Ryan Lochte - A look back 2005/06 (Part IV)

A while ago (May 2010) I wrote some blogs on Ryan's past swimming seasons, starting with his first year of college and leading up through the 2004 Olympics and 2005 World Championships. Here are links for the past installments:

A look back 2002/03 (Part I) - http://ryanlochteswimming.blogspot.com/2010/05/look-back-20022003.html

A look back 2003/04 (Part II) - http://ryanlochteswimming.blogspot.com/2010/05/look-back-part-ii.html

A look back 2004/05 (Part III) http://ryanlochteswimming.blogspot.com/2010/05/look-back-part-iii-200405.html

Here's 2006/06 (Part IV):

This season was Ryan's senior year of college and his final appearance at the NCAA Championships. It also represented his transition to professional swimming and an appearance at the 2006 Short Course World Championships in Shanghai and the 2006 Pan Pacs in Canada. This is also the season where Ryan set his first World Records in individual events: three of them in Shanghai.

It's interesting to look back because it shows that Ryan has been swimming very successfully for a long time, but he has also improved tremendously each year.

The season started with the 2005 U.S. Open Championships in Auburn, Alabama, Dec 3-5, 2005. Ryan showed his versatility by winning 4 golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze (plus swimming in two additional "A" finals) - a total of 8 events over 3 days!

100m free - 8th

100m back - 1st

100m fly - 5th

200m back - 1st

200m IM - 1st

4 x 100m medley relay - 3rd (back)

4 x 200m free relay - 1st

4 x 100n free relay - 2nd

Interesting note: Pieter Van Den Hoogenbrand of Holland swam in this meet.

The only video I could find was the 100m free, which was won by Nick Brunelli who beat Van Den Hoogenbrand, the WR holder at the time. Ryan placed 8th.

2006 NCAA Championships - Atlanta, GA

200y back - 1st (won by 2.57 seconds) - NCAA record

200y IM - 1st (won by 3.65 seconds) - NCAA record

400y IM - 1st (won by 1.32 seconds over Ous Mellouli) - NCAA record

4 x 100y free relay - 5th

4 x 200y free relay - 4th

4 x 50y medley relay - 7th (back)

4 x 100y medley relay - 7th (Ryan's 100y back split was 44.60 - NCAA record)

Won high point score (Peter Vanderkaay was 2nd)

2006 Short Course World Championships - Shanghai, China

This meet took place only 2 weeks after the NCAA championships.

200m free - 5th

200m back - 1st - World Record

200m IM - 1st - World Record

400m IM - 1st

4 x 100m free relay - 3rd

4 x 200m free relay 3rd

4 x 100m medley relay - 2nd (Ryan set World Record on backstroke leg)

Ryan set 3 individual World Records, the only individual WRs set at this meet.

Won high point award.

Here is the video of his WR swim in the 100 back

2006 U.S. Nationals - August 1-5, 2006

200m free - 4th

200m back - 3rd

100m fly - 3rd

200m IM - 2nd

400m IM - 2nd

2006 Pan Pacs - Victoria, BC - August 17-20, 2006

100m free - 18th (prelims)

400m free - 7th (prelims)

100m back - 2nd

200m IM - 2nd

4 x 200m free relay - 1st

A Look Back - Part III 2004/05

Medal podium for 800m free relay at 2004 FINA Short Course World Championships (with Chad Carvin, Dan Ketchum and Justin Mortimer)











Medal podium for the 200m free at the 2004 FINA Short Course World Championships with Rick Seay and Michael Phelps (and Larry Bird!)












2004 FINA Short Course World Championships - October 2004

• 5th in the 100m IM (54.49)
• Bronze in the 200m free (1:44.97)
• Silver in the 200m IM (1:55.86)
• Gold in the 800m free relay

200m free


















2004/05 Florida

US Open - December 2004

• 1st in the 800m free relay
• 9th in the 400m free (4:00.23)
• 1st in the 400m medley relay
• 1st in the 100m back (56.14)
• 1st in the 400m IM (4:29.95)
• 3rd in the 100m free (51.20)
• 4th in the 1,500m free (15:48.67)
• 2nd in the 400m free relay
• 1st in the US Open Male High Points Award (100 points)

