Interview with Ryan Lochte after 800 free relay & medal ceremonies

he talks about the 200 back too. He went out faster than ever and paid for it at the end.



Video of the medal ceremony for 800 free relay


Video of the medal ceremony for the 200 back

More on the 4 x 200 free relay

I'll add videos once I find some.

Ryan 3rd in 200 back, anchors 4 x 200 free relay to new world record!

Ryan placed 3rd in the 200 back with a time of 1:53.82, .11 seconds faster than his previous personal best in Beijing.

Aaron Peirsol won with a new WR time of 1:51.92. Ryosuke Irie was second in 1:52.51.

Ryan was in 1st after the first 100 and in a close 2nd after the 150 (and a full second ahead of Irie) but then he died in the last 50 with a time of 30.14. I will need to watch his interview after the race, but hope nothing bad happened. His legs just may have been really tired from yesterday.

Ryan anchored the 4 x 200 free relay, which set a new WR by .01 with a time of 6:58.55. The splits were:

Michael Phelps: 1:44.49

Ricky Berens: 1:44.13

Dave Walters: 1:45.47

Ryan Lochte: 1:44.46.

Ryan has now swum in 4 events and won 4 medals, 3 gold and 1 bronze. His last event is the 400 IM on Sunday. Hopefully he can place 1st and have the most successful long course meet of his life!

Ryan wins 200 IM, sets new World Record

I'll post more about it when I get home from work. So happy!! Laci Cseh second, Eric Shanteau 3rd.

null

Video from French tv of 200 IM Semi-Finals

Lochte & Cseh tied for 1st in 200 IM Semi Finals with time of 1:55.18!!

Here are the swimmers who made the finals:

1 LOCHTE Ryan - 1:55.18

2 CSEH Laszlo - 1:55.18

3 BRODIE Leith - 1:56.75
4 GODDARD James - 1:57.12

5 SHANTEAU Eric - 1:57.16

6 PEREIRA Thiago - 1:57.35

7 TAKAKUWA Ken - 1:58.09

8 KIS Gergo - 1:58.11

The splits for Ryan and Cseh were:

Fly: 24.85/24.72

Back: 28.91/29.06

Breast: 33.52/33.62

Free: 27.90/27.78

I didn't get to watch it yet, but people said Ryan did not even look winded after the race. He's definitely holding back for tomorrow's final in every part of the race. When he swam his personal best of 1:54.56 at U.S. nationals his splits were:

24.78 (fly)

28.67 (back)

33.43 (breast)

27.68 (free)

Ryan predicted at the time he could go a second faster in Rome.

Ryan wore a full-body LZR for the semis and Cseh wore his full-body x-glide.

So glad Eric Shanteau qualified for the finals as well. He can definitely swim a lot faster and will be in strong contention for a medal.

Finals for the 200m IM tomorrow!! Also, Ryan has the 200m back prelims and semi-finals on Thursday. It's his busiest day of the meet.

200 IM - Prelim Results - Laszlo Cseh isn't sick anymore

Ryan qualified 5th in the prelims of the 200 IM with a time of 1:57.94. The top 16 qualifiers advance to the semi-finals later today. Laci Cseh finished 1st with an extremely fast time of 1:56.34. Eric Shanteau was 2nd with a time of 1:57.65.

Those advancing to the semi-finals are:

1 Laszlo Cseh - 1:56.34
2 Eric Shanteau - 1:57.65
3 Leith Brodie - 1:57.66
3 Thiago Pereira - 1:57.66
5 Ryan Lochte - 1:57.94
6 James Goddard - 1:58.40
7 Gergo Kis - 1:58.48
8 Gal Nevo - 1:58.55
9 Ken Takakuwa - 1:58.60
10 Alessio Boggiatto - 1:58.81
11 Yannick Lebherz - 1:58.94
12 Darian Townsend - 1:58.96
13 Henrique Rodrigues - 1:59.21
14 Takuro Fujii - 1:59.26
15 Joseph Roebuck - 1:59.65
16 Martin Liivamagi - 1:59.95

A comparison of splits between the top 5 qualifiers is:

Fly: Cseh - 24.90
Shanteau - 25.84
Brodie - 25.57
Pereira - 24.74
Lochte - 25.13

Back: Cseh - 29.30
Shanteau - 30.63
Brodie - 30.38
Pereira - 29.23
Lochte - 29.21

Breast: Cseh - 34.29
Shanteau - 32.28
Brodie - 33.71
Pereira - 33.67
Lochte - 34.40

Free: Cseh - 27.85
Shanteau - 28.90
Brodie - 28.00
Pereira - 30.02
Lochte - 29.20

Looking at the splits, I think Ryan took it easy on the last 50, knowing he was fast enough to qualify for semi-finals and not wanting to waste too much energy. He can go a lot faster in the semis.

Laci Cseh is clearly over his illness, which is good. I can't wait for the semis. Ryan is in heat 2, lane 3, right next to Cseh who will be in lane 4. Brodie is also in the same heat, in lane 5.

Cseh wore a full body Arena x-glide and Ryan wore LZR legs. Cseh's time was a new European record and a personal best...better than his time in the Olympic finals.

200 IM - Prelims and Semi-Finals on July 29

Ryan will finally be swimming his first individual event at the world championships tomorrow - the 200m IM. The prelims are in the morning and the semi-finals are in the evening. For the prelims, Ryan is the top seed and will swim in Heat 11, Lane 4.

Although Ryan is seeded first in this event, as we've seen in the past couple of days, that does not automatically ensure he will advance to the semi-finals or the finals. In order to advance, I think Ryan will have to swim very fast in both races.

Here's what has happened in the prelims and semi-finals of some big meets in the past year:

At the 2008 Olympic trials, Ryan swam a 1:59.49 in the prelims (1st seed ahead of Michael Phelps' 1:59.70) and a 1:57.57 in the semi-finals (1st seed ahead of MP's 1:58.05). Then in the finals, MP finished 1st with a new WR of 1:54.80 and Ryan was 2nd at 1:55.22. In each race they were the only ones to go under 2:00.

