and maybe Tyler Clary too.
Showing posts with label laszlo cseh. Show all posts
Showing posts with label laszlo cseh. Show all posts
Monday, December 19, 2011
Sunday, December 18, 2011
New York Times article on Laszlo Cseh and his rivalry with Phelps and Lochte
Laszlo Cseh Uses Silver as a Steppingstone
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/sports/laszlo-cseh-uses-silver-as-a-steppingstone-swimming.html
By KAREN CROUSE
ATLANTA — The wake-up call on Laszlo Cseh’s phone will not let him snooze. When he is tired from travel, fatigued from training, or drained from his Sisyphean pursuit of Michael Phelps, he cues a video of the 200-meter butterfly final at the 2008 Olympics, which he downloaded upon returning home from Beijing.
“Sometimes when I go to training in the morning and I get tired or I want to sleep more and I feel I need some boost, I watch it,” Cseh said. He added, “I watch it a lot of times.”
Cseh, of Hungary, finished second in the 200 butterfly and in the 200 and 400 individual medleys at the Beijing Games, touched out each time by Phelps. It was a familiar scene. Since 2003, Cseh has won nine individual world championship medals but only one gold, as Phelps and, more recently, Ryan Lochte have foiled his goal of world domination.
Like tennis players who have come of age in the era of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Cseh has pondered the question of whether it is the worst of timing or the best.
“I think a lot about that,” Cseh said. “Maybe if there is no Phelps, no Lochte, I’m not as good. They make me better and the other swimmers better because of how fast they are swimming.”
Cseh won three events last weekend at the European short-course championships in Poland, then traveled to the United States, motivated by the promise of racing Lochte here on Friday and Saturday at the Duel in the Pool. Cseh was a member of the European contingent, which took on an American squad that was missing Phelps, who skipped the event.
The rivals converged on Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, the site of the 1996 Olympic competition, from different places in their preparation for next summer’s London Olympics. Cseh did not expect to be sharp because he was coming off a week of high-intensity racing. Lochte was dragging because he was in the midst of high-intensity training. He warmed up for his first events Friday with a 6,000-meter workout.
Their showdown in the 400 individual medley on Friday was the swimming equivalent of a first-round knockout, with Cseh falling behind both Lochte and the American Tyler Clary on the butterfly leg on his way to finishing over a body-length behind Lochte (3 minutes 59.52 seconds) and Clary (4:00.35).
At the Beijing Olympics, Cseh swam the freestyle leg of the 400 individual medley two seconds faster than Lochte to pass him in the final 100 meters. After the race, Phelps washed his hands of the grueling event, saying he was through competing in it. Cseh could see the sky clearing, but then a giant cloud rolled in. Lochte medaled in six events at the world championships this July in Shanghai and would appear to be primed for a peak performance in London.
“In Beijing, Phelps said, ‘I quit the 400 I.M.,’ and after he said that, Ryan’s beating everyone in every stroke,” Cseh said. “So it’s going to be really hard. But I think that’s O.K.”
Cseh, 26, is not the first in his family to swim in a superstar’s heavy wake. His father, Laszlo Sr., was a backstroker who competed in the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics against Roland Matthes, an East German who did not lose a backstroke race from 1967 to 1974.
“I know about that,” Cseh said, “but I don’t talk about it with my father.”
Matthes’s unbeaten streak was snapped at a duel meet in Northern California by the American John Naber, who also ended Matthes’s two-Olympic reign as the backstroke king at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal.
Naber’s strategy for dethroning Matthes was to stop chasing him.
“The only way I could imagine beating Roland was to think how fast did I believe he was going to swim and race the clock,” Naber said in a telephone interview. “That way I was just racing an impersonal, dispassionate number and not the Iceman, which is how I considered Roland because he was impenetrable and very resourceful.”
The time Naber set as his goal in the 100 backstroke, he said, was 55.50 seconds. He captured the Olympic gold medal in Montreal with a clocking of 55.49.
In Beijing, Cseh described Phelps as unbeatable and said, “Anytime you think you can get close to Michael Phelps, he jumps to another level.”