SEC Championships - February 2005

• 1st in the 200 medley relay
• 1st in the 800 free relay (NCAA record - Ryan swam leadoff & his time of 1:33.07 was the 2nd fastest time in history)
• 1st in the 200 IM (1:41.76 - NCAA & American records)
• 1st in the 400 medley relay
• 1st in the 400 IM (3:39.08)
• 1st in the 200 back (1:38.29 - NCAA & American records)
• 1st in the 200 free relay
• 1st in the SEC Male High Point Award (60 points)
  
• Ryan placed 1st in all 7 events he entered and set 3 NCAA and American record
  

NCAA Championships - March 2005

• 1st in the 200 IM (1:41.71 - NCAA & American records)
• 6th in the 400 medley relay
• 1st in the 800 free relay (NCAA record)
• 2nd in the 100 back (45.65 - lost to Matt Grevers by .03!)
• 6th in the 200 medley relay
• 1st in the 200 back (1:38.37)
• 4th in the 200 free relay
  
• NCAA Swimmer of the Meet & High Point Award (57 points)

200 back final


200 IM final


2005 World Championship Trials - April 2005

• 1st in the 400m IM (4:16.83)* qualified for World Championships
  
• 4th in the 200m free (1:48.89)* qualified for 800m free relay at World Championships
• 7th in the 100m free (49.98)
• 2nd in the 200m IM (1:58.40)*qualified for World Championships
  
• 2nd in the 200m back (1:57.50)*qualified for World Championships
• 2nd in the Male High Point Award (81 points; Michael Phelps was 1st with 100 points)
  

2005 FINA World Championships - July 2005

• Bronze in the 200m back (1:57.00)
• Bronze in the 200m IM (1:57.79)
• 5th in the 400m IM (4:13.67)
• Gold in the 800m free relay (American record)

800m Free Relay - Part 1


800m Free Relay - Part 2


Medal Podium for 200m Back with Aaron Peirsol and Marcus Rogan
















Medal podium 800m free relay

A Look Back - 2002/2003

In Ryan's speech a couple of weekends ago (see video on April 25 entry below), he said he got serious about swimming in college. Here's a look back at how he progressed each year, starting with his freshman season in 2002-03. Ryan did really well that year but it is amazing how far he has come.

2002/03 Florida

U.S. Open - December 2002

• 4th in the 200m IM (2:04.63)
• 6th in the 400m free (3:59.44)
• 4th in the 1,500m free (15:50.17)
• 3rd in the 400m IM (4:29.37)
  
• 6th in the 400m free relay
• US Open Male High Points Award (66 points)
  

SEC Championships - February 2003

• 1st in the 800 free relay
• 2nd in the 200 IM (1:45.05)
• 2nd in the 200 free relay
• 1st in the 400 IM (3:43.31) - Ryan's goggles broke at the beginning of the race
• 1st in the 1,650 free (14:55.03)
• SEC Male High Points Award (57 points)
• SEC Swimming of the Year & Freshman of the Year
  

NCAA Championships - March 2003

• 4th in the 200 IM (1:44.58)
  
• 7th in the 200 free relay
• 2nd in the 800 free relay
• 3rd in the 400 IM (3:41.45)
• 8th in the 1,650 free (14:59.18)
• 7th (tied) in the 400 medley relay
  
• 7th (tied) in Male High Point Award (42 points)
  

2003 Pan Am Games

The swim meet at the 2003 Pan Am Games took place in the Dominican Republic from August 12-18. Ryan was part of the gold-medal winning 4 x 200m free relay along with Daniel Ketchum, Jeffrey Lee and Bryan Goldberg.

For his individual events, Ryan swam the 200m IM and 400m IM as exhibitions. This means that his qualifying times for the Pan Am games were not fast enough to allow him to swim the individual events, but he was allowed to swim in the prelims as an exhibition. The results were very good.

In the 200m IM, Ryan swam a 2:00.34, which was the 8th fastest time in the world in 2003. It would have placed Ryan 2nd if he had been allowed to swim in the finals.

In the 400m IM, Ryan's time was 4:16.80, which was the 7th fastest time in the world in 2003. It would have placed 1st in the finals.

Best Short Course Yards Swimmer of All Time?

Swimming World Magazine recently posted a list of the Men's All-Time Top Short Course Yards Performances. The list compiled the top 50 performances for each short-course event. The article and list can be found here:

http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/24048.asp

The list got me thinking: Is Ryan the best short course yards swimmer of all time? I think an argument can be made that he is.