At the 2008 Olympics, Ryan swam a 1:58.15 in the prelims and a 1:57.69 in the semi-finals, qualifying 1st both times. He swam a 1:56.53 in the finals, placing 3rd after Laci Cseh (1:56.52) and Michael Phelps (1:54.23 - current WR).

At the 2009 US nationals, there were no semi-finals...only prelims and finals. Ryan swam a 1:57.06 in the prelims and a 1:54.56 in the finals.

If Ryan wants to end up with a 1:54 low/1:53 high and break the WR, I think he's going to have to swim a 1:56 in the prelims and a 1:55 in the semi-finals. It's going to be a very fast field.

The top 8 swimmers in the 200 IM are:

1-Ryan Lochte 1:54.56
2-Eric Shanteau 1:56.00
3- Laci Cseh 1:56.52
4- Ken Takakuwa 1:57.24
5- Darien Townsend 1:57.88
6- James Goddard 1:57.99
7- Thiago Pereira 1:58.06
8-Bradley Alley 1:58.57

Laci Cseh is shown above shaving his head. He's ready to go despite a bad case of stomach flu earlier this week that caused him to be temporarilly hospitalized. I read a poorly translated article from Hungary, which appears to state that Cseh has recovered and been able to keep food down. He's a huge threat in the 200 IM if he's healthy. Guess we'll find out tomorrow.

Because NBC didn't have time to show it.....

the medal ceremony for the men's 4 x 100 free relay.



thanks to Italian tv for showing it and the Daily Reezy for posting it.

Completely unexpected!

The U.S. not only won the 4 x 100 free relay, but Ryan was a huge part of the winning effort. His split was 47.03, his best 100 free time ever by more than a second. I'm really happy that not only was he part of this relay for the first time, but the result was a gold medal....a completely unexpected gold medal. I only hope the rest of the meet goes this well for Ryan.

The splits for the US team were as follows:

PHELPS Michael 0.72 22.93 47.78 (3) 47.78
LOCHTE Ryan 0.10 22.30 47.03 (3) 1:34.81
GREVERS Mattew 0.22 22.28 47.61 (2) 2:22.42
ADRIAN Nathan 0.25 22.23 46.79 (1) 3:09.21

Here's a link to the Universal Sports video of a portion of the race....Michael Phelps' lead-off leg and the finish. Ryan swam second so you can see him diving in right after Phelps finished.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX1PiChUJkM

Here are two videos of Ryan speaking at the press conference after the race. I still can't believe he raced the great Alain Bernard and did so well. Bernard's split was 46.46, the fastest time out of every swimmer, but Ryan held his own against him.





Finally, Ryan comments on FINA's decision to ban technology suits starting in 2010.



Thanks so much to Reezy Daily for uploading the videos.

Ryan does not swim again until Wednesday. His schedule for the rest of the meet is:

Wednesday, July 29
200m IM
prelims and semi-finals

Thursday, July 30
200m Back
prelims and semi-finals
200m IM
finals

Friday, July 31
4 x 200m Free Relay
prelims and finals
200m Back
finals

Sunday, August 2
400m IM
prelims and finals

World Championship Start Lists

The Start List for each event in the 2009 World Championships can be found here:

http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2009/Roma2009/index.htm

Ryan will be swimming the following individual events:

Event 21 - July 29 - 200 IM
Heat 11, Lane 4

The swimmers in Ryan's heat:

0 LEBHERZ Yannick GER 13 JAN 1989 2:01.02
1 CARVALHO Diogo POR 26 MAR 1988 1:59.96
2 RODRIGUES Henrique BRA 4 FEB 1991 1:59.47
3 PEREIRA Thiago BRA 26 JAN 1986 1:58.06
4 LOCHTE Ryan USA 3 AUG 1984 1:54.56
5 TAKAKUWA Ken JPN 25 MAR 1985 1:57.24
6 BOGGIATTO Alessio ITA 18 JAN 1981 1:58.80
7 NEVO Gal ISR 29 JUN 1987 1:59.66
8 CABELLO Alan ESP 15 FEB 1988 2:00.43
9 WOJT Lukasz POL 13 MAY 1982 2:01.38

Shanteau is in Heat 10, lane 4 and Cseh is in Heat 9, lane 4.

http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2009/Roma2009/C51A1_SLHeats_21_Heats_Men_200_Medley.pdf

Event 23 - July 30 - 200 Back
Heat 7, Lane 4

Here are the swimmers in Ryan's heat:

0 GUEDES Leonardo BRA 20 FEB 1989 2:00.10
1 BERNEK Peter HUN 13 APR 1992 1:58.66
2 WOLF Felix GER 30 OCT 1989 1:58.03
3 NAKANO Takashi JPN 21 JUL 1984 1:56.77
4 LOCHTE Ryan USA 3 AUG 1984 1:53.94
5 ROGAN Markus AUT 4 MAY 1982 1:55.49
6 STASIULIS Benjamin FRA 20 JUL 1986 1:57.90
7 DRIEBERGEN Nicolaas NED 19 AUG 1987 1:58.35
8 PINZON GARCIA Omar Andres COL 17 JUN 1989 1:59.11
9 CHAMMAH Itai ISR 11 NOV 1985 2:00.93

Peirsol is swimming in Heat 8 and Irie is in Heat 9. Interesting how Irie's unapproved WR time is used as his entry time in this meet and Irie is seeded first, even though Peirsol holds the official WR. How can that be?

http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2009/Roma2009/C51A1_SLHeats_23_Heats_Men_200_Back.pdf

Event 38 - August 2 - 400 IM
Heat 8, Lane 4

Here are the swimmers in Ryan's heat:

0 DUR Dominik AUT 27 SEP 1986 4:19.59
1 JUKIC Dinko AUT 9 JAN 1989 4:15.48
2 ALLY Bradley BAR 11 DEC 1986 4:14.01
3 PEREIRA Thiago BRA 26 JAN 1986 4:11.25
4 LOCHTE Ryan USA 3 AUG 1984 4:06.08
5 MARIN Luca ITA 9 APR 1986 4:10.22
6 TAKAKUWA Ken JPN 25 MAR 1985 4:12.41
7 MATCZAK Mateusz POL 12 AUG 1989 4:14.12
8 PARKES Stephen AUS 22 JUL 1988 4:18.64
9 ALYFANTIS Romanos Iasonas GRE 21 MAR 1986 4:21.41

