Mediterranean Games - Aschwin Wildeboer Faber wins 100m back, sets European record

Aschwin Wildeboer Faber won the 100m backstroke at the Mediterranean Games today with a time of 52.87, which is a new European record and tied with Junya Koga of Japan for the 2nd fastest time in the world in 2009.

The world record is 52.54 and is still held by Aaron Peirsol.

The only swimmer who has gone faster in the 100 back in 2009 was Ryosuke Irie, who swam a 52.56 in May.

I don't remember if Irie and Koga were wearing the unapproved Descente Aquaforce Zero suits when they achieved their times, but I don't think it matters that much. I don't know what kind of suit Wildeboar was wearing when he set the new European record. All three (Irie, Koga and Wildeboer) are going to be super fast in Rome.

It's definitely not a lock that the Americans will win gold and silver in this event at the world championships.

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/21532.asp

Laszlo Cseh, Ous Mellouli and Luca Marin recent results

Some very fast times were achieved this past weekend at four big meets: British nationals, German nationals, Hungarian nationals and the Mediterranean Games. I'm mostly interested in the events Ryan may swim at nationals, but also am interested in particular swimmers he may compete against if he qualifies for Rome.

Here are the results for Laszlo Cseh at the Hungarian nationals and for Ous Mellouli and Luca Marin in the 400m IM at the Mediterranean Games. I'll write more later about the British and German nationals, which also had some great swims.

Hungarian nationals - Laszlo Cseh
Laci competed in the Hungarian nationals this past weekend, winning five events and placing 2nd in the 6th event. His winning events and times were:

200m free: 1:47.12 (Hungarian national record)
400m IM: 4:17.25
50m fly: 23.57
100m fly: 52.49
100m back: 53.88

Laci surprisingly finished 2nd in the 200m fly, one of his best events in which he won silver in Beijing, with a time of 1:56.93.

Laci is sponsored by Arena and swam in a modified X-Glide for the 200 free and an R-Evolution for the other events.

I'm really curious what events he will swim in Rome. I'm thinking he'll enter the same events he swam in Beijing: 400 IM, 200 IM and 200 fly, but will also enter the 100 back. His time of 53.88 was really good. I don't know his history with the 100 back, other than he's a really good backstroker...it's maybe his 2nd best stroke. It will be interesting to see what he decides to do.

Source: http://www.swimnews.com/News/view/6987

Mediterranean Games 400m IM - Ous Mellouli and Luca Marin
Ous Mellouli swam the fastest time in the world in 2009 in the 400m IM at the Mediterranean Games: 4:10.53, breaking the African record. Luca Marin was second with a time of 4:13.58, which was also very fast and only .48 slower than he swam it at the Italian nationals in March. The source article http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/21527.asp?q=Mediterranean%20Games:%20Tunisia%27s%20Ous%20Mellouli%20Checks%20In%20With%20African%20Recorddid not say what suits Mellouli and Marin were wearing.

Despite his incredible performance, I doubt that Mellouli will swim the 400m IM in Rome. It's the same day as the 1500m free, which is the event he won in Beijing. I don't think anybody is fit enough to swim both the 1500 free and the 400 IM on the same day. He'll have to pick one.

Marin has always been really good at the 400 IM and maybe 2009 is finally his year to break out. He's posted some very good times in this event. He may have been rested for the Italian nationals, but I doubt if he was rested for the Mediterranean Games (although I don't know enough about it to know for sure). Nevertheless, he will definitely be a person to watch for in this event along with Laci Cseh of course.

I'm getting really excited and anxious for U.S. nationals to start...just one week from today (July 7). The psych sheet should be available in the next day or so. I can't wait to see what events Ryan enters. He may ultimatey scratch the finals of one or two events, but I'm thinking (hoping) he'll swim the 100/200 back and 200/400 IM and at least the prelims for the 100/200 free.

Ryosuke Irie vows to break WR in 200m back in an approved suit

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sp20090626s1.html

Ryosuke Irie vowed at a press conference today that he will break the world record in the 200m back at the world championships in Rome while wearing a FINA-approved suit.

