Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Sports Illustrated names Ryan as one of the top 8 male Olympic athletes of 2010

Sports Illustrated writer Brian Cazeneuve named Ryan as one of the top 8 great male athletes for Olympic sports in 2010. Ryan was one of 3 Americans who made the list and the only swimmer selected. The entire article can be read here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/web/COM1180262/index.htm

Ryan Lochte USA, swimming

In winning his second consecutive award as world swimmer of the year, Lochte, 26, captured six gold medals at the Pan-Pacific Championships in Irvine. Lochte won both individual medleys, the 200-meter backstroke and freestyle races and took golds in both freestyle relays. At the World Short-Course Championships in Dubai later in the year, Lochte won six golds and a silver to confirm his outstanding season. Lochte also beat Michael Phelps in the 200 IM at the U.S. National Championships, marking the first time he defeated Phelps, head-to-head, at a major national or international meet. Lochte now has the world record, in both short and long-course competition, in the 200 IM, a race Phelps once owned.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Ryan's training partner Peter Vanderkaay talks about his move to Florida

Really good interview. I'm happy they will be training together.

http://www.swimnetwork.com/news/swimming/blogs/bob-schaller/2010/12/20-question-tuesday-peter-vanderkaay.aspx

20 Questions with Peter Vanderkaay by Bob Schaller

He took the big check at the Charlotte UltraSwim, yet those who overlooked Peter Vanderkaay in the run-up coverage of the meet should have been paying attention to the Michigan standout over the years. He has become one of the most versatile – and consistent – swimmers in the world. He talks about his big switch to train with Ryan Lochte at Florida, and how deep his Michigan roots remain in this week’s 20 Question Tuesday.

1) So this move – that’s why we postponed the interview, isn’t it?

Peter: I have known (laughs) about it for a little while. It was something I was thinking about all fall. I didn’t want to be disingenuous with an interview; I wanted to do it after I made things public.

2) Why change training locations/programs/coaches now?

Peter: For me, just my career in general... I’ve been at Michigan for almost nine years. I have enjoyed my time and really grown as a person at Michigan. But I felt like if I was going to make a push the next 18 months, I had to get out of my comfort zone and shake it up. I thought going to Florida would do that.

3) Ah, the truth is, you’re done with college, hitting the mid-20s, ready for shuffleboard and condo newsletters at La Boca Vista – just the time and age ripe for a move to Florida?

Peter: Yes! That’s what old (laughs) people do, right?

4) This really isn’t unheard of, is it?

Peter: It might come as a surprise to some people. But I think if you look around the sport, very few people stay in one place for very long. I’ve been very fortunate to have this relationship with Michigan. Looking back now, it makes sense to kind of move around, and have a new experience.

5) Your brothers at Michigan, your parents – that Michigan bond remain stronger than ever?

Peter: I think so. I’d like to keep that connection with Michigan for as long as I am alive. I love Michigan, the school, the athletic department, the community, and want to stay involved as much as I can. Just because I don’t live in Ann Arbor doesn’t mean I can’t still do that – most Michigan alumni are no longer in the city, or even the state, and they are as involved as ever.

6) Did you consider other places to train besides Florida?

Peter: I thought about a lot of different places. Ever since I was recruited by (Florida coach) Gregg Troy 10 years ago (coming out of high school), I have always respected him and that program. I thought he’d be a good fit coaching me. I think Gregg is a coach who is a tremendous planner and he knows how to get the best out of people. I felt very comfortable making this move and putting my career in his hands. I am also excited about the possibility about training with Ryan and Conner and some of the others who are great swimmers, it sounded appealing.

7) Training with the 2012 Olympic coach, training with the reigning “best swimmer in the world” – lot of ingredients there for success, especially training with Ryan Lochte, aren’t there?

Peter: I hope so. We do a little bit different events but we overlap in the 200 freestyle. When it comes down to workouts, hopefully we’ll be able to push each other and bring out the best in each other and help each other improve. This is hopefully something that we can do to put USA Swimming in the best position possible as the Olympic Trials and Games come up – we want to, as a country, put our best foot forward.

8) I remember talking to people before the UltraSwim and was just astounded that you were not mentioned as a contender for the $20K – did you plan to go after the big check or was it a product of the program itself?

Peter: Maybe both. You know, I just knew that anyone who put together three strong events would be in contention for some prize money. It made the meet more exciting. I didn’t go there thinking “Make this $20,000 or bust” – I just wanted to go race and have fun. When they came out with that prize money it really excited a lot of people because there are not opportunities in swimming to win that kind of money. I ended up coming out with the prize money. But what it was, when it is all said and done, was just a great opportunity to race.

9) Your brothers swam in college, you swam for your hometown university, have gone to the Olympics, Worlds – have you looked back and yet and said, “Wow”?

Peter: It’s been an incredible journey through the sport so far. To train with my brothers, go to the Olympic Games – and the honor of representing the United States – it’s very special, and it’s something I would like to continue, as well.