Cseh is in Heat 7, Lane 4 and Clary is in Heat 6, Lane 4

http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2009/Roma2009/C51A1_SLHeats_38_Heats_Men_400_Medley.pdf

The relays Ryan is expected to swim in are seeded as follows:

Event 8 - July 26 - 4 x 100 Free Relay
Heat 4, Lane 4

Here are the other teams in Heat 4:

0 IRI I.R. Iran 3:28.63
1 PHI Philippines 3:27.70
2 SUI Switzerland 3:16.80
3 RSA South Africa 3:12.66
4 USA United States of America 3:08.24
5 ITA Italy 3:11.48
6 BRA Brazil 3:14.45
7 KAZ Kazakhstan 3:23.92
8 SIN Singapore 3:28.00
9 KSA Saudi Arabia 3:42.00

Don't know if Ryan will be swimming the prelims for this event. France is in Heat 3, Lane 4 and Australia is in Heat 2, Lane 4.

http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2009/Roma2009/C51A1_SLHeats_8_Heats_Men_4x100_Free.pdf

Event 31 - July 31 - 4 x 200 Free Relay
Heat 3, Lane 4

Here are the other teams in Heat 3:

0 ALB Albania 8:54.00
1 KUW Kuwait 7:42.00
2 BRA Brazil 7:19.54
3 JPN Japan 7:09.12
4 USA United States of America 6:58.56
5 ITA Italy 7:05.35
6 GER Germany 7:13.92
7 KAZ Kazakhstan 7:35.80
8 MAC Macau 8:06.00
9 CZE Czech Republic [no time]

I doubt Ryan will swim in the prelims for this event.

http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2009/Roma2009/C51A1_SLHeats_31_Heats_Men_4x200_Free.pdf

Ryan has been practicing outdoors to get ready for World Championships

At a press conference today in Rome, Ryan said he's been practicing outside for the past year to prepare himself to swim backstroke at the world championships, which will take place outdoors. Here's what he said (from http://www.swimnews.com/News/view/7073)

One other aspect of swimming outdoors was highlighted when Olympic champion Ryan Lochte (USA) revealed that he had been practising outdoors on backstroke for the past year specifically with a view to learning how to swim straight with only sky and sun above you. "It's going to be challenging for most swimmers because you don't have a ceiling to look at," he said. "When I was younger ... I never swam outside...so its hard for me but after Beijing I knew Rome was outside and have practiced mostly outside since amnd have learned to swim in a straight line."

I can barely back my car in a straight line. I can't imagine swimming straight without a point of reference. I hope practicing outdoors gives him an extra advantage.

Also, an article from Sports Illustrated today talked about how Ryan has a good shot at breaking the WR in the 200 IM. The article states:

"......don't be surprised if Phelps loses one of his world records in an event he has chosen not to swim. When Phelps set a personal best of 1:54.23 in winning the 200-meter individual medley at the Beijing Games, it marked the eighth time he lowered the world record in that event since 2003. Now Ryan Lochte, Phelps' relay teammate, is just three-tenths away from the record.

After six months of enjoying post-Olympic life as a self proclaimed late-sleeper and overeater, Lochte actually shocked himself when he won nationals in 1:54.56 earlier this month, beating the field by a second and a half. And watch the showdown between Lochte and Aaron Peirsol in the 200 back. That should be a one-two finish with both men challenging Peirsol's world record of 1:53.08."

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/brian_cazeneuve/07/24/swim/

No mention of the 400 IM, which I think Ryan is going to win also.

Laszlo Cseh released from hospital

Laci Cseh is out of the hospital. According to this article, he was only "briefly admitted."

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/23072009/58/cseh-admitted-hospital.html

Hope he's feeling better. The world championships would not be the same without him.

Laszlo Cseh sick/rushed to the hospital according to swimnews.com

I'm not happy about this. The IM races will not be the same without him. Feel better Laci!!!!

http://www.swimnews.com/News/view/7067

US Coach's training camp blogs (Coach Greg Werner of Ohio University)

Coach Greg Werner, head swimming & diving coach at Ohio University, was selected as the head team manager for the US national team at the world championships in Rome. Coach Werner has been writing about his experience in a highly informative and articulate blog. There have been 9 entries so far, which can be found here:

http://www.ohiobobcats.com/sports/c-swim/ohio-c-swim-body.html

It's interesting to read about how the US team is preparing for the world championships. Coach Werner gives swimming fans a glimpse of what the team is going through, without revealing any information that would be useful to other teams. After reading his blogs, I am even more excited about what will happen in Rome.

The world championships begin on Sunday, July 26. Ryan will hopefully be swimming his first event that day, the 4 x 100m free relay. NBC is airing the finals live from noon - 2 p.m. EDT. Can't wait for it to begin!

Interview with Laszlo Cseh (poorly translated from Hungarian)

http://74.125.67.132/translate_c?hl=en&sl=hu&u=http://www.origo.hu/sport/egyeb/uszas/20090721-interju-a-romai-vizes-vbre-keszulo-cseh-laszloval.html&prev=http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch%3Fhl%3Den%26ie%3DUTF-8%26scoring%3Dd%26q%3Dlaszlo%2Bcseh%26lr%3D%26sa%3DN&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhiYhIq6OnwYMABM-2fcY97MGWx61A

The translation is really bad, but it gives the gist of the questions Cseh was asked and his responses. Cseh now knows who Tyler Clary is! He will be competing against Clary in the 200 fly and the 400 IM and against Ryan in the 200 and 400 IM.

The article makes a big deal out of swimmingworldmagazine.com's prediction that Cseh will win the 400 IM. http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/21730.asp?q=FINA%20World%20Championships%20Predictions

Others have predicted this result as well. I don't know why people think Ryan will come in second in the 400 IM...he's definitely going to win it...no stomach flu this time.

Here's an article from the Miami Herald about Ryan's preparations for the world championships. http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/other/story/1150176.html He says he hasn't trained for a world record (no mention of which event[s] he's referring to) but it is possible. I think world records are most likely in the 200 IM and 200 back. I don't see how anyone breaks Michael Phelps' world record in the 400 IM for a long, long time.