I'm not sure why there was a press conference to announce this and if this is even news (I'm sure all of the top backstrokers believe they can break the world record) but if it serves as extra motivation to Ryan, it's all good.

German and Scottish National Championships this week

The German long course national championships are currently underway in Berlin. Yannick Lebherz broke the German record for the 400m IM with a time of 4:14.63 . This is the 13th fastest time in the world this year.

I think the 400 IM is going to be a very interesting event at the World Championships, particularly since Michael Phelps is not going to swim it anymore. There seems to have been a lot of improvement by swimmers who weren't in the finals in Beijing. Nobody has gone under 4:10 this year. According to the rankings at http://www.swimnews.com/, only 4 swimmers have ever gone under 4:10 in this event: Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Laszlo Cseh and Luca Marin.

More results for the German nationals can be found here:

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/21488.asp?q=German%20Long%20Course%20Nationals:%20Yannick%20Lebherz%20Smashes%20German%20Record

The Scottish nationals will begin tomorrow in Glasgow. This meet serves as the second chance for swimmers to make the British team for the World Championships. The psych sheet can be found here:

http://www.scottishswimming.com/assets/files/downloadfiles/Swimming/Scottish%20National%20Events%20Information/British%20Gas%20Scottish%20National%20Championships%20(50m)%202009/British%20Gas%20Scottish%20National%20Championships-Full%20Programme.pdf

Ryan Lochte still holds the WR in the 200m back

According to this article, http://www.swimnews.com/News/view/6958, FINA has announced that Ryosuke Irie's time of 1:52.86 in the 200m backstroke on May 10, 2009 was not ratified because Irie was wearing an unapproved suit.

The suit worn by Irie was made by Descente and is called the "Aquaforce Zero."

Ryan Lochte remains the world record holder in this event.

Flowers Sea Swim Results and Grand Prix Coupe Canada Results

Flowers Sea Swim

The Flowers Sea Swim, the 1-mile open water swim in the Cayman Islands, took place yesterday. In the interview posted below, Ryan said he elected not to swim because he did not want to risk injury before the U.S. Nationals.

The other swimmers who were interviewed with Ryan, Anthony Nesty (his coach at UF) and Ian Crocker did compete, along with Ryan's UF training partners Shaune and Brett Fraser.

The race was won by Shaune Fraser with a time of 19:20. Brett Fraser came in 2nd. I could not find any other results. http://www.10kswimmer.com/2009/06/fraser-brothers-go-1-2-in-hometown.html



Grand Prix Coupe Canada Results

A Grand Prix meet was held this weekend in Montreal, Canada. Tyler Clary, Michael Phelps, Peter Vanderkaay and a number of other U.S. swimmers competed. Results from U.S. swimmers in the events Ryan may swim at U.S. Nationals were as follows:

100m Back
1. Charles Francis - 56.46
2. Patrick Murphy - 56.69

200m Back
1. Tyler Clary - 1:58.26




200m IM
1. Tyler Clary - 2:01.87
2. Alex Vanderkaay - 2:02.45



400m IM
1. Tyler Clary - 4:17.40
2. C.J. Nuess - 4:23.26

100m Free
1. Michael Phelps - 48.65

200m Free
1. Daniel Madwed - 1:49.17
3. Charles Houchin - 1:50.09

Tyler Clary had a great meet, finishing 1st in the 200m IM, 400m IM and 200m back. Here's an interview by www.floswimming.org after the 200 IM:



Michael Phelps had a phenomenal meet, finishing 1st in the 100m free and the 100m fly. He almost broke the world record in the fly, finishing with a 50.48, only .08 from the world record. All results can be found here: https://www.swimming.ca/Default.aspx

U.S. nationals are going to be so exciting.

Laszlo Cseh has not given up on the 400 IM

Laci Cseh did swim the 400 IM at the Mare Nostrum meet in Monaco this past weekend. His time was 4:13.39, the 7th fastest time in the world this year according to http://www.swimnews.com/.