10) Phelps, Lochte, Peirsol, Crocker, Hanson – what’s it been like to be part of arguably the best men’s team in U.S. history, and maybe in the history of the world?

Peter: It’s been really exciting to be on these teams the past few years and swim with those guys, and watch some of the performances; to be on the inside of that National Team has been an incredible experience. Some of these guys are the best swimmers in the history of the world. To have these experiences is priceless, I think.

11) Is Lochte ready to assume, or continue, carrying that torch as the “best swimmer in the world?”

Peter: He’s been an incredible swimmer for a long time. It’s really great to see the success he’s having. I admire Ryan a lot for all he’s been able to do. For a long time he was kind of in the shadows and waiting for that breakout performance and we saw that this summer. I am excited for him. I’m excited to be there and watch and wait for him to do more incredible things. He’s very special in the water; he’s so much fun to watch compete because he can do so many strokes, almost all the events... his underwaters are incredible and he adds so much to relays. And he is such a tremendous personality in the sport.

12) Going from Urbie and Bowman to Bottom and Troy – not bad coaches you have had?

Peter: Definitely. I have been very fortunate to work with some of the best coaches in the world, and to learn from each of them, and to work with the other athletes who have been with them.

13) How amazing has this ride been?

Peter: It’s definitely a great experience. I don’t even know if I will be able to appreciate it while it is happening as much as I will when I look back. However long down the road, I will look back and think, “That really was an incredible experience. I was able to do something very few people had the opportunity to do.” So I do understand that it has been, and is, pretty special.

14) I think of the guys who you trained with and went to school with at Michigan: Davis Tarwater, Chris DeJong, Chris Thompson – and there are more I am leaving out – and later Matt Patton and your brother, Alex. These are brilliant young men, outstanding people, in addition to being great swimmers, aren’t they?

Peter: It was definitely a lot of fun. Those guys are some of my best friends. To be able to train with them, and outside the pool talk to them about any number of things, that was pretty cool. I still keep in touch with those guys; obviously, we talk about any number of things outside the pool. It’s interesting to hear the opinions of people who are that bright. And I appreciate their friendships. We’ve had a lot of smart guys come through here.

15) You go from freestyle ace to distance – why change?

Peter: I think, especially since ’08 was the year I kind of came into my own, that I wanted to swim a couple of different events in the Olympics. So I have to ask myself, where do I go from there? I’d love the opportunity to swim those same events in 2012, and that’s kind of what I’m working toward right now. I’m making the move from what happened in China to solidify my run toward 2012 Trials and hopefully London.

16) Going from the wonderfully chilly Michigan to sunshine and sand – you ready?

Peter: It’ll definitely be a new experience for me. I have lived in Michigan my whole live and never trained outdoors year round because this time of year we are having the cold weather set in. I’m actually more worried about dealing with the heat in the summer because I know it gets hot, and humid, down there.

17) Did Lochte support this move?

Peter: Yes, I saw him in Dubai and at Golden Goggles. I think he’s definitely excited. We have the makings so far of a really good training group. It’s something to get excited about. Ryan has been really supportive.

18) Talking to your brothers and knowing how amazing your parents are, I have to ask: How much has that solid support helped you and how important is that direction, emphasis on education, and holding you and your brothers accountable for decisions growing up, been as you moved onto college and becoming a pro athlete?

Peter: Definitely, my family is something that is very important to me – it’s something I can appreciate more as a I get older. There are lessons I didn’t have to learn the hard way because my parents instilled it at a young age, and I am very thankful for that. They have always been very supportive of my swimming, but always made school the most important thing in our home.

19) You ready for the big move?

Peter: I have been running around tying up loose ends. Now that we’re all kind of scattered all over the place, we get home and have good meals, play games and do some stuff outside. In our family, the important thing is spending time together.

20) Is your success a product of talent or the process you’ve had in place during this incredible run?

Peter: I think it’s a little of both. Mostly, it’s about doing the work and letting the process take care of itself. I talk to a lot of kids around the country, and I tell them, “When I was your age, I never would have dreamed I would go to the Olympic Games, let alone win medals.” That dream didn’t come until later when I got to that level and realized what opportunities were in front of me – only then did I get excited about it and focus on it. It was at that point the dreaming took place. When I got into this sport, I had no idea in my wildest dreams that it would turn out like this.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

200m back prelims

Ryan is in Heat 6/7, Lane 5 for the 200m back prelims. Tyler Clary, Arkady Vyatchanin and Ryosuke Irie - Ryan's main competitors - are in Heat 7. Markus Rogan, another main competitor is in Heat 5. I hope Ryan can put up a good prelim time even with the competition in other heats.

Prelims start tonight at Midnight CST. The 200m back is the very first event.