Ryan tested the Jaked & Arena suits, but is sticking with the Speedo LZR

Below is an excerpt from an article published by the Washington Post's swimming column, http://reachforthewall.com/. The article identified what suits the swimmers were wearing at the US nationals and found that the majority wore the new Jaked and Arena suits. Nevertheless, the article concluded that "swimmers wearing older models — in most cases because of contractual obligations to the company Speedo — won more gold and silver medals than athletes in other suits and therefore earned more qualifying spots for the upcoming world championships in Rome."

Ryan Lochte was interviewed and revealed he tested the new Jaked and Arena suits but decided to stick with the Speedo LZR. The portion of the article pertaining to Ryan is quoted below:

Despite being a Speedo-sponsored athlete, Lochte said he had tested out all of the new suits. The Jaked, he said, worked particularly well on the underwater portion of races, such as starts and while coming off the walls. The Arena, he said, was the opposite, doing more to keep the swimmer above the water.

But Lochte, who won the 200 and 400 medleys in the LZR, said he actually preferred his old suit to the newer models.

“Everybody’s all hyping the new Arena, the new Jaked” suits, he said. “I’m kind of trying to stick it to them.”

Source: http://reachforthewall.com/2009/07/14/high-tech-suits-favored-at-usas-but-old-suits-won/

I'm glad Ryan tested the suits...this way he knows exactly what he's up against when racing someone wearing a Jaked and Arena. I'm also glad he stuck with the LZR, even if at the end of the day it was strictly for contractual reasons. Ryan does not need a rubber suit to help him perform well in Rome. If FINA allows the rubber suits to continue after 2009, then Speedo will improve the LZR and come out with something even better to compete with the Arena and Jaked suits. Ryan is better off sticking with Speedo and showing his loyalty.

In the videos for the 200 & 400 IM at US nationals, you can see that Ryan is the only one wearing a Speedo LZR, with all the other swimmers in Jaked, Arena, TYR in the 200 IM and the Jaked, Arena, TYR and Blueseventy in the 400 IM. Moreover, Ryan is wearing the LZR legs in the 400 IM and not the full body suit.

200 IM

http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090710/nationals_men_s_200_im_a_final-16846.html

400 IM

http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090707/nationals_men_s_400_im_a_final-16794.html

Interview at US nationals with Tyler Clary

Garrett McCaffrey, formerly of floswimming, interviewed Tyler Clary about his swims in the 200/400 IM and the 200 fly. The video can be found here (can't get it to embed):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5xsok5YB9g

He says a lot of interesting things about race strategy, particularly against Ryan in the IMs. Tyler is hoping to go 4:04 in the 400 IM in Rome!

Also, if anyone wants to follow Ryan Lochte on twitter, the address is http://twitter.com/ryanlochte. Hopefully he will be updating from Rome!

Ryan places 2nd in 200 back, Peirsol breaks WR

The 200m back was a tough race, but Aaron Peirsol won and broke Ryan's WR with a time of 1:53.08. Ryan placed 2nd with a time of 1:54.21. Tyler Clary was 3rd. By placing 2nd, Ryan qualified for world championships and will have the opportunity to regain his title and WR in Rome in 2 weeks.

Here's a comparison of the splits:

Peirsol: 26.82, 28.36, 28.88, 29.02
Lochte: 26.81, 28.52, 29.33, 29.55

Ryan will have to speed up the 3rd & 4th laps in order to beat Peirsol and Irie in Rome.

Ryan and Dana Vollmer (pictured below) won awards for scoring the most points in the meet. Ryan finished with two firsts (200/400 IM) one second (200 back) and one third (200 free).

Initial thoughts about the world championships: Ryan will swim the same events that he swam in Beijing: 200/400 IM, 200 back and the 4 x 200 free relay. I think he will also swim the 4 x 100 free relay given that his prelim time in the 100 free was the second fastest time at trials.

If he swims both relays, here is his tentative schedule:

Sunday, July 26
4 x 100m Free Relay
prelims and finals

Monday, July 27
nothing

Tuesday, July 28
nothing

Wednesday, July 29
200m IM
prelims and semi-finals

Thursday, July 30
200m Back
prelims and semi-finals
200m IM
finals

Friday, July 31
4 x 200m Free Relay
prelims and finals
200m Back
finals

Saturday, August 1
nothing

Sunday, August 2
400m IM
prelims and finals

At least Ryan doesn't have the 200 IM and 200 back finals back-to-back like in the Olympics, but on Thursday, July 30 he has to swim the prelims and semi-finals of the 200 back and the finals of the 200 IM. That's going to be a tough day. I hope it doesn't hurt his chance of breaking the WR in the 200 IM.

Prelims of 200 back - US nationals

Ryan placed 3rd in the 200 back prelims this morning with a time of 1:55.99. I know he can swim a lot faster than that, so tonight will be very exciting.

Tyler Clary placed first with a personal best time of 1:55.37. Aaron Peirsol was second in 1:55.78.

As much as I admire Tyler Clary, I think tonight will be all about Lochte-Peirsol. The WR is definitely on the line. I hope Ryan will come out ahead and think he can do it. He has to have been thinking about this day for a long time and getting ready for it. My prediction is Ryan will place first, followed by Peirsol and the WR will be broken. Tyler Clary will finish 3rd.

US nationals - Day 5 Preview - 200m back

On the last day of US nationals Ryan will swim his best event, the 200m back. Ryan still technically holds the WR at 1:53.94 even though Ryosuke Irie swam faster earlier this year in an unapproved suit. Irie has come close to breaking Ryan's record in an approved suit, coming within .19 a few days ago. I can't wait for this event in Rome, but first Ryan has to qualify and it's not going to be a cake walk. Peirsol, Thoman and Clary all have a shot at winning.

The top 8 seeds in the 200 back are as follows:

1 Lochte, Ryan - 1:53.94
2 Peirsol, Aaron - 1:54.32
3 Thoman, Nicholas - 1:56.15
4 Clary, Tyler - 1:57.05
5 Tullius, Rexford - 1:57.73
6 Schirk, Patrick - 1:58.66
7 Cromwell, David - 1:58.75
8 Russell, David - 1:59.40

Ryan will be in heat 5, lane 4 in the prelims, right next to Tyler Clary in lane 5. Aaron Peirsol is swimming in heat 4 with Rex Tullius. Nick Thoman is in heat 3.