• Ryan holds top 50 times in 10 out of 14 individual events. The only events in which he has not had a top 50 time are 100/200y Breast and 1000/1650y Free. He came close to a top-50 time in the 100y Breast with a 53.27 at the 2007 U.S. Short Course Championships
• Ryan has set multiple NCAA and American records in the 100/200y Back and 200/400y IM
• Ryan has 34 top 50 times in 10 events. No other swimmer comes close.

50y Free - 19.22 (2007 - top 50)
100y Free - 41.99 (2008 - top 25)
200y Free - 1:32.40 (2008 - #10); 1:33.07 (2005 - top 25); 1:33.32 (2009 - top 50)
500y Free - 4:13.23 (2007 - top 50)

100y Back - 44.60 (2006 - American/NCAA record); 45.19 (2005 - top 15); 45.28 (2006 - top 20); 45.37 (2005 - top 25); 45.37 (2008 - top 25); 45.44 (top 50)
200y Back - 1:36.81 (2007 - American record); 1:37.68 (2006 - #3); 1:38.29 (2005 - #5); 1:38.37 (2005 - #6); 1:38.49 (2008 - #8); 1:39.01 (2009 - #12); 1:39.44 (2007 - #17); 1:40.07 (2006 #31); 1:40.11 (2006 - #35)

100y Fly - 46.02 (2006 - top 40)
200y Fly - 1:42.39 (2006 - top 20)

200y IM - 1:40.08 (2007 - American record); 1:40.55 (2006 - #3); 1:40.89 (2008 - #5); 1:41.71 (2005 - #9); 1:41.76 (2005 - #11); 1:43.31 (2006 - top 50); 1:43.32 (2006 - top 50)
400y IM - 3:37.88 (2007 - #3); 3:38.15 (2006 - #6); 3:39.07 (2007 - #14); 3:39.08 (2005 - #15); 3:41.02 (2004 - top 50); 3:41.03 (2003 - top 50)

Here are some of Ryan's American record SCY swims. Apologies for not being able to figure out how to embed the videos.

200y IM (2007)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MDiGkiCTXk

200y IM (2005)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dxwOysC6j4

200y Back (2005)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdDyDPS86k8

Tyler Clary does it again - wins 200y back at NCAAs and breaks Ryan Lochte's NCAA record

Event 16  Men 200 Yard Backstroke
=========================================================================
     NCAA: N 1:37.68  3/25/2006 Ryan Lochte, Florida
NCAA Meet: M 1:37.68  3/25/2006 Ryan Lochte, Florida
American: A 1:36.81  12/1/2007 Ryan Lochte, Daytona Beach
US Open: O 1:36.81  12/1/2007 Ryan Lochte, Daytona Beach
Name                 Year School            Prelims     Finals Points
=========================================================================
                            === A - Final ===                            

1 Clary, Tyler              MICH              1:38.17    1:37.58N  20
  23.27        47.70 (24.43)
1:12.54 (24.84)     1:37.58 (25.04)
2 Tapp, Jake                ARIZ              1:39.13    1:38.67   17
  22.94        47.85 (24.91)
1:13.21 (25.36)     1:38.67 (25.46)
3 Pinzon, Omar              FLOR              1:39.96    1:39.50   16
  22.81        47.90 (25.09)
1:13.78 (25.88)     1:39.50 (25.72)

The announcers on ESPN360 said Tyler's best time in this event a
year ago was 1:42, which means he took more than 4 seconds off his
time in one year.  That take hard work and dedication.

Congrats also to Jake Tapp and Omar Pinzon for their 2nd and
3rd place finishes.  Rex Tullius of Florida finished first in the
consolation final and had a great time that was the 6th fastest overall.

Aaron Peirsol handed out the awards, which is very cool.

I'll add the video when it becomes available.

Great meet for Tyler Clary!!  He has to be feeling very confident
going into the summer.

ETA:  Big congratulations to Shaune Fraser of Florida who took first
in the 200y free and 200y fly.  He broke the NCAA record in the
200y fly.  Fraser also broke the Florida school records in both
events, which were previously held by Ryan Lochte.