Here are the swimmers for Heat 6:

1 KOPLEV Jonatan ISR - 1:57.78
2 SVOBODA Kvetoslav CZE - 1:53.99
3 LESTINGI Damiano ITA - 1:51.84
4 KAWECKI Radoslaw POL - 1:48.73
5 LOCHTE Ryan USA - 1:50.81
6 PINZON Omar Andres COL - 1:53.08
7 CHENG Feiyi CHN - 1:55.88
8 MOLINA Juan David COL - 1:58.27

Ryan places first in 100m IM semi finals - misses World Record by .05

Watch the race here: http://www.universalsports.com/video/assetid=6006cc84-7563-4bf0-b3f6-0b85386ae11b.html#2010+sc+worlds+lochtes+100m+im+semi

Universal Sports doesn't allow embedding, which is dumb because they'd get more hits if they did.

The final for the 100m IM is tomorrow, along with the prelims and finals for the 200m back and the 4 x 100m medley relay. Ryan said in an interview that he will be swimming three events on Sunday night. I guess this means he will be in the relay!

Ryan qualified first for the 100m IM semi-finals

He will be in Heat 2, Lane 4 for the semi-finals. Tyler Clary is in Heat 2, Lane 8. The World Record holder, Peter Mankoc is in Lane 3. Here is a list of swimmers and lane assignments for Heat 2. I love the 100m IM!

1 SUN Xiaolei CHN - 53.70
2 FUJII Takuro JPN - 53.12
3 MANKOC Peter SLO - 52.78
4 LOCHTE Ryan USA - 52.06
5 BOVELL III George TRI - 52.60
6 FESIKOV Sergey RUS - 53.03
7 TAPP John Jake CAN - 53.43
8 CLARY Scott USA - 53.94

Friday, December 17, 2010

100m IM prelims

The 100m IM, the event I am most looking forward to, is next. Prelims are tonight at Midnight CST and semi-finals are tomorrow morning.

Ryan is in Heat 2/11 in Lane 3. Tyler Clary is in Heat 3/11 in Lane 2. For some unknown reason both were entered without any times, and thus they are swimming in the early heats. This may be the first time Tyler has swum the 100 IM. Ryan swam it at the 2008 Short Course Worlds and used to hold the world record (Peter Mankoc beat it in December 2009).

Here are some videos of Ryan breaking the world record in the 100m IM in 2008. It's such a fast event and it's so rarely swum that I'm really looking forward to seeing it again.



Video and photos from the 200m IM








Ryan sets another World Record in the 200m IM!!!

1:50.08. Wow.

More later.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Day 3 - 200m IM

On Day 3 Ryan will swim the 200m IM, with prelims tonight starting at Midnight CST. The 200m IM is the 6th event on Day 3, so I would expect it would take place about 1.5 to 2 hours into the meet.

Ryan is in Heat 8/8, lane 4. The other swimmers in his heat, with the lane assignment to the left, are listed below:

1 TO Kenneth AUS 1:56.40
2 VERRASZTÓ Dávid HUN 1:54.90
3 JANUSAITIS Vytautas LTU 1:54.07
4 LOCHTE Ryan USA 1:50.42
5 CLARY Scott USA 1:53.49
6 NEVO Gal ISR 1:54.17
7 SJOEDIN Simon SWE 1:56.13
8 YABE Diogo BRA 1:57.84

Video of Ryan's WR 400m IM swim

From Universal Sports:

http://www.universalsports.com/video/assetid=2dc56d98-be05-48bc-a4f4-2d0e0f1c1b5e.html#watch+lochtes+world+record+swim

Ryan wins 400m IM and sets a new World Record!!




Ryan's time was 3:55.50. He smashed the WR by almost two seconds. Ous Mellouli won silver and Tyler Clary won bronze. More later.


4 x 200m free relay is coming up. Watch live here: http://www.everythingon.tv/channel/view/eurosport-4

Ryan sets Championship Record in 400 IM prelims and qualifies first

400 IM

Ryan qualified first in the 400 IM prelims with a CR time of 4:01.76. Here are the top 8 qualifiers who will move onto the finals:

1 LOCHTE Ryan - 4:01.76
2 MELLOULI Oussama - 4:02.27
3 CLARY Scott - 4:03.02
4 LE CLOS Chad - 4:03.81
5 VERRASZTÓ Dávid - 4:04.11
6 CSEH László - 4:04.44
7 NEVO Gal - 4:06.78
8 TIKHONOV Alexander - 4:06.96

So happy to see Clary and Cseh in the finals too. I love watching them race. Also happy to see Gal Nevo of Israel. It's a relief that the Israeli swimmers were allowed to compete given the problems they had entering the UAE. Apparently the could not obtain visas because the Arab countries do not recognize Israel. Then at the parade of nations during the opening ceremonies the Israeli team was announced as "ISR," presumably for their safety so they were not identified as Israelis. It's sad when politics interfere with a political event but at least the athletes were allowed entrance to the country and are there swimming.

4 x 200m Free Relay

The U.S. qualified first for the 4 x 200m free relay. Ryan did not swim in the prelims, but will swim in the finals. The prelim swimmers were Garrett Weber Gale, David Walters, Charlie Houchin and Ricky Berens. Weber Gale and Berens had the two fastest times in the prelims and I believe they will move on to the finals with Peter Vanderkay and Ryan.