Ryan wins 200 IM, nearly breaks WR

"I just wanted to take it out fast but smooth and hold on for dear life," Lochte said. "At the very end, you've just got to put your head down and race. I feel like I can go a second faster. I'm going to try to put it all together in Rome and see what happens."

Ryan Lochte won the 200 IM on Friday in a personal best time of 1:54.56, which was also a U.S. Open record. Eric Shanteau came in 2nd and Tyler Clary was 3rd.

Ryan's splits were as follows:

24.78 (fly)
28.67 (back)
33.43 (breast)
27.68 (free)

By comparison, Ryan's splits when he swam his previous personal best - 1:55.22 - against Michael Phelps at the 2008 US Olympic trials were:

25.55 (fly)
28.95 (back)
33.60 (breast)
27.12 (free)

If Ryan can go faster in the freestyle leg in Rome, he'll have a chance to break the WR. I'm not sure he can do it given that unlike last night, the 200 IM follows the 200 back prelims and semi-finals in Rome. But, I can't wait to see him try.

What a great swim. The race video can be viewed here:

http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090710/nationals_men_s_200_im_a_final-16846.html

Gold Medal Mel's post-race interview with Ryan can be viewed here:

Irie wins 200 back at World University Games, misses WR with a time of 1:54.13

From Swimming World Magazine: http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/21651.asp?q=World%20University%20Games,%20Swimming:%20%20Day%20Six%20Underway;%20Ryosuke%20Irie%20Scares%20World%20Record%20in%20200%20Back,%20Kevin%20Swander%20Smashes%20American%20Record%20in%2050%20Breast

"Men's 200 back finals

Japan's Ryosuke Irie threatened the world record for the first time in an approved swimsuit with a time of 1:54.13. Irie missed Ryan Lochte's global mark of 1:53.94 by just .19 seconds. In an interesting situation, Irie is farther off her national record of 1:52.86 set in an unapproved suit that was ratified by Japan but disallowed by FINA.

Comparative splits:
Irie: 26.74, 55.81 (29.07), 1:25.21 (29.40), 1:54.13 (28.92)
Lochte: 27.24, 55.77 (28.53), 1:25.06 (29.29), 1:53.94 (28.88)"

Assuming Ryan qualifies for the World Championships in this event, he is going to have to be patient and swim a smart race in order to beat Irie. Ryan has proven he is more than capable of this after doing a similar thing racing Tyler Clary in the IM events at Nationals. Irie is sure to be quicker in the first 100, but Ryan can beat him in the last 100. I can't wait for this event in Rome.

Prelims of 100 free & 200 IM - US nationals

Ryan swam in the prelims of the 100 free and the 200 IM at US nationals this morning. Here are the results:

100m free:

Ryan had the 2nd fastest time in the morning prelims, a personal best of 48.16. I wanted so badly for him to go 47 something, but 48.16 is really fast. Only Nathan Adrian went faster with a time of 48.10. I don't think Ryan will swim the finals of this event, so hopefully 48.16 is fast enough to secure a spot on the 4 x 100 free relay in Rome.

The big news is Michael Phelps dropped out of the 100 free with a stiff neck. Apparently he wanted to race but his doctor & coach told him no. He will no doubt still be on the 4 x 100 free relay at the US national team coach's option. It would be crazy to leave him off the relay given he is one of the fastest if not the fastest American in this event when healthy and he has tons of experience on the relay.

The top prelim times in the 100 free were:

1 ADRIAN Nathan - 48.10
2 LOCHTE Ryan - 48.16
3 TARGETT Matthew - 48.17* (Australian - will swim in B final)
4 WALTERS David - 48.46
5 WEBERGALE Garrett - 48.52
6 BRUNELLI Nicholas - 48.73
7 JONES Cullen - 48.74
8 BERENS Ricky - 48.83
9 FEIGEN Jimmy - 48.84
10 BROWN Adam - 48.97

Given that Matt Target is Australian and cannot swim in the A final, Jimmy Feigen will move up. I expect Adam Brown will also move up to the A final when Ryan drops out. It's hard to bet against Nathan Adrian and Dave Walters is having such a good meet, but I've got to go with Garrett Weber-Gale and Cullen Jones finishing 1-2 in the final tonight.

Notably, Cesar Cielo and Fred Bousquet did not finish in the top 8, swimming just fast enough to qualify for the B final. They both took it easy presumably because as foreign nationals the B final was the best they could do. Watch for them both to be very fast in tonight's finals.

200m IM

I did not get to see Ryan's race against Tyler Clary in this morning's 200 IM prelims due to work, but I heard it was a lot like the 400 IM. Tyler led through the fly, back & breast and Ryan put it into the next gear and cruised by him in the freestyle, winning by 1.56 seconds with a time of 1:57.05. Interestingly, Ryan's prelim time was the 2nd fastest time in 2009 by only .02!

The top 8 finishers were:

1 LOCHTE Ryan - 1:57.05
2 CLARY Tyler - 1:58.61
3 SHANTEAU Eric - 1:59.37
4 BROWN Jack - 1:59.94
5 D'INNOCENZO Nicholas - 2:01.43
6 COLLINS Bryan - 2:01.76
7 THOMPSON Matthew - 2:01.82
8 MARGALIS Robert - 2:02.19

Here's my bold prediction for tonight. I think Ryan is going to break the world record in this event, or at least come very close. After reviewing the schedule for world championships, I am changing my prediction from yesterday. The 200 IM is on the same day as the 200 back in Rome and it will be swum second, just like at the Olympics. I don't think Ryan will be able to break the WR in Rome when the race will be the 2nd swim in an extremely tough double. Thus, this is his big chance to do it. He needs a 1:54.23, which is nearly a second faster than his personal best of 1:55.22. I think he can do it. I think Tyler Clary pushes him and finishes 2nd.

