he’d want to take anything away from other events by swimming in the prelims.
I’m also not feeling the Bob Bowman talk going on here. NBAC is a powerhouse club even without Michael Phelps, I can’t believe anybody is seriously trying to question his legitimacy as a coach.
I agree about Bowman/NBAC. And for all we know, Allison Schmitt is getting ready to make herself a medal threat in 6 events (100-200-400 and 3 relays). It could happen.