Ryan's best time this year was a 4:18.62 at the Santa Clara Grand Prix, also this past weekend.

Cseh has to be the favorite in this event going into the world championships in Rome, particularly if Michael Phelps does not swim it.

I really hope Ryan gives the 400 IM one last try at the international level. A race between Cseh, Ryan and Tyler Clary would be really fun to watch.

Ryan competing in open water swim in Cayman Islands on June 20

The race is called the Flowers Sea Swim and takes place this Saturday, June 20 at 2:30 p.m. CDT.

Olympians Ian Crocker and Neil Walker will also compete, as will several of Ryan's UF teammates.

There will be a live radio broadcast of the race, which can be listened to online. Get all the details at these links: http://scaq.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-woke-up-to-this-email-message-listen.html and http://www.10kswimmer.com/2009/06/listen-live-to-world-open-water-record.html

The race is one mile in length. The participants will try to break the world record for a one-mile open water swim, which is 16 minutes for men and 17:21 for women (that's really fast!).

http://www.10kswimmer.com/2009/06/must-do-open-water-swim.html There's some pretty serious prize money ($25,000 for breaking the world record, $5,000 for breaking the course record of 17:20/men and 18:13/women). It sounds like a fun event.

If anyone has the opportunity to listen to the radio broadcast on Saturday, please post the results in comments, especially Ryan's time. It would be cool if he wins this race.

Ryan wins 100 back at Santa Clara Grand Prix; 4th in 100 Free

100m Back
Thanks to my friend Lisa (calidreamn08) for the great screen shot from the 100 back awards ceremony. Yes, Ryan came in 1st and beat Michael Phelps for the first time in a long course event. This was way overdue and hopefully it will not be the last time it happens.

Ryan's winning time was 54.15. Phelps was 2nd with a time of 54.31. Ashley Delaney was 3rd with a time of 54.41. Matt Grevers was 4th with a time of 54.96. It was really close. Ryan was ahead at the 50m mark and held on to win despite a surge from Phelps in the final meters.

It is interesting to note that last year the Charlotte Ultraswim was held from June 5-8, 2008, around the same time as the Santa Clara meet this year. It was also a few weeks before nationals/trials. Ryan swam a 54.0 in the 100 back in Charlotte one year ago. He's right there again with a 54.15 same time this year.

Rowdy Gaines noted after the race that the times were not even in the top 10 in the world this year. I think it's OK given that other than Aaron Peirsol's 53.32, which he swam at the Charlotte Ultraswim, it appears that the other top 10 times were achieved in the world championship qualifying meets where the swimmers were tapered. It makes me feel good that Ryan's time is only .15 off of where he was a year ago at the same point in his training.

Nevertheless, I don't know what this means for nationals. Aaron Peirsol is still the guy to beat and with Grevers, Phelps, Hesen, Thoman, Marshall and others, it is easily the toughest event for the men. It's also the same day as the 200 free (events 9 and 10!!) I hope Ryan decides to swim the 100 back because he's such a great competitor but I hope he swims the 200 free as well. It's going to take a tremendous effort but I think he can do well in both events.

For now, I hope he savors the win and that it gives him confidence going into nationals in a few weeks.

100 Free
Ryan is not a sprinter, and I didn't expect him to win this event. Nevertheless, I hoped he would finish in the top 3. He almost made it, finishing 4th overall and 3rd among the Americans with a time of 49.18. It was Ryan's fastest time in the 100 free this year and he has to be pleased with the result. He had a great start and went out fast, and was in 3rd at the turn ahead of Phelps.

The event was won by Brent Hayden of Canada with a time of 48.44. Phelps was 2nd with a time of 48.87 and Nathan Adrian was 3rd with a time of 48.94.

I think this shows Ryan has a good shot at finishing in the top 6 in this event at nationals and qualifying for a spot on the 4 x 100 free relay. He finished 3rd among U.S. swimmers at this meet in a very strong field. Notably absent were Garrett Weber-Gale and Cullen Jones, but even if they are faster, Ryan would be right there in the top 6. Jason Lesak is not going to compete at nationals which is not great for the team, but increases Ryan's chance of making the relay.