US Nationals - Day 4 Preview - 200m IM & 100m free

Ryan is entered in two events at U.S. nationals on Friday, July 10: the 200m IM and the 100m free. Wonder if he'll swim in both events. I'm thinking he will swim in the prelims and finals of the 200 IM, which is one of his best events, and swim only the prelims of the 100 free in order to be considered for the 4 x 100 free relay. I could be wrong though...nothing would surprise me after he dropped the 100 back yesterday.

200m IM:

Here are the top 8 seeds in the 200 IM:

1 Lochte, Ryan - 1:55.22
2 Shanteau, Eric - 1:58.15
3 Margalis, Robert - 2:00.77
4 Patrick, Todd - 2:00.87
4 D'Innocenzo, Nicholas - 2:00.87
6 Whitaker, Kyle - 2:01.27
7 Burckle, Clark - 2:01.30
8 Clary, Tyler - 2:01.87

I believe Clark Burckle is out of the meet with a broken thumb so I don't think he'll be swimming in this event. The current 9th seed is Jack Brown with a time of 2:02.03.

Ryan and Eric Shanteau have to be the favorites. They are the only Americans entered in this race to have gone under 2 minutes. Nevertheless, I'm not going to count out Tyler Clary. His times have improved so drastically that he could drop below 1:58 and qualify in this event too. I think Ryan will go below 1:55 in the finals and swim a personal best. I also think Ryan will break the WR in this event (1:54.23 - Michael Phelps) in Rome. It will help if he has Tyler or someone else pushing him.

100m free:

I would love to see Ryan do well in this event, swim a personal best, and qualify for the 4 x 100 free relay. In order to do so, he will have to swim at least the prelims. It's too bad this event is on the same day as the 200IM but Ryan has done doubles before and I'm sure he's up for it.

Ryan is seeded 11th in the 100 free, but there are 4 swimmers in the top 10 who are not American and therefore will not be eligible for the A final. The top 14 seeds (including 6 foreign nationals) are:

1 Phelps, Michael - 47.51
2 *Cielo, Cesar - 47.67 (Brazil)
3 Weber-Gale, Garrett - 47.78
4 *Targett, Matthew - 47.88 (Australia)
5 Brunelli, Nicholas - 48.29
6 Jones, Cullen - 48.35
7 Adrian, Nathan - 48.46
8 *Bousquet, Fred - 48.52 (France)
9 Grevers, Matthew - 48.53
10 *Meichtry, Dominik - 48.55 (Switzerland)
11 Lochte, Ryan - 48.65
12 *Bovell, George - 48.83 (Trinidad)
13 *Subirats, Albert - 48.97 (Venezuela)
14 Walters, David - 49.04

Among the Americans, Ryan is ranked 7th. He needs to finish in the top 6 to ensure consideration for the 4 x 100 free relay. I'd love to see him go under 48 for the first time.

Ryan takes 3rd place in 200 free, qualifies for 4x200 free relay

Ryan dropped the 100 back to concentrate on the 200 free but unfortunately it did not turn out that well for him. He finished 3rd thus failing to qualify for the 200 free as an individual event. The good news is by finishing 3rd he assured himself a place on the 4 x 200 free relay, but I think that was a foregone conclusion anyway.

The top 6 finishers in the 200 free were:

Michael Phelps - 1:44.23
Dave Walters - 1:44.95
Ryan Lochte - 1:45.66
Ricky Berens - 1:45.73
PVK - 1:45.77
Davis Tarwater - 1:46.36

Ryan swam a little slower (.05) than his personal best from the 2008 Olympic trials, which had to be a little disappointing to him. It looked like Ryan slowed down a bit in the 3rd 50.

Here's a link to the race video of the 200 free from swimnetwork.com

http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090708/nationals_men_s_200_free_a_final-16802.html

In other news, Tyler Clary continued his great meet by finishing 2nd in the 200 fly and qualifying for Rome. He dropped more than 3 seconds from his personal best in this event. All his hard work is paying off.

Here's Ryan's interview with Summer Sanders after the 400 IM and also the awards ceremony.


Ryan is not swimming in any events on Thursday but he has two events on Friday: 100 free and 200 IM.

Prelims of 200 free - US nationals

Ryan surprisingly (to me anyway) swam in the prelims for the 200 free only and skipped the prelims for the 100 back. So surprised. Anyway, Ryan did very well in the 200 free with a time of 1:46.51.

Here are the top 8 finishers:

1. Michael Phelps - 1:46.31
2 Peter Vanderkaay - 1:46.42
3. David Walters - 1:46.46
4. Ryan Lochte - 1:46.51
5. Ricky Berens - 1:46.59
5. Davis Tarwater - 1:46.59
7. Daniel Madwed - 1:47.31
8. Daniel Beal - 1:47.81

Six guys all with times close together in the 1:46 range. The finals should be very interesting!

I hope Ryan's decision to drop the 100 back was planned and not because he's feeling poorly today.

I'm still so impressed with Tyler Clary's 400IM swim last night. He was improving so much this year and he did so well at the NCAAs that I knew he would be a huge factor in the race. Nevertheless, I never thought he would drop that much time or that his breaststroke would be so good, especially in a long course event. He made the race so much more exciting.

Maybe Tyler can give Michael Phelps the same kind of run in the 200 fly tonight.

US nationals - Day 2 Preview - 200m free and 100m back

Wednesday, July 8 is a big day at U.S. nationals, with the prelims and finals for both the 200 free and the 100 back. Here's a list of events in the order they will be swum:

8. 100 back (women)
9. 200 free (men)
10. 100 back (men)
11. 200 free (women)
12. 200 fly (men)
13. 4x100 free relay (women)

Ryan is entered in the 200 free and the 100 back. These events are consecutive and thus I doubt he will swim the finals for both. I think he will follow the same plan he followed at the 2008 Olympic trials and swim the prelims of both, but the finals of the 100 back only. He may skip the prelims of the 200 free altogether.

Ryan has already qualified for the world team. This means the coaches can put him on the 4 x 200 free relay even if he doesn't swim the 200 free at trials. Given that Ryan has been a solid member of this WR holding relay for more than 4 years already, I don't think he has to prove himself by swimming the 200 free at trials. Nevertheless, he may want to prove he's still in the top 4 in this event by swimming it in prelims.