A lot of Ryan's records were broken during this meet....NCAA records, meet records,
school records.  He still has three American records - 200y IM, 200y back and
100y back.  He has one NCAA record in the 100y back.

Like I said before, I doubt if Ryan cares too much about his NCAA records
being broken.  There's nothing he can do about them given that he's done
with school and I'm sure he's excited about the new competition.  Tyler
Clary is going to be great racing competition this summer in all of Ryan's
best events.  That has to get the competitive juices flowing.

Floswimming.com Interviews with/about Tyler Clary at the NCAA Championships

I could not get these videos to embed, but they are well worth watching. Lots of really good questions and interesting answers.

http://www.floswimming.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234819-mens-division-i-ncaa-championships/164923-first-ncaa-final-tyler-clary-um

Floswimming.com interview with Tyler Clary after he broke the American record in the 400y IM. He seemed surprised that he broke the record, but it certainly was his goal. He said it a couple of times before today, including in the video just below this one. Tyler said Michael Phelps congratulated him by text after the race and wished him luck for the rest of the meet. That must have been a thrill.

www.floswimming.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234819-mens-division-i-ncaa-championships/164923-first-ncaa-final-tyler-clary-um

Flowswimming.com interview with Tyler Clary after he came in 2nd in the 200y IM. The questions are great and Tyler is really articulate.

http://www.floswimming.org/videos/coverage/view_video/234819-mens-division-i-ncaa-championships/164923-first-ncaa-final-tyler-clary-um

Flowswimming.com interview with Jon Urbanchek, Tyler Clary's coach at Michigan and also a U.S. National team coach. He believes Tyler can qualify for Worlds in the 400 IM this summer (he said MP is done with the event and alluded that Ryan may be done with it too). I hope Ryan will swim it one last time and qualify along with Tyler. I do not know if Laci Cseh is going to swim the 400 IM any longer. It's a wide open event.

NCAA Championships - 400y IM - Tyler Clary sets new American record - 3:35.98!!! Video added

When Tyler Clary said he was hoping to break Michael Phelp's American record in the 400y IM, I thought he could do it, but never thought he would break 3:36. He did and it was amazing. 3:35.98! That's fast.

Ryan's fastest time in this event, which happened after he finished college, is 3:37.88 (2007). Micheal Phelps' best time is 3:36.26 (2006). I'd love to see the three of them swim this event together. It probably will not happen, because MP may not swim it again and Ryan seems to have also given it up (at least in SCY). Still, it would be great for swimming if they did.

Congratulations Tyler! I'll add the video once it becomes available.

Congratulations also to Gal Nevo and Bradley Ally who took 2nd and 3rd with great times as well.

NCAA Division I Champ. Meet 3/27/2009 - 19:26PM
NCAA Men's D1 Championships - 3/26/2009 to 3/28/2009

Event 8 Men 400 Yard IM
=========================================================================
NCAA: N 3:38.03 2/27/2009 Tyler Clary, MICH
NCAA Meet: M 3:38.15 3/24/2006 Ryan Lochte, Florida
American: A 3:36.26 3/2/2006 Michael Phelps, Club Wolverine
US Open: O 3:36.26 3/2/2006 Michael Phelps, Club Wolverine
Name Year School Prelims Finals Points
=========================================================================
=== A - Final ===

1 Clary, Tyler MICH 3:38.16 3:35.98A 20
r:+0.68 22.49 48.58 (26.09)
1:15.55 (26.97) 1:41.54 (25.99)
2:12.51 (30.97) 2:44.02 (31.51)
3:10.29 (26.27) 3:35.98 (25.69)

2 Nevo, Gal GTCH 3:41.00 3:38.00N 17
r:+0.70 22.70 49.00 (26.30)
1:17.54 (28.54) 1:45.73 (28.19)
2:15.66 (29.93) 2:46.48 (30.82)
3:12.92 (26.44) 3:38.00 (25.08)

3 Ally, Bradley FLOR 3:40.58 3:38.20 16
r:+0.70 22.79 49.06 (26.27)
1:16.27 (27.21) 1:43.06 (26.79)
2:14.13 (31.07) 2:45.57 (31.44)
3:12.18 (26.61) 3:38.20 (26.02)

NCAA Meet - 400y IM Prelim Results - Tyler Clary 3:38.16!