Cseh says now that he was not conceding defeat but merely stating the obvious.
“Michael was so great in Beijing,” he said. “I don’t think I lost something there. I feel every race I won the silver.”
When Cseh replays the 200 butterfly final, he sees not only the 0.67-second margin of defeat, but also the gains to be made. He was faster on the third 50 than Phelps, but frittered away too many fractions of a second on the walls. His focus since Beijing, he said, has been on fine-tuning his stroke and his turns.
“I work on improving my underwater kicks,” Cseh said, “and becoming more efficient in my technique so I get less tired.”
Phelps is expected to retire after next year, but Cseh said he had not ruled out swimming through the 2016 Olympics. He has been a fixture on the international scene since he won a silver medal in the 400 I.M. at the 2003 world championships. A year later, Cseh broke his foot during a training camp before the 2004 Olympics and managed a bronze medal in the 400 I.M., behind two Americans: Phelps and Erik Vendt.
The injury seemed unfortunate at the time, but Cseh sees it differently now.
“Maybe if I had the world record in 2003 or 2004 or won the gold medal, I don’t have the feeling that I need to improve myself,” he said. “It has been a long time, but I’m still here. Maybe the training is a little harder, but I feel I’m getting better as I get older.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/sports/laszlo-cseh-uses-silver-as-a-steppingstone-swimming.html
By KAREN CROUSE
ATLANTA — The wake-up call on Laszlo Cseh’s phone will not let him snooze. When he is tired from travel, fatigued from training, or drained from his Sisyphean pursuit of Michael Phelps, he cues a video of the 200-meter butterfly final at the 2008 Olympics, which he downloaded upon returning home from Beijing.
“Sometimes when I go to training in the morning and I get tired or I want to sleep more and I feel I need some boost, I watch it,” Cseh said. He added, “I watch it a lot of times.”
Cseh, of Hungary, finished second in the 200 butterfly and in the 200 and 400 individual medleys at the Beijing Games, touched out each time by Phelps. It was a familiar scene. Since 2003, Cseh has won nine individual world championship medals but only one gold, as Phelps and, more recently, Ryan Lochte have foiled his goal of world domination.
Like tennis players who have come of age in the era of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Cseh has pondered the question of whether it is the worst of timing or the best.
“I think a lot about that,” Cseh said. “Maybe if there is no Phelps, no Lochte, I’m not as good. They make me better and the other swimmers better because of how fast they are swimming.”
Cseh won three events last weekend at the European short-course championships in Poland, then traveled to the United States, motivated by the promise of racing Lochte here on Friday and Saturday at the Duel in the Pool. Cseh was a member of the European contingent, which took on an American squad that was missing Phelps, who skipped the event.
The rivals converged on Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, the site of the 1996 Olympic competition, from different places in their preparation for next summer’s London Olympics. Cseh did not expect to be sharp because he was coming off a week of high-intensity racing. Lochte was dragging because he was in the midst of high-intensity training. He warmed up for his first events Friday with a 6,000-meter workout.
Their showdown in the 400 individual medley on Friday was the swimming equivalent of a first-round knockout, with Cseh falling behind both Lochte and the American Tyler Clary on the butterfly leg on his way to finishing over a body-length behind Lochte (3 minutes 59.52 seconds) and Clary (4:00.35).
At the Beijing Olympics, Cseh swam the freestyle leg of the 400 individual medley two seconds faster than Lochte to pass him in the final 100 meters. After the race, Phelps washed his hands of the grueling event, saying he was through competing in it. Cseh could see the sky clearing, but then a giant cloud rolled in. Lochte medaled in six events at the world championships this July in Shanghai and would appear to be primed for a peak performance in London.
“In Beijing, Phelps said, ‘I quit the 400 I.M.,’ and after he said that, Ryan’s beating everyone in every stroke,” Cseh said. “So it’s going to be really hard. But I think that’s O.K.”