I think Ryan will put all of his effort tomorrow in the 100 back. Even though it's a far more competitive individual event and it's riskier in terms of qualifying, a 1st or 2nd place showing in the 100 back would erase the disappointment of finishing 3rd at the Olympic trials and ensure Ryan a spot on the 4x100 medley relay.

Here are the top 8 seeds in the 200 free:

1 Phelps, Michael - 1:42.96
2 Vanderkaay, Peter - 1:45.14
3 Lochte, Ryan 24 - 1:45.61
4 *Meichtry, Dominik - 1:45.80 (not US citizen/can't make US team)
5 *Basson, Jean - 1:45.85 (not US citizen/can't make US team)
6 Berens, Richard - 1:46.14
7 Walters, David - 1:46.57
8 Beal, Daniel - 1:46.89

For tomorrow's prelims, Ryan in heat 6, lane 4, PVK is in heat 7 and Michael Phelps is in heat 8.

Here are the top 9 seeds in the 100 back (had to include Peter Marshall):

1 Peirsol, Aaron- 52.54
2 Bal, Randall - 52.59
3 Thoman, Nicholas- 52.91
4 Grevers, Matthew - 52.99
5 Lochte, Ryan - 53.37
6 Hesen, Benedict - 53.68
7 Cromwell, David - 53.81
8 Plummer, David - 53.83
9 Marshall, Peter - 54.19

Ryan is in heat 6, lane 5 (with Randall Bal). Peirsol & Grevers in heat 7, Thoman, Hesen, Marshall heat 5.

The 100 back is going to be crazy.

Ryan takes 1st place in 400 IM, Tyler Clary 2nd

Tyler Clary was so fast! He sliced 8 seconds from his personal best prior to this meet and 5 seconds from his prelim time. His breaststroke looked very good, so improved. His whole race was unbelievable. I was surprised to see Tyler pull away from Ryan in the backstroke. I know Tyler is a great backstroker, but Ryan is better.

Nevertheless, I thought Ryan swam a perfect race. He kept close to Tyler the whole way and then killed it in a devastating last turn. It was so fun to watch.

Fastest time in the world this year by 4 seconds and he did it in LZR legs. (Tyler was wearing a Jaked). Not bad. I think Ryan has a chance of breaking the WR in Rome.

Here's a breakdown of their splits:

Ryan: 25.70/29.72 (fly) 31.42/30.86 (back) 35.00/35.62 (breast) 29.40/28.68 (free)

Tyler: 25.64/29.45 (fly) 31.03/30.02 (back) 35.06/36.29 (breast) 29.91/29.56 (free)

Ryan won the race in the last 50, but Tyler's breaststroke really held up. Such a fun race to watch.

Here is link to a video of the race from swimnetwork.com:

http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090707/nationals_men_s_400_im_a_final-16794.html

Here is a link to Ryan's post-race interview with Summer Sanders:

http://www.swimnetwork.com/videos/v/20090707/ryan_lochte_interview-16795.html

Thanks to Yahoo Olympics for the photos.

Finally, here's a really nice article about tonight's race (and the 400IM in general) from the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/08/sports/08swim.html?ref=sports

Prelims of 400IM - US nationals

As anticipated, Ryan swam the prelims of the 400m IM today. He finished first in his heat and second overall with a time of 4:15.63. Tyler Clary was 1st with a blistering time of 4:11.29, swimming in a different heat than Ryan. Ryan was wearing legs (presumably LZR) and Tyler was reportedly wearing a Jaked. Ryan was really not pushed in his heat, finishing 5 seconds ahead of Andrew Gemmell. Tyler also was not pushed finishing almost 7 seconds ahead of Jack Brown.

Tonight's finals are going to be very interesting! I hope Tyler and Ryan can push each other to some great times. Can't wait for Gold Medal Mel's pre-finals report starting at 5:30 p.m. EDT at http://www.universalsports.com/

Results for the 400 IM prelims can be found here:
http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2009/Indy2009/C74A_ResSummary_6_Heats_Men_400_Medley.pdf

Results for all of today's prelim races can be found here: http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/2009/Indy2009/index.htm

This photo is from this morning's 400 IM prelims. Thanks to the Daily Reezy for finding it so quickly.

In a sad note, Garrett McCaffrey announced today that he has left flowswimming.org, one of my favorite swimming websites. For a new fan like me, the interviews and content he provided were largely unparalleled, especially regarding the technical aspect of swimming. I learned so much about the sport by watching his long interviews, particularly interviews with coaches. I hope he continues with the sport and finds another similar position.

US nationals - Day 1 Preview - 400m IM

Tomorrow is (finally!) the start of US nationals in Indianapolis. The prelims begin at 9 a.m. EDT and the finals begin at 6 p.m. Gold Medal Mel is hosting a 30-minute preview at 5:30 EDT just prior to finals.

Links for the stream of the prelims & finals and GMM preview can be found here: http://www.swimnetwork.com/event/detail/20090608/conocophillips_national_championships_and_world_championship_trials-2336.html

The finals will also be shown on www.universalsports.com.

The following events will be held tomorrow:

1 - 100 fly (women)
2 - 400 free (men)
3 - 200 IM (women)
4 - 100 breast (men)
5 - 400 free (women)
6 - 400 IM (men)
7 - 4 x 100 free relay (men)

According to the psych sheet, Ryan is entered in 3 events on July 7: the 400m free, 100m breast and the 400m IM. I could be totally wrong, but from everything I've read, I think he'll only swim the 400 IM.

A guy named Bill Bell created a compilation of the 25 fastest times ever in each long course event http://65.110.72.225/SPIPDF/20090706bellmlcm.pdf.

I read about it here: http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/21578.asp?q=All%20Time%20Top%20Performers-Performances%20in%20Long%20Course%20Meters.

For the 400 IM, Michael Phelps has 6 of the top 10 times ever, including the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th, 9th and 10th best times. Laszlo Cseh has the 4th and 7th best times and Ryan Lochte has the 3rd and 8th best times.