Tyler came within .01 of of Ryan's NCAA meet record - in the prelims. The finals are going to be amazing. Tyler told swimmingworldmagazine.com that he's going after MP's American record. I think he can do it - he just needs to go a little faster in the breaststroke. Bradley Ally had a great swim in the prelims too.

NCAA Division I Champ. Meet 3/27/2009 - 12:45PM
NCAA Men's D1 Championships - 3/26/2009 to 3/28/2009

Event 8 Men 400 Yard IM
==================================================================
NCAA: N 3:38.03 2/27/2009 Tyler Clary, MICH
NCAA Meet: M 3:38.15 3/24/2006 Ryan Lochte, Florida
American: A 3:36.26 3/2/2006 Michael Phelps, Club Wolverine
US Open: O 3:36.26 3/2/2006 Michael Phelps, Club Wolverine
Name Year School Seed Prelims
==================================================================
=== Preliminaries ===

1 Clary, Tyler MICH 3:38.03 3:38.16
r:+0.69 22.51 48.32 (25.81)
1:14.92 (26.60) 1:40.55 (25.63)
2:12.30 (31.75) 2:45.36 (33.06)
3:12.22 (26.86) 3:38.16 (25.94)

2 Ally, Bradley FLOR 3:41.35 3:40.58
r:+0.74 23.16 50.15 (26.99)
1:17.83 (27.68) 1:45.63 (27.80)
2:16.24 (30.61) 2:47.55 (31.31)
3:14.73 (27.18) 3:40.58 (25.85)

NCAA Championships - 200y IM - Ryan's NCAA record goes down (but his American record remains standing)

The top 3 swimmers in the 200y IM finished in the same order as they qualified in the prelims. Bradley Ally came in first and broke Ryan's NCAA record of 1:40.55, making him the 2nd fastest of all time in this event. Ryan's American record of 1:40.08 still stands. Tyler Clary came in second with a time of 1:41.92. Race video from swimmingworldmagazine.com is found below.

1 Ally, Bradley FLOR 1:41.80 1:40.49N 20
r:+0.70 21.46 45.88 (24.42)
1:15.74 (29.86) 1:40.49 (24.75)
2 Clary, Tyler MICH 1:41.92 1:41.67 17
r:+0.68 22.04 46.92 (24.88)
1:17.00 (30.08) 1:41.67 (24.67)
3 Berens, Ricky TEX 1:41.98 1:41.92 16
r:+0.80 21.88 47.19 (25.31)
1:17.68 (30.49) 1:41.92 (24.24)


The video begins with the consolation final. The championship final (the swimming part) starts at about 5:25. Ally was in 1st place the entire race and his turns made the difference. I thought his time would be below 1:40.

In the post-race interview, Ally acknowledged that swimming against Ryan in practice helped him do so well. I can't imagine how unbelieveably fast Tyler Clary could be if his turns improved.

Men's NCAA Div 1 Swimming Championships start today 3/26

Finally, the start of the NCAA Men's championships will arrive today. I feel like it's been forever since the conference meets and I'm really looking forward to several races, specifically the 200 IM, 200 back and 400 IM. (Go Tyler Clary!) I wonder if any of Ryan's NCAA records will be broken. I'll post results once received.

There are so many topics floating around in my head that I want to post about but work has been crazy and I don't have time to write. Hopefully there will be time to update more this weekend.

Here are videos of the 4 x 200m Free Relay from the 2005 World Championships. Ryan swam the second leg just as he did at the 2004 Olympics, the 2007 Worlds and the 2008 Olympics. It's fun to watch. Thanks to somexseptember at Daily Reezy for bringing these videos to our attention.

Tyler Clary's NCAA record in the 400IM and NCAA Championships

The Big 10 Network recently aired a 2-hour highlights show for the Big 10 championships and I finally was able to see Tyler Clary's NCAA record-breaking swim in the 400IM. Well, sort of. It was the only race at the meet where an NCAA record was broken, yet the Big 10 Network elected to show only part of it...all of the fly, part of one lap of back and the last lap of free...about 150 yards of the 400 yard race.

I couldn't really see Tyler's walls and underwaters, because less than a full lap of back and free were shown. Nevertheless, I watched Tyler win the 200y back, and his turns/walls looked great, especially the last turn. He stayed under water for a long time and it looked like he had a lot left at the finish. I could tell he has really worked on that aspect of racing.