Both Ryan and Michael had a great meet, but I'm happy to report that Ryan won the high point award with 3 first place finishes, 1 second and 1 fourth (out of 6 events). Michael won 2 events and had 2 second place finishes. That's really amazing for both of them.

I don't think Ryan has any more meets before nationals, which start on July 7. There will be a lot to speculate on before then.

ETA: Here's a link for the 100 back race on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0CAFMvFoPw

Santa Clara Grand Prix - June 14 Prelims - 100 Free & 100 Back

The picture of Ryan's gold medal in the 200 back is from http://www.swimstars.org/

100 Free
Ryan's prelim time in the 100 free was 50.00, good enough for 3rd fastest. The A finals are going to be so exciting as times for all 9 qualifiers were so close together.

Here's the A final for tonight:

1 Hayden, Brent 49.34
2 Adrian, Nathan G 49.85
3 Lochte, Ryan S 50.00
4 Brown, Adam T 50.01
5 Burnett, Simon A 50.03
6 Walters, David W 50.04
7 Phelps, Michael F 50.07
8 Grevers, Matthew C 50.09
9 Monk, Kenrick 50.15

100 Back
The 100 back prelims were almost as close as the 100 free. Ryan swam a 55.46, which tied with Michael Phelps for 4th fastest qualifying time (they were in different heats). The A final looks like this:

1 Grevers, Matthew C 55.15
2 Russell, David P 55.43
3 Delaney, Ashley 55.44
4 Lochte, Ryan S 55.46
4 Phelps, Michael F 55.46
6 Barnea, Guy M 55.83
7 Hesen, Benedict E 56.04
8 Hawes, Matt 56.09
9 Wollach, Pascal D 56.44

Peter Marshall just missed out on thet A final with a time of 56.64. It's too bad. I wanted to see him compete against Ryan ever since he broke Ryan's SC world record last fall.

200 IM
Ryan scratched the 200 IM. At first I was disappointed, but then I reconsidered. He already knows where he's at in that event because he swam it at the Ultraswim. Now he'll be able to conserve energy for the 100 free and 100 back.

In other news, Laszlo Cseh swam at the Mare Nostrum meet in Monte Carlo this weekend, winning the 200 fly and the 200 IM. His time in the 200 IM was 2:00.31. It looks like Laci did not swim the 400 IM. I'm wondering if he has given up on that event like Michael Phelps. If he has, it makes him more dangerous in the 200 IM.

Also, Paul Biedermann of Germany swam a 1:44.88 in the 200 free. That's insane. Ryan's swam the 200 free faster than that in a relay but not from a flat start.

Thanks to http://www.swimnews.com/ for the Mare Nostrum information.

Santa Clara Grand Prix - June 12 Finals - 100m Fly & 200m Back

100m Fly

Ryan placed 2nd in the 100 Fly with a time of 52.84, his personal best in this event by .02! It's also exactly 1 second faster than the 53.84 he swam at the Missouri Grand Prix, the last time he swam this event. Ryan should be happy with this result.

Masayuki Kishida, who also came in first in the 100 fly in Missouri, won with a time of 52.43. Ricky Berens came in third with a time of 53.00.

I'm so happy for Ryan that he came in 2nd and swam a personal best time.

200 back

Because this is Ryan's best event, it is always nerve-wracking to watch him swim it. Tonight was no different. He was in 2nd place the entire race until the last 50 when he had a fantastic turn and shot out ahead of Ashley Delaney of Australia. As Rowdy Gains said about Ashley Delaney in the last lap, "It was like he was standing still." Ryan won with a time of 1:56.83, almost 2 seconds faster than Delaney.

Ryan said in the interview after the race that his coach wanted him to swim the last 50 in the same time he swam in Beijing. Obviously, I had to check to see if he did this....

Tonight's time in the last 50: 28.33

Beijing time in the last 50: 28.88

He actually went .55 faster than in Beijing. This is awesome. It suggests that Ryan was holding back in this event and could have gone much faster. I'm so much more excited for U.S. nationals now.