Given that Michael Phelps has dropped this event, Ryan has the best chance of making the US national team and of doing well in Rome. Ryan's biggest competition is Laci Cseh and he won't be swimming tomorrow, at least not at US nationals.

The top 10 seeds are:

1 Lochte, Ryan 4:06.08
2 Margalis, Robert 4:13.85
3 Clary, Tyler 4:14.13
4 Gemmell, Andrew 4:17.97
5 Burckle, Clark 4:18.40
6 Brown, Jack 4:18.44
7 Clark, Ian 4:21.23
8 D'Innocenzo, Nicholas 4:22.25
9 Cregar, William 4:22.52
10 Walker, Michael 4:23.56

Many of the times listed above are from the 2008 Olympic trials: Ryan, Margalis, Clary, Burckle, Brown, Clark and Cregar. Gemmell swam a 4:21.85 at trials and improved to 4:17.97 at the Austin Grand Prix in March. D'Innocenzo did not swim this event at trials; he swam 4:22.25 at the Jr. Pan Pacs in January. Walker's time confuses me. He either swam a 4:27.18 or 4:23.56 at trials last year.

Ryan's best time in 2009 is 4:18.62 at the Santa Clara GP. This is the 3rd fastest time by a US swimmer this year, after Clary's 4:17.40 at the Quebec Cup and Gemmell's 4:17.97.

My prediction is that Ryan and Tyler Clary will finish 1-2 and that Clary will drop below 4:10 for the first time. They'll be close during the fly/back, but Ryan will get ahead of Clary on the breaststroke. I think Margalis and Gemmell will finish at least 5 seconds behind Clary.

I could be completely wrong but it's really fun to guess.

This is my favorite race ever.

International swimmers to watch for

I'm trying to keep track of what has been happening in meets in Europe the past few weeks in order to learn more about swimmers from other countries prior to Rome. It also helps to learn who else is good in Ryan's usual events.

Paul Biedermann - Germany - 200m Free
He's the one in the middle at this photo from the Olympics. Biedermann just swam the fastest 200m free time in the world so far at the German nationals - 1:44.71. That's unbelievable. It's not like he came out of nowhere - he finished 4th in this event at the 20008 Olympics - but his time was 1:46.0. He's improved by more than 1 second since then. He's definitely someone to watch for in this event in Rome.

Helge Meeuw - Germany - 100m Back
Helge Meeuw is in the photo above with the beard. He just swam the 4 fastest time in the world so far this year in the 100 back - a 53.08. He competed in this event at the 2008 Olympics, but did not qualify for the semi-finals. Some say it was because he did not shave his beard. In 2008, prior to the Olympics, Meeuw set the Euorpean record in the 100m back with a time of 53.10, a record that was broken by Aschwin Wildeboer last week. He will be a serious contender in this this event in Rome and I bet this time he will shave.

Aschwin Wildeboer - Spain - 200m back
We know that Wildeboer broke the WR in the 100m back last week at the Mediterranean Games. He also swam a super fast time in the 200m back - 1:54.96. This was the 2nd fastest time in the world this year, behind only Ryosuke Irie's 1:52.86 in an illegal suit. This time was .03 slower than the European record, which is held by Arkady Vyatchanin of Russia. I know who Vyatchanin is because he won bronze in this event in the 2008 Olympics behind Ryan and Aaron Peirsol. He also led the race most of the way until Ryan (and Aaron) pulled ahead in the last lap. Much has been made of the suit he was wearing when he set the WR in the 100m back, but Wildeboer is really good and has been for a while. He placed 7th in the 100 back in Beijing and qualified in the 200 back but did not swim it. There's no doubt he'll be someone to watch in the backstroke events in Rome.





















Marco Loughran - Great Britain
Marco qualified in the 50/100/200m back events at the Scottish nationals. His times in the 50 and 100 back did not make the top 25, but his time in the 200m back was a 1:58.47, which is the 24th best time in the world this year. Marco trains with Ryan at UF and hopefully will do well in Rome.

Professional Swimming League!!!!!

I think a professional swimming league would be very exciting and popular. Several established swimming writers and bloggers have recently endorsed the concept of a professional swimming league, and I love all of their ideas. Here's hoping it comes to fruition.

Given that the suit manufacturers are the most likely sponsors, it could be the one good thing that emerges from the suit wars.

Here is an article from Swimming World Magazine and two blogs that discuss how a professional swimming league would work:

http://tinyurl.com/map5e2 (Brent Rutemiller is the Publisher & CEO of Swimming World Magazine!)

http://scaq.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-have-been-studying-kierin-racing-as.html

http://www.floswimming.org/blogs/blogger/thescreamingviking/7752-professional-swim-league

This is something that needs to happen while Michael Phelps is still swimming. While there are a number of great personalities and talented swimmers in the world, his participation is absolutely crucial to get the necessary sponsorship and to attract fans. Once fans take notice, they will find many other swimmers to love in addition to Michael.

I am so excited that people with loud voices in swimming world are talking about it. I don't really care how the league is formatted, or if there are non-Olympic/FINA races, or how the teams are organized. More exposure for the swimmers and swimming would be a plus for swimming fans and a plus for post-collegiate swimmers.

Aschwin Wildeboer Faber sets new WR in 100m back at Mediterranean Games

The record was set in the 1st leg of the 400m medley relay. The time was 52.38, which broke the WR by .16. He was wearing a Jaked.

The race is already on youtube.



The 100 back is going to be one of the most if not the most exciting/competitive races in Rome. I can't wait. Hopefully Ryan will qualify and be part of it.

US Nationals psych sheet is out...

and can be found here: http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/_Rainbow/Documents/03762154-b97b-4031-ad19-d8b8bacefe5b/psych%20sheets.pdf

Ryan is entered in a mind-boggling 11 events. Obviously he is not going to swim all of them. I'm still thinking he'll swim a similar schedule to the 2008 Olympic trials, which was finals of 100/200 back, 200/400 IM and prelims of 100/200 free. He may swim the finals of 200 free.

It's a testament to Ryan's versatility that he qualified for all of these events:

200 IM
400 IM
100 fly
200 fly
50 free
100 free
200 free
400 free
100 back
200 back
100 breast

He qualified for at least one event in every stroke plus the IMs. That's pretty amazing.