Here are the teams that qualified for the finals:

1 USA 6:56.53
WALTERS David (1:44.70)
WEBERGALE Garrett (1:43.38)
HOUCHIN Charles (1:44.28)
BERENS Richard (1:44.17)

2 Russia 6:57.48
3 Germany 6:59.83
4 France 7:00.58
5 Australia 7:02.31
6 China 7:03.30
7 Czech Republic 7:05.15
8 Brazil 7:06.20

Video of 200m Free final (from Eurosport)

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Day 2 Prelims - Short Course Worlds

400 IM

Ryan is in heat 3/5, lane 4 for the prelims of the 400 IM. Here are the other swimmers in his heat, with lane assignments on the left:

1 ENDERICA SALGADO Esteban Jose ECU - 4:21.15
2 PINOTES Pedro Miguel ANG - 4:10.55
3 CARVALHO Diogo POR - 4:06.83
4 LOCHTE Ryan USA - 4:00.41
5 MELLOULI Oussama TUN - 4:02.99
6 LE CLOS Chad Guy Bertrand RSA - 4:08.00
7 STACCHIOTTI Raphael LUX - 4:14.79
8 BERRADA Morad MAR - 4:26.35

Other favorites of mine: Tyler Clary is in Heat 4/5, lane 5. Laszlo Cseh is in Heat 5/5, lane 4.

4 x 200m free relay

USA is in Heat 2/2, lane 4. The Russians are in the same heat, lane 5. I do not think Ryan will swim in the prelims but he will definitely swim in the finals. I believe the other swimmers will be Peter Vanderkay, Ricky Berens and David Walters. I do not know who will swim the prelims in Ryan's place.

Prelims start at Midnight CST. You can see real time results at the Omega Live Timing website: http://www.omegatiming.com/swimming/racearchives/index.htm

Livestream in English http://www.everythingon.tv/channel/view/eurosport-4

Photos from 200m free





from Daylife...

Watch video of Ryan's win in the 200m free

http://www.universalsports.com/video/assetid=2a4d39e9-2a16-45e2-922d-6bd32292413b.html#2010+sc+worlds+lochte+wins+200m+free

It's the entire race - thanks Universal Sports!

400 IM and 4 x 200 free relay prelims on Day 2

400 IM and 4 x 200 free relay prelims on Day 2, which starts at Midnight CST. More later plus photos from today's finals.

Ryan wins first gold medal in 200m free & sets American and Championship Record

1:41.08

Ryan won his first gold in today's 200m free. Here's what SwimmingWorld Magazine had to say about the race:

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/25937.asp

Men's 200 free finals
USA's Ryan Lochte called his shot during prelims with a meet-record time of 1:42.38. That swim wiped out the long-standing record of 1:43.28 set by Ian Thorpe in Hong Kong in 1999, and moved Lochte to third in the world this year behind Danila Izotov (1:41.84) and Yannick Agnel (1:41.96). Izotov made finals, but Agnel missed out with a surprising 10th-place 1:43.51. It also beat the ratified American record time of 1:42.78 set by Michael Phelps in East Meadow in 2006.

Lochte returned in the finale to post a blazing fast time of meet-record time of 1:41.08. That swim is the fastest by a citizen of the U.S., either ratified or un-ratified. His time beat the un-ratified top time by an American of 1:42.17 set by Peter Vanderkaay at the Duel in the Pool in Manchester last year. USA Swimming elected not to ratify times swum in a techsuit after implementing its own techsuit ban in Oct. 2009, even though the worldwide ban took place Jan. 2010.

Notably, his time far surpassed Izotov's previously top-ranked effort of 1:41.84 from the European Short Course Championships, and moved Lochte to fifth all time in the event with the fastest time in a textile. Previously, Thorpe owned the best textile time with a 1:41.10 from 2000.

Izotov raced to a strong second-place time of 1:41.70 to improve upon his season best effort from the European Short Course Championships, while Tunisia's Ous Mellouli checked in with a third-place 1:42.02. Russia's Nikita Lobintsev (1:42.03), Germany's Paul Biedermann (1:42.19), Poland's Pawel Korzeniowski (1:42.73), Australia's Tommaso D'Orsogna (1:42.96) and Cayman Island's Shaune Fraser (1:43.91) completed the finale.

USA has 3rd fastest time in 4 x 100m free relay prelims

In the 4 x 100m free relay prelims, the USA team of Garrett Weber Gale, Ricky Berens, David Walters and Nathan Adrian had a time of 3:08.06, which was third best. The teams qualifying for the finals are:

Russia - 3:07.78 (new CR)
Australia - 3:08.06
USA - 3:08.69
Brazil - 3:08.71
Italy - 3:09.85
France - 3:09.97
China - 3:12.63
Sweden - 3:12.77

Ryan will swim in the finals, possibly in place of Dave Walters who had the slowest time on the U.S. team by .04.

