Ryan wins the 400m IM and the 200m back at Duel in the Pool

What an impressive double, especially unrested. Enjoy.

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

2006 Short Course World Championships in Shanghai - 3 WRs not 2

In the post below where I go through Ryan's accomplishments at big international meets, I missed one of his world records at the 2006 Short Course World Championships in Shanghai. The WR was in the 100m Back and happened in the first leg of the 4 x 100m Medley Relay. The team went on to win a silver, but Ryan's time of 49.99 in the backstroke leg was a world record.

This means Ryan has set 12 world records not 11.

Watch it here:

Lochte's 100back at short course world championship

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

2010 Short Course World Championships - Dubai

Another big meet planned for 2010 is the Short Course World Championships, which will take place in Dubai on December 15 - 19, 2010.

Here is the official webite: http://www.dubaiswimming2010.ae/

Ryan performed really well in the 2006 and 2008 short course world championships and I hope he will attempt to qualify this year too. Here are his past results:

2006 Short Course World Championships - Shanghai

200m back - gold
200m IM - gold
400m IM - gold
4 x 100m free relay - silver
4 x 100m medley relay - bronze
4 x 200m free relay - bronze

Ryan set a world record in the 100m back in the first leg of the medley relay with a time of 49.99. Watch it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytawE099E8U

2008 Short Course World Championships - Manchester

200m back - silver
100m IM - gold
200m IM - gold
400m IM - gold
4 x 100m free relay - gold
4 x 100m medley relay - silver

I'm always hoping Ryan will have a chance to race against Laszlo Cseh, but he didn't compete in the 2006 or 2008 SC World Championships. Maybe he will make an exception this year.

Swimming Update - Short Course Season

The 2009/10 Short Course swimming season is in full swing. Unfortunately, Ryan has not been able to compete having just had knee surgery.

I don't know anything about the surgery or how Ryan injured his knee... According to Ryan's twitter, he injured his knee, had surgery and is out of the water for a few weeks.

http://twitter.com/ryanlochte/status/4348867232

http://twitter.com/ryanlochte/status/5186059487

The good news is Ryan will be participating in the 2009 Duel in Manchester, England on December 18-19. This is a short-course meters event, with the U.S. team facing off against a team from Great Britain, Germany and Italy. The Duel will be recorded and broadcast on NBC on December 27. http://www.duelinthepool.com/ Ryan spoke to the press about this meet after he had his knee surgery, so he must feel confident about his ability to recover by then. I'll do a separate post about the Duel closer to the time. The European team has not yet been announced, but I am very disappointed that Laszlo Cseh is not part of it. The U.S. team is listed here: http://www.universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=335264.html

I'm happy that NBC is televising the Duel, and do not want to complain about a major U.S. network airing a swim meet, but I really prefer the events to be live. Swimming is so much more exciting when it is live (i.e. all of the Olympics and last summer's 4x100 free relay).

I'm not sure if Ryan will be swimming in the 2009 U.S. Short Course Nationals in Federal Way, Washington, which will take place on December 3-5. Hopefully he will be recovered from his surgery by then. Here's some information on the meet.
http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/_Rainbow/Documents/11ed4e45-a0cc-483f-90a2-929f13173cfa/2009%20SC%20Nats%20Meet%20Book.pdf

The FINA World Cup meets are underway (actually they are almost over) and all of Ryan's SCM world records were broken. Ryan previously held SCM WRs in the 100 and 200 IM.

According to http://www.swimnews.com/, Ryan's WR for the 100 IM, 51.15 set at the 2008 SC World Championships, was broken by Sergey Fesikov of Russia in the prelims of the Berlin World Cup last weekend. Fesikov's time was 50.95. In the finals, Fesikov won with a time of 50.96. Ryan's previous WR was also broken in the finals by Gerhard Zandberg of South Africa who came in second with a time of 51.05.

Ryan's WR for the 200 IM, 1:51.56 set at the 2008 SC World Championships, was broken at the Berlin World Cup by Dairan Townsend of South Africa by only .01! I'm particularly bummed about this WR being broken. I liked that Ryan held the WRs in the 200 IM in both SCM and LCM.

I don't know what kind of suits Fesikov, Zandberg and Townsend were wearing in these swims, but I doubt they were Speedo LZRs or textile suits. It's hard to watch a WR go down when a) you aren't there to compete and b) the swimmers who go faster are not wearing the same suit you wore to set the WR. Given Ryan's injury and the fact that he rarely swims SCM, we'll probably have to wait for the 2010 SC World Championships in Dubai to see if Ryan can get these records back.

***A big thanks to callie01 from Reezy Daily who took these pictures of Ryan at the Minnesota Grand Prix in Minneapolis this past weekend. Ryan did not swim in the meet but went to do some PR and to help coach his teammates. callie01 was very kind to let me post the pictures here.***

Ryan's Short Course World Records - 100 & 200 IM

The 2010 swimming season has officially begun, with SC meets currently being held in Australia, South Africa and England/Canada.