Cseh, 26, is not the first in his family to swim in a superstar’s heavy wake. His father, Laszlo Sr., was a backstroker who competed in the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics against Roland Matthes, an East German who did not lose a backstroke race from 1967 to 1974.
“I know about that,” Cseh said, “but I don’t talk about it with my father.”
Matthes’s unbeaten streak was snapped at a duel meet in Northern California by the American John Naber, who also ended Matthes’s two-Olympic reign as the backstroke king at the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal.
Naber’s strategy for dethroning Matthes was to stop chasing him.
“The only way I could imagine beating Roland was to think how fast did I believe he was going to swim and race the clock,” Naber said in a telephone interview. “That way I was just racing an impersonal, dispassionate number and not the Iceman, which is how I considered Roland because he was impenetrable and very resourceful.”
The time Naber set as his goal in the 100 backstroke, he said, was 55.50 seconds. He captured the Olympic gold medal in Montreal with a clocking of 55.49.
In Beijing, Cseh described Phelps as unbeatable and said, “Anytime you think you can get close to Michael Phelps, he jumps to another level.”
Cseh says now that he was not conceding defeat but merely stating the obvious.
“Michael was so great in Beijing,” he said. “I don’t think I lost something there. I feel every race I won the silver.”
When Cseh replays the 200 butterfly final, he sees not only the 0.67-second margin of defeat, but also the gains to be made. He was faster on the third 50 than Phelps, but frittered away too many fractions of a second on the walls. His focus since Beijing, he said, has been on fine-tuning his stroke and his turns.
“I work on improving my underwater kicks,” Cseh said, “and becoming more efficient in my technique so I get less tired.”
Phelps is expected to retire after next year, but Cseh said he had not ruled out swimming through the 2016 Olympics. He has been a fixture on the international scene since he won a silver medal in the 400 I.M. at the 2003 world championships. A year later, Cseh broke his foot during a training camp before the 2004 Olympics and managed a bronze medal in the 400 I.M., behind two Americans: Phelps and Erik Vendt.
The injury seemed unfortunate at the time, but Cseh sees it differently now.
“Maybe if I had the world record in 2003 or 2004 or won the gold medal, I don’t have the feeling that I need to improve myself,” he said. “It has been a long time, but I’m still here. Maybe the training is a little harder, but I feel I’m getting better as I get older.”
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Laszlo Cseh posts fastest 400m IM time in world for 2011 at Mare Nostrum meet in Barcelona
Laszlo Cseh posted the top time in the world this year in the 400 IM at the Mare Nostrum meet in Barcelona on June 5. His time was 4:11.22 and reportedly was completely unrested.
Wow.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Interview with Laszlo Cseh
http://swimnews.swimfacts.com/in-the-arena/
I always like reading about Laci Cseh, particularly because it is so hard to find information about him in English. Here is an interview published by swimnews.com in which Laci names Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte as two of his biggest rivals.
I'm surprised he didn't name Tyler Clary as a rival, as they both swim the same events - 200m fly, 200m/400m IM. I guess Tyler hasn't been around long enough in international competition for Laci to think of him.
It's an interesting interview. Needless to say, Laci trains very hard.
I always like reading about Laci Cseh, particularly because it is so hard to find information about him in English. Here is an interview published by swimnews.com in which Laci names Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte as two of his biggest rivals.
I'm surprised he didn't name Tyler Clary as a rival, as they both swim the same events - 200m fly, 200m/400m IM. I guess Tyler hasn't been around long enough in international competition for Laci to think of him.
It's an interesting interview. Needless to say, Laci trains very hard.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Come on, Somebody Please Invite Laszlo Cseh to the Duel!!!
The Duel in the Pool between the U.S. and a "European select team" is scheduled to take place on December 18-19, 2009 in Manchester, England (the site of the 2008 SC World Championships). The meet will be in SC meters. The U.S. team has been announced and it includes Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps, Aaron Peirsol and Tyler Clary. The European team has not yet been announced, but it is expected that it will consist of swimmers from Germany, Italy and Great Britain.