Lochte has fastest time in prelims of 200m Free in Championship Record time

1 LOCHTE Ryan USA - 1:42.38 CR
2 MELLOULI Oussama -1:42.41
3 LOBINTSEV Nikita RUS - 1:42.59
4 BIEDERMANN Paul GER - 1:42.73
5 FRASER Shaune CAY - 1:42.98
6 KORZENIOWSKI Pawel POL - 1:43.05
7 IZOTOV Danila RUS - 1:43.20
8 D'ORSOGNA Tommaso AUS - 1:43.25

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Day 1 Prelims - FINA Short Course World Championships

If you are able to stay up late tonight, you can obtain live results at http://www.omegatiming.com/livetiming/index.htm. I do not know of a live stream video available in the United States.

The Day 1 prelims start at Midnight CST.

The 200m free is the first event and Ryan is in Heat 10/10, Lane 5.

Here are the swimmers in Heat 10 with lane assignments to the left:

1 CASTRO Rodrigo BRA 1979 1:46.20
2 KVALE Gard NOR 1984 1:45.10
3 AGNEL Yannick FRA 1992 1:43.18
4 MAGNINI Filippo ITA 1982 1:41.65
5 LOCHTE Ryan USA 1984 1:42.88
6 VANDERKAAY Peter USA 1984 1:44.20
7 MATHLOUTHI Ahmed TUN 1989 1:45.70
8 LE CLOS Chad Guy Bertrand RSA 1992 1:47.89

The 4 x 100m free relay is event 9. The U.S. is in Heat 3/3, Lane 4. I do not know if Ryan will swim prelims for this event. He will certainly swim the finals.

Here are the teams and lane assignments in Heat 3:

2 CHN China
3 VEN Venezuela
4 USA United States
5 SWE Sweden
6 KEN Kenya
7 ITA Italy

The finals start at 19:30 (7:30 pm) in Dubai. Because Dubai is GMT+4, the finals will be start tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. CST.

I'm ready for this meet to start.

Ryan to compete in 8 events at SC Worlds?

According to this Associated Press article in today's USA Today, iooks like Ryan may swim back in the 4 x 100 medley relay after all:

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2010-12-14-3132201859_x.htm


Lochte aiming to match Phelps with 8 golds


By Andrew Dampf, AP Sports Writer

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Having surpassed Michael Phelps as the top all-around swimmer this year, Ryan Lochte hopes to punctuate the fact with a Phelpsian performance this week.

Lochte wants to swim eight events over five days at the short-course world championships beginning on Wednesday. If he wins them all, he'll match the record eight golds Phelps won at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"I think that's what he has in his mind," said U.S. men's head coach Jon Urbanchek, adding that the laid-back Lochte "is capable" of pulling off the feat.

His chances are a little easier in the absence of his top challenger in most events, Phelps.

"I wish he was here. I love racing against him but it's not my call, it's his call, and I'm sure he has a reason why," Lochte said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Lochte is listed to swim five individual events — the 100-, 200- and 400-meter individual medleys, plus the 200 freestyle and 200 backstroke. He'll also take part in the 400 and 800 free relays. The only question in his program is whether he'll race the 400 medley relay.

"If they put me in it I'll do it, but as far as I know I'm not," Lochte said. "I wouldn't mind doing it all. I wouldn't mind more racing. But it's the coaches' call."

Urbanchek indicated that Lochte will likely get the nod for the medley relay after Aaron Peirsol pulled out of the competition, allowing Lochte to swim the backstroke leg.

"But we have to give others a chance to swim and see how they perform," Urbanchek said. "Picking for the last relay is not a problem, because they have all swum events by then and we know who is hot."

Lochte may be hot, but he'll also probably be exhausted come Sunday.

Phelps won his eight golds over nine days in Beijing, while this meet is condensed into just five days.

"It's a larger load," Urbanchek said. "He's going to have his hands full, because he's going to be challenged by Tyler (Clary) and some of the Europeans are very good, so it's not going to be a cakewalk."

American teammate Clary will go head to head with Lochte in four events, and Lochte also has to worry about Hungary's Laszlo Cseh in the IMs, Austria's Markus Rogan in the 200 back, and Germany's Paul Biedermann in the 200 free.

Cseh took silver behind Phelps in the 200 and 400 IMs in Beijing and Biedermann upset Phelps in the 200 free at last year's long-course worlds in Rome.

"Even though Michael isn't here, there is still a lot of good competition," said Lochte, who beat Phelps in the 200 IM and 200 back at the U.S. championships this summer, then won six golds to Phelps' five at the Pan Pacific Championships in August.

Those two performances prompted Phelps' longtime coach, Bob Bowman, to acknowledge that Lochte was "the best swimmer in the world this year — no question."

Recently ousted U.S. head coach Mark Schubert suggested that Phelps doesn't have enough confidence in his short-course technique.

"Although I think he's a great short-course swimmer, he doesn't consider himself to have good short-course (technique). Because although his underwater is good, it's most particularly good on the last turn," said Schubert, who is in Dubai as the honorary secretary of FINA's coaches commission.