Tyler wasn't shaved or completely tapered (just a little rested). I can't wait to watch him swim fully rested at the NCAA's.

The NCAA Div. 1 Men's meet takes place on March 26-28. Swimming World Magazine is going to show the NCAA events at its website. Here is the address for video of the men's meet: http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/specialevents/MensNCAA2009/

Tyler's individual events are 200IM, 400IM and 200 back, which works out nicely because he has one event per day. 200IM is on Thursday, 400IM is on Friday and 200 back is on Saturday.

Now the best part...Swimming World interviewed Tyler on March 12. The video can be found by clicking on Tyler's picture at http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/20679.asp (Can I say now how much I hate the Swimming World website? It has good content, but is not user friendly.)

Tyler's goal at the NCAA's is to break the American record in the 400y IM, held by none other than Michael Phelps. It is 3:36.26, which is almost 2 seconds faster than Tyler's 3:38.03 NCAA record. He just might be able to do it. Given how much Tyler seemed to have left at the end of his 200 back win at the Big 10 championships (1:39.59), Ryan's NCAA record in that event (1:37.68) may be in jeopardy as well.

NCAA Men's Division 1 Swimming Championships - Tyler Clary

The official list of swimmers invited to participate in the NCAA Men's Division 1 Swimming Championships was released today and can be found at: http://www.ncaaswim.com/pdf/m09_off_ps.pdf . The meet will take place on March 26-28, 2009.

Tyler Clary will be swimming in the 200y IM (in which he is ranked 2nd after Bradley Ally of Florida), 400y IM (in which he is ranked 1st), 200y Back (in which he is ranked 1st) and probably a relay or two. (Sorry, I just can't get excited about college relays.)

Tyler's best events are the same as Ryan's. This summer's national championships will be very interesting. I hope Tyler does well at the NCAAs and that he really pushes Ryan this summer.

Nevertheless, in my admittedly highly uneducated opinion, Tyler needs to improve his walls and underwater kicking if he's going to compete with Ryan. I haven't had many opportunities to watch Tyler swim, but I recently saw a video of his 400y IM performance at U.S. SC Nationals in December 2008 thanks to swimnetwork.com.

Tyler came in 2nd in that race and could have won except he popped up too quickly after his turns. The guy who ultimately won, Hidemasa Sano, had fantastic underwater kicks. Both had great times but Tyler could have been much faster had he stayed underwater longer. I mean it was obvious even to me and I'm certainly no expert. Tyler's time at SC Nationals was 3:40.96. He swam a 3:38.03 when he broke the NCAA record, which was nearly a 3 second improvement. Maybe Tyler has already improved his walls/underwater kicking and I just have had the opportunity to see it.

This brings up a question I've had for a while about underwater kicking. It looks really hard and like it would take a ton of strength training and practice to perfect. Is this why not everyone does it? It works so well for Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, that it would seem obvious for every swimmer to do it....push hard off the walls on turns, stay under water as long as possible, and dophin kick like crazy. Yet most swimmers don't really do it. Is it something that requires a level of athleticism that only a few swimmers have? I certainly don't know the answer.

Florida Spring Championships - 2/28 Finals; Tyler Clary wins 200y Back at Big 10 Champs

Ryan placed first in both his events Saturday at the Florida Spring Championships.

In the 50y Free, his time was 19.89 and in the 100y Back, his time was 46.20. He's gone faster this year in both events, but if he is in the middle of hard training right now, neither time is bad.

Tyler Clary won his 3rd individual event at the Big 10 championships on Saturday, the 200y Back. His time was 1:39.59, which beat the pool record formerly held by.....Ryan Lochte of all people. He did not beat Ryan's NCAA record, which is nearly 2 seconds faster. Tyler has the fastest time in Div. 1 swimming this year, just ahead of Rex Tullius and Omar Pinzon of Florida. It will be so interesting to see how Tyler does at the NCAA championships in all 3 of his events.

As a graduate of a Big 10 school other than Michigan (and one of Michigan's biggest rivals in football), it pains me a little to cheer for a Michigan athlete. The first college football game I ever went to was against Michigan, and I still remember a bunch of guys singing the x-rated version of the Michigan fight song. In fact, I can't get that song out of my head now.