What I don't understand is why Laszlo (Laci) Cseh was not invited. He apparently wants to swim in the Duel. http://www.swimnews.com/News/view/7311
The European team has not yet been announced and Laci is Hungarian, which is part of the European Union. He definitely should be invited!
Laci is one of the best swimmers in the world, top 5 for sure. He won 3 individual silver medals in the Beijing Olympics (200/400 IM and 200 fly). He won a silver (200IM) & bronze (400 IM) in Rome this past summer despite being deathly ill and spending time in the hospital during the week of the meet.
Even though Laci has huge talent and is one of the best swimmers in the world, he only has the opportunity to race Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte once a year at most, and sometimes not for 2 years. This is not right. These swimmers are in the prime of their careers and they should be afforded as many opportunities as possible to race, not only for them but for fans who love to watch them.
A 200 IM race with Phelps, Lochte, Cseh and Clary would be monumental. Same with a 200 fly race with Phelps, Cseh and Clary and a 400 IM race with Lochte Cseh and Clary. Cseh wants to be there, the publicity for swimming would be great, and I'm sure Phelps and Lochte would relish the opportunity to race him. Why not invite him?
The article in http://www.swimnews.com/ linked above stated that Cseh was not invited because "Talks between LEN, the European body, and USA Swimming did not result in any agreements, with European calendar clashes and the varying programmes of a large number of nations among the key obstacles to progress."
The swimming world gets way too bogged down with nationalism and semantics and rules. World peace is not at stake. Yes the Duel is about national teams competing against each other, but in order to generate interest and fan support, the best swimmers should be invited. It sounds like Laci would have made the Duel a priority even if there was another meet he could have participated in during those two days.
I keep hearing that the swimming world wants swimming to be relevant and interesting beyond the Olympics. The swimming world needs to be more open minded so wonderful opportunities like this are not lost.
What I don't understand is why Laszlo (Laci) Cseh was not invited. He apparently wants to swim in the Duel. http://www.swimnews.com/News/view/7311The European team has not yet been announced and Laci is Hungarian, which is part of the European Union. He definitely should be invited!
Laci is one of the best swimmers in the world, top 5 for sure. He won 3 individual silver medals in the Beijing Olympics (200/400 IM and 200 fly). He won a silver (200IM) & bronze (400 IM) in Rome this past summer despite being deathly ill and spending time in the hospital during the week of the meet.
Even though Laci has huge talent and is one of the best swimmers in the world, he only has the opportunity to race Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte once a year at most, and sometimes not for 2 years. This is not right. These swimmers are in the prime of their careers and they should be afforded as many opportunities as possible to race, not only for them but for fans who love to watch them.
A 200 IM race with Phelps, Lochte, Cseh and Clary would be monumental. Same with a 200 fly race with Phelps, Cseh and Clary and a 400 IM race with Lochte Cseh and Clary. Cseh wants to be there, the publicity for swimming would be great, and I'm sure Phelps and Lochte would relish the opportunity to race him. Why not invite him?
The article in http://www.swimnews.com/ linked above stated that Cseh was not invited because "Talks between LEN, the European body, and USA Swimming did not result in any agreements, with European calendar clashes and the varying programmes of a large number of nations among the key obstacles to progress."
The swimming world gets way too bogged down with nationalism and semantics and rules. World peace is not at stake. Yes the Duel is about national teams competing against each other, but in order to generate interest and fan support, the best swimmers should be invited. It sounds like Laci would have made the Duel a priority even if there was another meet he could have participated in during those two days.
I keep hearing that the swimming world wants swimming to be relevant and interesting beyond the Olympics. The swimming world needs to be more open minded so wonderful opportunities like this are not lost.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
400 IM finals today - Ryan 4th in prelims, Clary 1st, Cseh 2nd
The prelims for the 400 IM took place this morning in Rome. The 8 qualifiers for today's finals are:1 CLARY Scott Tyler - 4:10.04
2 CSEH Laszlo - 4:10.33
3 KIS Gergo - 4:10.99
4 LOCHTE Ryan - 4:11.05
5 HAFFIELD Thomas - 4:11.32
6 NEVO Gal - 4:11.51
7 MARIN Luca - 4:12.66
8 PEREIRA Thiago - 4:13.05
Ryan finished first in his heat, ahead of Luca Marin and Thiago Pereira. Pereira led most of the way, until the last 100 when he was passed by Ryan and Marin. From the splits, it looks like Ryan took it easy on the middle 200. He'll be able to go a lot faster in the finals.