"But short-course swimming is kind of like a gymnastics event, it's underwater, underwater, underwater, and I think when you watch Natalie (Coughlin) and Ryan you'll see that."
Still, Schubert is not ready to declare Lochte the sport's top athlete just yet, saying fans will have to wait for a showdown at the 2012 London Olympics.

"In my opinion, I don't think you can say (Lochte) is the premier male swimmer but he was certainly the swimmer of this past year," Schubert said. "But Mr. Phelps' performance in Beijing trumps all, so London will judge again."

Monday, December 13, 2010

My predictions for SC Worlds - all races

I entered David "The Swim Geek" Rieder's prediction contest. This is my very first time trying and I had no idea what I was doing. It's fun to try ! Hope I didn't miss any races.

Men’s 200 Free
- Lochte

Women’s 50 Breast
- Johansson

Men’s 100 Back - Donets

Women’s 200 Fly - Hosszu

Men’s 100 Breast - van der Burgh

Women’s 100 Back - Coughlin

Men’s 100 Fly - Deibler

Women’s 400 IM - Miley

Men’s 400 Free Relay - USA

Women’s 800 Free Relay - USA

Women’s 100 Free
- Kromowidjojo

Men’s 400 IM
- Lochte

Women’s 50 Fly - Alshammer

Men’s 50 Free - Adrian

Women’s 100 IM - Schreuder

Men’s 800 Free Relay - USA

Women’s 800 Free - Ziegler

Men’s 50 Back - Donets

Women’s 200 Back - Heemskerk

Men’s 50 Fly - Schoeman

Women’s 100 Breast - Soni

Men’s 400 Free - Biedermann

Men’s 200 IM - Lochte

Women’s 400 Free - Pellegrini

Men’s 200 Breast - Tomita

Women’s 400 Medley Relay - US

Women’s 50 Back - Gao

Men’s 100 Free - Adrian

Women’s 100 Fly - Vollmer

Men’s 100 IM - Lochte

Women’s 50 Free - Kromowidjojo

Women’s 200 IM - Hosszu

Men’s 50 Breast - Shoeman

Women’s 400 Free Relay - Netherlands

Men’s 200 Back - Lochte

Women’s 200 Breast - Soni

Men’s 200 Fly - Almeida

Women’s 200 Free - Vollmer

Men’s 400 Medley Relay - Russia

Men’s 1,500 Free - Mellouli

Short Course World Championships in Dubai - Relays

There are three relays at the Short Course World Championships - the same 3 relays swum at long course meets:

4 x 100 free relay
4 x 200 free relay
4 x 100 medley relay

Ryan will likely swim in both free relays. He may have an opportunity to swim the backstroke in the medley relay, but I doubt he'll do it. It's the last event of the meet and would be his 8th! Nick Thoman and David Plummer (if he can make it to Dubai after the blizzard in Minneapolis) will likely swim in the relay.

The 4 x 100 free relay takes place on Wednesday, December 15, the first day of the meet. I predict Ryan will swim the first leg and the U.S. will win although the French and Russian teams will be a strong challenge. Nathan Adrian will be the anchor. I believe the other swimmers will be Garrett Weber-Gale and either David Walters or Josh Schneider.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Short Course Worlds in Dubai - 200m Free preview

I think the 200m free is going to be Ryan's toughest event. It's an event he has not swum individually before (in short course meters) and it's his first race, which is usually the toughest. In addition, he's not rested and it's a ridiculously competitive field. Nevertheless, I still believe he can win.

According to www.swimnews.com, the fastest times this year (post-suits) were Daniil Izotov's 1:41.84 and Yannick Agnel's 1:41.96. Despite these times this year, both entered the meet with slower seed times. The top seeds - Filippo Magnini and Pawel Korzeniowski - achieved their times during the suit era a year ago. Paul Biedermann's entry time is from last month's European SC Championships, where he finished second to Izotov.

I don't remember Ryan swimming the 200m free in SCM. The all-time performance data provided by www.swimnews.com shows Ryan's best time as 1:44.15. This time is from the 2008 SC Worlds in Manchester, England, when he swam the lead-off leg of the 4 x 200m free relay.

According to www.usaswimming.org, 1:44.15 is the fastest time Ryan has swum in this event. So where did Ryan's entry time of 1:42.88 come from?

I do not know. It could be a conversion of his best SCY time to SCM. Ryan's best SCY time is 1:32.40, which converts to roughly 1:43.12 according to this conversion tool. http://www.swimaz.com/tools/timeconverter/ . It could also be a conversion of his best LCM time to SCM, but that is 1:41.61 (from 1:45.30). These theories are the best I could come up with!

My prediction for this event:

1 - Ryan Lochte
2 - Daniil Izotov
3- Paul Biedermann

Lochte and Clary both entered in 100m IM with "NT"

Thanks to www.theswimmerscircle.com for pointing out that Lochte and Clary are both entered in the 100m IM with a "NT," which I assume means "no time." It's odd, but I'm happy their names are on the entry sheet.