ETA: Links to videos for both races on www.swimnetwork.com:

200 back: http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090613/santa_clara_men_s_200m_back_a_final-16706.html

100 fly: http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090613/santa_clara_men_s_100m_fly_a_final-16694.html

Santa Clara Grand Prix - June 12 Prelims - 100 Fly & 200 Back

100m Fly

Ryan finished fourth in the prelims of the 100m fly with a time of 53.62. Not bad considering he was seeded 8th before the meet.

The top 3 finishers were Jason Dunford with a time of 53.25, Tyler McGill with a time of 53.46 and Albert Subirats with a time of 53.55. Also making the A final was Ricky Berens with a time of 53.68 and Matt Grevers with a time of 53.97.

All of these times were very close. It's going to be an exciting final.

200m Back

Ryan also finished fourth in the prelims of the 200m back with a time of 2:02.99. This is more than 9 seconds slower than his fastest time. I know he can go a lot faster in this event.

Finishing 1st was David Russell with a time of 2:01.31, 2nd was Ashley Delaney of Australia with a time of 2:01.50 and 3rd was Matt Hawes with a time of 2:02.52. Also making the A final were Eugene Godsoe, Rex Tullius (Ryan's training partner at UF) and Brian Johns of Canada.

I'm thinking the final will be all about Ashley Delaney and Ryan. It's going to be exciting.

The photo, from www.swimstars.org shows Ryan yesterday after he received his gold medal for the 400IM.

Santa Clara Grand Prix - June 11 Finals - 400IM and 100 breast

400IM Finals

First the good news....Ryan finished 1st in the 400 IM in a very exciting race. Here's a link to the video on swimnetwork.com. http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090612/santa_clara_men_s_400m_im_a_final-16671.html Robert Margalis came in 2nd. Ryan's time was 4:18.62 and Margalis' time was 4:18.84. It was very close at the end.

It was an exciting race, but the times weren't that great. 4:18 doesn't make the top 25 times in the world this year.

100 Breast Finals

Ryan won the B final in the 100 breast, but was disqualified. Here's the link to the video from swimnetwork.com. http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090612/santa_clara_men_s_100m_breast_b_final-16654.html As usual, I can't get it to embed. The video does not say why Ryan was DQ'd and I have not yet been able to figure out the reason.

In his post-race interview following the 400IM, Ryan said he is not swimming the 50 free tomorrow. Good move! He needs to conserve energy for the 200 back and 100 fly.

One other interesting note....Ryan was wearing an old fashioned speedo in the 400IM final and everyone else was wearing a fast suit. I love it.

Prelims of 100 breast and 400IM at Santa Clara Grand Prix

Today at the Santa Clara Grand Prix Ryan swam in the prelims for the 100 breast and the 400 IM. He was seeded 11th in the 100 breast and 1st in the 400IM. The meet setup has 9 swimmers in each heat. Thus, the swimmers with the top 9 times in prelims make the A finals, the next 9 make the B finals and the next 9 make the C finals.

100 Breast Prelim

Ryan finished 10th in the 100 breast with a time of 1:04.49, qualifying for the B final. Ryan missed the A final by only .04. Not bad for an event not considered one of his best.

400 IM Prelim

Ryan finished 3rd in the 400Im with a time of 4:23.79, qualifying for the A final. Robert Margalis was the top qualifyer with a time of 4:23.50 and Jordan Hartney of Canada qualified 2nd with a time of 4:23.66.

Results can be found here: http://competitive.santaclaraswimclub.org/Meets/2009International/Results/

Santa Clara Grand Prix - June 11-14, 2009 Psych Sheet

Ryan has entered in a mind-boggling 8 events at the Santa Clara Grand Prix. The question is whether he will actually swim in all of them. I won't be surprised if he scratches several events or only swims in the prelims. Here is his schedule:

100 Breast - Event 4 (Friday)
Ryan is seeded 11th with a time of 1:02.39.

400 IM - Event 8 (Friday)
Ryan is seeded 1st with a time of 4:06.08. Ryan's main competition in this event is Robert Margalis and Ryan's UF training partners Bradley Ally and Clark Burckle.