Nevertheless, Tyler is a very versitile swimmer and he's good at all of the same events as Ryan. I will enjoy watching them swim against each other this summer.

Florida Spring Championships - Saturday Prelim Results (and Tyler Clary update)

Ryan swam in two events today, and the results from the morning prelims are as follows:

50y Free
1st - Lochte, Ryan S 24 DAYTONA BEACH SWIMMING - 20.19

100y Back
1st - Lochte, Ryan S 24 DAYTONA BEACH SWIMMING - 47.65

Tonight Tyler Clary swims in the finals of the 200y back at the Big 10 champs. His time in today's prelims was 1:42.45, which is almost 5 seconds off of Ryan's NCAA record and put him in the 2nd seed. I don't think he'll break another NCAA record tonight, but I do think he'll win.

It's disappointing that there are not many news articles about Tyler breaking Ryan's NCAA record in the 400IM. And no interviews, at least that I could find. Maybe there will be something on the Big 10 channel in the future. Tyler's record is huge and should be reported, but swimming just doesn't get the media coverage it deserves. Maybe he'll get some recognition if he breaks Michael Phelps' American record at the NCAA champs.

Tyler is quickly becoming my 2nd favorite swimmer. I can't wait to see how much he can push Ryan next summer. Tyler is bad ass, as shown in this video from floswimming.com:

http://www.floswimming.org/videos/swimming_race/play/122041-m-college-200-scy-back-final-ha-d2

NCAA Swimming - Ryan's Records

Ryan Lochte currently holds individual NCAA records in the following events:

200 yard IM - 1:40.55 (Ryan's best time is 1:40.08, which is the American record)
400 yard IM - 3:38.15 (Ryan's best time is 3:37.88. Michael Phelps has the American record at 3:36.26)
100 yard Back - 44.60 (This is still Ryan's best time and is also the American Record)
200 yard Back - 1:37.68 (Ryan's best time is 1:36.81, which is the American record)

The NCAA conference championships have started, and nobody has broken any of Ryan's records.....yet.

200 yard IM

At the Big 10 championships today, Tyler Clary swam a 1:44.34 in the prelims of the 200 yard IM, setting a pool record. It looks like Alex Vanderkaay's Big 10 record (1:43.88) is going down in the finals. Bradley Ally of Florida swam a 1:41.96 in the SEC Championships last weekend and I predict Clary will go faster tonight. Ryan's record of 1:40.55 is probably safe.

400 yard IM

In the 400IM, Clary is the fastest in the NCAA this year with a time of 3:40.96. Ally swam 3:41.35 at the SEC championships, the second fastest time. Ryan's record of 3:38.15 appears safe.

100 yard Back

Eugene Godsoe of Stanford has the fastest time in the NCAA this year with a 45.94. He will be swimming in the Pac 10 championships this weekend, and it will be interesting to see how fast he can go. The second fastest time - 46.04 - is from Pascal Wollach of Auburn at the SEC championships. I've never heard of either of these swimmers before so I'll have to do a little research. Ryan's record of 44.60 appears safe, but you never know.

200 yard Back

Clary has the 4th best time in the NCAA this year with a 1:40.85. Rex Tullius and Omar Pinzon of Florida swam the 1st and 2nd fastest times: 1:39.88 and 1:40.15 at the SEC championships. Godsoe had the third fastest time, 1:40.61. It will be interesting to see if Clary beats those times at the Big 10 championships. Prior to the SEC championships, Clary had the best NCAA time in the nation in this event. Ryan's record of 1:37.68 probably will not be broken.

Prediction: I do not think any of Ryan's NCAA records will be broken this year. However, if I had to pick one, my prediction would be the 400IM. Clary keeps getting faster and faster and there is much room for improvement in a longer race. Clary's best time is 2.81 seconds slower than Ryan's record; however, he has not competed in this event yet in his conference championship or the NCAA championships. Therefore, his time of 3:40.96 presumably was achieved while unrested. I think he can go a lot faster when he is rested.

I doubt if Ryan cares too much if his NCAA records are broken. Unlike with world records, there's nothing Ryan can do about it because his college career ended in 2006 and he can't swim in any more NCAA events.

It's interesting, though, to view Ryan's records as a testiment to how good he was 3 years ago compared to the some of the best swimmers in the world today.