Short Course World Championships in Dubai - Top 10 swimmers in Ryan's individual events

The 2010 Fina Short Course World Championships begin on Wednesday, December 15. Unfortunately they will not be live streamed, at least that I am aware. Universal Sports will show daily highlights, and that's great, but it's always disappointing how they don't show entire races for 200m & longer events.

Live timing is available from Omega. Dubai is GMT +4, which is 9 hours ahead of EST, 10 hours ahead of CST and 12 hours ahead of PST.

According to the heat sheet, neither Ryan nor anyone else from the US is entered in the 100m IM, the event I was most excited to see. This has to be a mistake as I would assume both Ryan and Tyler Clary will swim it.

Lots of other great races though. Here are the events Ryan is entered in and the top 10 qualifiers:

200m free (Day 1 - December 15)

1 MAGNINI Filippo ITA 1:41.65
2 KORZENIOWSKI Pawel POL 1:42.10
3 IZOTOV Danila RUS 1:42.77
4 LOCHTE Ryan USA 1:42.88
5 BIEDERMANN Paul GER 1:42.94
6 MELLOULI Oussama TUN 1:42.95
7 AGNEL Yannick FRA 1:43.18
8 LOBINTSEV Nikita RUS 1:43.37
9 DEIBLER Markus GER 1:43.77
10 GLÆSNER Mads DEN 1:43.77

Also entered: 12 VANDERKAAY Peter USA 1:44.20
13 ROGAN Markus AUT 1:44.45
15 MEICHTRY Dominik SUI 1:44.74


400m IM (Day 2 - December 16)

1 LOCHTE Ryan USA 4:00.41

2 NEVO Gal ISR 4:00.55
3 CLARY Scott USA 4:01.97
4 MELLOULI Oussama TUN 4:02.99
5 VERRASZTÓ Dávid HUN 4:03.06
6 WOJT Lukasz POL 4:03.85
7 TURRINI Federico ITA 4:05.24
8 CARVALHO Diogo POR 4:06.83
9 HADLER Jayden AUS 4:07.06
10 MARIN Luca ITA 4:07.31

Also entered: 16 CSEH László HUN 4:10.71

I love it so much when Ryan races Laszlo Cseh in the IMs. Cseh holds the WR in this event at 3:57.27 from the suit era. Will this record be broken?

200m IM (Day 3 - December 17)

1 LOCHTE Ryan USA 1:50.42
2 ROGAN Markus AUT 1:51.72
3 DEIBLER Markus GER 1:53.25
4 CLARY Scott USA 1:53.49
5 JUKIC Dinko AUT 1:53.81
6 JANUSAITIS Vytautas LTU 1:54.07
7 RODRIGUES Henrique BRA 1:54.07
8 WOJT Lukasz POL 1:54.09
9 NEVO Gal ISR 1:54.17
10 CARVALHO Diogo POR 1:54.58

Also entered: 21 CSEH László HUN 1:57.68

100m IM (Day 4 - December 18)

1 MANKOC Peter SLO 50.76
2 FESIKOV Sergey RUS 51.18
3 DEIBLER Markus GER 52.13
4 TO Kenneth AUS 52.39
5 FUJII Takuro JPN 52.92
6 GALENDA Christian ITA 52.94
7 RODRIGUES Henrique BRA 53.05
8 D'ORSOGNA Tommaso AUS 53.06
9 DRAGANJA Duje CRO 53.50
10 ZANDBERG Johannes Gerhardus RSA 53.57

No entries for the U.S.? This has to be a mistake. Although, maybe Ryan and Clary are not swimming it because the prelims & semis are on Day 4 and the finals are on Day 5, right after the 200 back. Still it doesn't seem right because (a) those guys never back down from doubles and (b) if they aren't swimming it, why wouldn't the US enter someone else like Eric Shanteau?

200m back (Day 5 - December 19)

1 VYATCHANIN Arkady RUS 1:46.75
2 KAWECKI Radoslaw POL 1:48.73
3 IRIE Ryosuke JPN 1:50.58
4 LOCHTE Ryan USA 1:50.81
5 STASIULIS Benjamin FRA 1:51.27
6 CLARY Scott USA 1:51.57
7 LESTINGI Damiano ITA 1:51.84
8 WILDEBOER FABER Aschwin ESP 1:52.14
9 ROGAN Markus AUT 1:52.15
10 BUYUKUNCU Derya TUR 1:53.00





Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Goswim.tv article about Ryan Lochte's swimming

http://ht.ly/3lhui

Here's an extremely insightful article about Ryan's swimming called "What We Learned From Ryan Lochte" at http://www.goswim.tv. Please go to their site to read it. The link is above.

First part....

Hips - One of the reasons I put a "hips" drill up today was simple. While standing at the side of the pool and having Ryan swim just a couple lanes away, I have never seen hips as high as his during freestyle. From the comments of the coaches around me... very few others had as well. We came to the conclusion that if Ryan didn't have to dive in or do turns... we're pretty sure the back of his suit could remain dry for a very long time . . .