100 Fly - Event 14 (Saturday)
Ryan is seeded 8th with a time of 52.86.

200 Back - Event 18 (Saturday)
Ryan is seeded 1st with a time of 1:53.94. Other swimmers entered in this event are Hayden Stoeckel and Ashley Delaney of Australia. I'm really looking forward to seeing where Ryan is at in his best event. Hope he swims it and doesn't scratch.

50 Free - Event 20 (Saturday)
Ryan is seeded 37th with a time of 23.51. It's interesting that Ryan's fastest 50m underwater time (on his back!) is about a second faster.

100 Free - Event 26 (Sunday)
Ryan is seeded 6th with a time of 48.65. This event should be an indicator of whether Ryan is fast enough to make the 4 x 100 free relay. Other U.S. swimmers in this event are Michael Phelps, Matt Grevers and Nathan Adrian. It would be nice if Ryan could finish in the top 3.

200 IM - Event 28 (Sunday)
Ryan is seeded 1st with a time of 1:55.22. Ryan's main competition in this event is Alley, his training partner at UF. He should win easily.

100 Back - Event 30 (Sunday)
Ryan is seeded 5th with a time of 53.37. Lots of big names in this event: Phelps, Grevers, Ben Hesen, Peter Marshall, Stoeckel and Delaney. This is probably the premier event of the whole meet.

The sheer number of events Ryan has entered, and his high ranking in most of them, demonstrates not only his versatility but also that he is committed to swimming a large event schedule at U.S. Nationals.

The psych sheet can be found here:
http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/_Rainbow/Documents/e9a40c29-28d1-41e8-a02c-2c453eaaae43/Psych.pdf

U.S. Nationals - Start in exactly one month!!

Here is the schedule of events that Ryan may swim:

Tuesday - July 7, 2009

400 IM (prelims and finals) - Event 6

Wednesday - July 8, 2009

200 free (prelims and finals) - Event 9

100 back (prelims and finals) - Event 10

Thursday - July 9, 2009

nothing

Friday - July 10, 2009

100 free (prelims and finals) - Event 20

200 IM (prelims and finals) - Event 22

Saturday - July 11, 2009

200 back (prelims and finals) - Event 27

Ryan can potentially qualify in 6 individual events, but I think it will likely be 5, with him qualifying either in the 200 free or the 100 back but not both. It's really too bad that Ryan will likely have double events on Wednesday and Friday and nothing on Thursday. At least the day off in the middle will allow him to rest up for the 2nd half of the meet.

I really hope Ryan swims the 400 IM. I still think he and Tyler Clary can go 1-2 at the world championships, particularly since Laci Cseh has not swam this event all year.

Thanks to Caroline for finding the picture at http://jerryenglehart.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/getting-up-to-speed/

Laci Cseh and Ryosuke Irie results June 5-7

Ryosuke Irie and Laszlo Cseh recently competed in meets in Japan and Croatia and had good results. It's interesting to see where they are at in their training given that the world championships in Rome are only 7 weeks away.

Laci Cseh competed in a meet this weekend in Zagreb, Croatia. He won several events, including the 200m IM in a time of 2:01.31. Cseh also won the 200m fly and 200m free, with a time of 1:48.95. I could not find any results for the 400IM for this meet and am unsure if Cseh swam it.

Ryosuke Irie competed at the Japan Open and won the 50m, 100m and 200m backstroke events. His time in the 200 back was 1:54.09, a very fast time but not close to the 1:52.86 he swam last month in Australia which, if ratified, broke Ryan Lochte's WR. For this weekend's swim, Irie was not wearing the Descente suit he wore when swimming the 1:52 as the suit was not approved by FINA.

Irie swam a 53.31 in the 100m back.

Irie said he was tired due to his training cycle, but was nevertheless disappointed in his times. We'll have to wait for Rome to find out if Irie can break the WRs in the 100 and 200 back while wearing an approved suit.

sources: http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/ and http://www.swimnews.com/