Ryan holds Short WRs in the 100m IM & 200m IM. Both WRs were set at the 2008 SC World Championships in Manchester, England. Ryan's WR time in the 100m IM is 51.15 and his WR time in the 200m IM is 1:51.56. It's cool that he currently holds both the SC and LC meters WRs in the 200 IM and also the American Record SCY in the 200y IM. Not bad.

It will be interesting to see if any of Ryan's SCM WRs will be broken during these meets. So far nobody has come close, but in the age of the crazy suits, no record is safe. It of course must be noted that both of Ryan's WRs were set in the Speedo LZR, which is technically (no pun intended) one of the crazy suits, albeit an outdated one.

Results from the current SC meets can be found here:

South Africa:
http://swimsa.sportza.co.za/wfr/Telkom+SA+Short+Course+2009/2277

Australia:
http://www.clubsonline.com.au/uploads/swimresults/National/2009SC/index.htm

England/Canada:
http://www.swimmingresults.org/liveevent/index.htm

Ryan sets the WR in the 100m IM (SCM)


Ryan sets the WR in the 200m IM (SCM)

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.

Ryan to Compete at Florida Spring Senior Nationals this weekend - Feb. 27-Mar. 1

Ryan is entered in the following events:

200y Free (Event 8) (Friday, 2/27)

400y IM (Event 20) (Friday 2/27)

50y Free (Event 26) (Saturday 2/28)

100y Back (Event 34) (Saturday 2/28)

100y Free (Event 48) (Sunday 3/1)

200y Back (Event 60) (Sunday 3/1)

http://www.tntyswimming.com/files/SRChampsPsych1.pdf

Ryan to race in 2009 Florida Spring Senior Championships this weekend?

I just read on Daily Reezy, the best source of all information on Ryan Lochte, that Ryan may be competing in a meet in Orlando this coming weekend. The 2009 Florida Spring Senior Championships will take place from Feb. 27-Mar. 1 in Orlando, and I'm wondering if that is the meet in question.

As soon as more information is available, I will post it. Here's the meet web address:

http://www.floridaswimming.org/FLSR.htm

200 Back - update

Two years ago in the 2007 Southern California Grand Prix, Ryan beat Aaron Peirsol quite easily in the 200y back. Their times were 1:40.99 and 1:42.02 respectively. This was 2 months before Ryan defeated Aaron in the world championships in Melbourne. Even though Ryan ultimately won the long course race, I think this shows that Ryan is the superior short course swimmer.

Ryan to Compete at Grand Prix in Long Beach, CA - January 16-19, 2009

I just read on Daily Reezy that Ryan is going to compete in the next Grand Prix event, which is a short course meet in Long Beach, California from January 16-19, 2009. No information yet on what events Ryan will swim.

It's really exciting to hear that Ryan will be competing again so soon. I guess this means his training with Leith Brodie in Australia will not start until some time after this meet.

The source cited by Daily Reezy did not indicate if the meet will be SC yards or meters, but I'm guessing it's yards given that $1,000 will be awarded for each American record broken at the meet and nothing was said about world records.

The source also stated that a $20,000 prize will be awarded to the swimmer with the highest point score at the last Grand Prix event in 2009. Ryan is currently tied for 3rd place with 13 points, having won two golds and a silver at the Minnesota Grand Prix event in November. Mary Descenza is in first place with 30 points (wow!) http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/ViewMiscArticle.aspx?TabId=162&Alias=Rainbow&Lang=en&mid=564&ItemId=2991

Swimnetwork.com is going to have race footage and interviews, which is really great. They did a fantastic job at the SC Nationals and hopefully it will be the same type of coverage.

Source: http://swimming.about.com/od/swimminggrandprixmeets/qt/socalgp_109meet.htm

Long Course vs. Short Course

I read an interesting quote from Darian Townsend about the difference between LC and SC swimming: “Short course swimming is for athletes. Long course swimming is for swimmers."**

Ryan is often referred to as a brilliant SC swimmer. He's had some huge successes in LC, particularly the WR in the 200m back, but not as much success as he's had in SC races, where he's arguably the best in the world. Does this mean Ryan is more of an athlete than a swimmer? Is this something Ryan can change to become more successful in LC? Would he even want to change this?

It seems to me that the most successful LC swimmer, Michael Phelps, is both a gifted swimmer and a great athlete. I don't know anything about the technical aspects of swimming, and have heard that Ryan's strokes are already excellent if not perfect, but am wondering if he concentrated his efforts on improving his swimming technique, then maybe he could surpass Phelps in some LC events. I mean if Ryan is a better athlete than MP, as evidenced by his greater SC success, then couldn't he do better in LC if he improved his swimming technique?

My analysis is probably overly simplistic, and may not apply across the board to all LC events, but I thought it was interesting to think about.

**Source for quote by Darian Townsend, made on 12/21/08 (or 21/12/08 if you're outside the U.S.) at http://www.floswimming.org/blogs/blogger/dtrain/5416-finishing-up-2008-with-a-bang

Darian is from South Africa and swam at Florida and Arizona during his college career. He swims some of the same events as Ryan, i.e. 200 free and 200 IM, but is also a 100 free sprinter.