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Swimnetwork - 2010 AT&T Short Course National Championships Videos, Photos & Articles

Swimnetwork - 2010 AT&T Short Course National Championships Videos, Photos & Articles

Watch the videos for last night's 100y back and 200y free finals here. Ryan finished 4th in the 200y free and 7th in the 100y back. It bugs me that swimnetwork doesn't allow for individual race videos to be embedded.

Something happened on Ryan's start in the 100y back. He was way behind in the beginning and worked hard to catch up the entire race.

I read here that Ryan has continued to train hard through the meet and is racing tired. If I find any interviews they will be posted.

http://www.universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=503823.html#lochte+shut+twice+short+course+nationals?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

US Short Course Nationals - Saturday prelim results

Ryan swam in the 200y back and 100y free today. Here are the results:

200y back

1 ROGAN Markus 1:42.59
2 TULLIUS Rexford 1:42.71
3 GODSOE Eugene 1:43.06
4 PATTON Matthew 1:43.09
5 RUSSELL David 1:43.20
6 LOCHTE Ryan 1:43.24
7 RESS Eric 1:43.59
8 MARGALIS Robert 1:43.64
9 HESEN Benedict 1:43.83
10 ELLIOTT Andrew 1:43.89

100y free

Ryan Lochte - Declared false start

Now Ryan can put 100% into the 200y back final.

Friday, December 3, 2010

US Short Course Nationals - Friday Finals


Ryan qualified for the "A" final in both prelims today, the 200y free and the 100y back. The times were very close in both races. Here are the finalists with their prelim times:


200y Free

1 Reed, Tyler 1:34.82
2 *Lefert, Clemen 1:34.99
3 Klueh, Michael 1:35.57
4 *Colupaev, Dimi 1:35.58
5 *Meichtry, Domi 1:35.76
6 *Fraser, Shaune 1:35.79
7 Lochte, Ryan 1:35.82
8 *Burnett, Simon 1:35.84
9 Tullius, Rexfor 1:35.91
10 White, James 1:36.04

100y Back

1 Grevers, Matthew 46.30
2 Russell, David 46.24
3 Lochte, Ryan 46.50
4 Plummer, David 46.55
5 Godsoe, Eugene 46.73
6 Thoman, Nicholas 46.91
7 *Ress, Eric 46.92
8 Hesen, Benedict 46.95
9 Tullius, Rexford 47.09
10 *Morozov, Vladi 47.24


US Short Course Nationals - Friday prelims



Today Ryan swims in the 100y back and 200y free.

Event 18 - 200y free
seeded 16th with a time of 1:36.19

Event 22 - 100y back
seeded 10th with a time of 46.42

I'm pretty sure he dropped out of the 100y breast.

Watch prelims at www.swimnetwork.com starting at 9 a.m. EST.

Media Center - 2010 Short Course National Championships - Men's 200yd IM A Final - Swimnetwork.com

Media Center - 2010 Short Course National Championships - Men's 200yd IM A Final - Swimnetwork.com

Video of 50y Free "A" Final



'Swimnetwork

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Day1 Finals - US Short Course Nationals - Ryan places 1st in 200y IM and 8th in 50y free

200y IM time: 1:42.6
50y free time: 19.78 (1st place Nathan Adrian - 19.0)

Here is an Associated Press article about the meet: http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/24-sports-news/article272468.ece

Here's what theswimmercircle blog had to say: http://theswimmerscircle.com/blog/featured/mens-50-free-showdown-usc-relays-shine-on-day-1-at-att-short-course-national-championships/

Men’s 200 IM

We got our first glimpse at the newly-crowned USA-Swimming Male Swimmer of the Year in the 200 IM, when Ryan Lochte won another National Championship in 1:42.60. He trailed Austria’s Markus Rogan headed into the final 50, but finished in 24.91 to wrench away the victory. Rogan’s final mark was 1:42.94. These two will square off again in Dubai, where Rogan could have an advantage on a meters course.


Men’s 50 free

The most anticipated race of the night, and maybe the whole meet, was the men’s 50 free. It was the first short course yards rematch between Josh Schneider and Nathan Adrian, since Schneider pulled the upset victory at NCAA’s last year. Add to that Matt Grevers, the biggest man in swimming today, Vlad Morozov, the young Russian who holds the National High School record, Simon Burnett, the British sprint king, and even an appearance from Ryan Lochte (though the 50 isn’t one of his better events).

In the end, Adrian defended his long course title and touched in 19.00. William Copeland, a post-grad who trains with Cal, surprised the field to finish second in 19.21, supporting the notion that sprinters tend to get better with age. Grevers, the top overall qualifier for finals, was third in 19.30, followed by Schneider (19.32) and Morozov (19.33).

Though the Adrian-Schneider dual wasn’t the ultimate battle at this meet (and in fact nobody really challenged Adrian), the two will get to show off again in Dubai, where they will be joined by a full-force French sprint group and Brazilian Cesar Cielo–Adrian’s other, bigger rival.