Ryan will be in lane 6 in the finals, with Clary in lane 4 and Cseh in lane 5. My prediction is Ryan will finish 1st, Cseh 2nd, Clary 3rd.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
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
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.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
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.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
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!!!!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
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.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Laszlo Cseh, Ous Mellouli and Luca Marin recent results
Some very fast times were achieved this past weekend at four big meets: British nationals, German nationals, Hungarian nationals and the Mediterranean Games. I'm mostly interested in the events Ryan may swim at nationals, but also am interested in particular swimmers he may compete against if he qualifies for Rome.Here are the results for Laszlo Cseh at the Hungarian nationals and for Ous Mellouli and Luca Marin in the 400m IM at the Mediterranean Games. I'll write more later about the British and German nationals, which also had some great swims.
Hungarian nationals - Laszlo Cseh
Laci competed in the Hungarian nationals this past weekend, winning five events and placing 2nd in the 6th event. His winning events and times were:
200m free: 1:47.12 (Hungarian national record)
400m IM: 4:17.25
50m fly: 23.57
100m fly: 52.49
100m back: 53.88
Laci surprisingly finished 2nd in the 200m fly, one of his best events in which he won silver in Beijing, with a time of 1:56.93.
Laci is sponsored by Arena and swam in a modified X-Glide for the 200 free and an R-Evolution for the other events.
I'm really curious what events he will swim in Rome. I'm thinking he'll enter the same events he swam in Beijing: 400 IM, 200 IM and 200 fly, but will also enter the 100 back. His time of 53.88 was really good. I don't know his history with the 100 back, other than he's a really good backstroker...it's maybe his 2nd best stroke. It will be interesting to see what he decides to do.
Source: http://www.swimnews.com/News/view/6987
Mediterranean Games 400m IM - Ous Mellouli and Luca Marin
Ous Mellouli swam the fastest time in the world in 2009 in the 400m IM at the Mediterranean Games: 4:10.53, breaking the African record. Luca Marin was second with a time of 4:13.58, which was also very fast and only .48 slower than he swam it at the Italian nationals in March. The source article http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/21527.asp?q=Mediterranean%20Games:%20Tunisia%27s%20Ous%20Mellouli%20Checks%20In%20With%20African%20Recorddid not say what suits Mellouli and Marin were wearing.
Despite his incredible performance, I doubt that Mellouli will swim the 400m IM in Rome. It's the same day as the 1500m free, which is the event he won in Beijing. I don't think anybody is fit enough to swim both the 1500 free and the 400 IM on the same day. He'll have to pick one.
Marin has always been really good at the 400 IM and maybe 2009 is finally his year to break out. He's posted some very good times in this event. He may have been rested for the Italian nationals, but I doubt if he was rested for the Mediterranean Games (although I don't know enough about it to know for sure). Nevertheless, he will definitely be a person to watch for in this event along with Laci Cseh of course.
I'm getting really excited and anxious for U.S. nationals to start...just one week from today (July 7). The psych sheet should be available in the next day or so. I can't wait to see what events Ryan enters. He may ultimatey scratch the finals of one or two events, but I'm thinking (hoping) he'll swim the 100/200 back and 200/400 IM and at least the prelims for the 100/200 free.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Laszlo Cseh has not given up on the 400 IM
Laci Cseh did swim the 400 IM at the Mare Nostrum meet in Monaco this past weekend. His time was 4:13.39, the 7th fastest time in the world this year according to http://www.swimnews.com/.
Ryan's best time this year was a 4:18.62 at the Santa Clara Grand Prix, also this past weekend.
Cseh has to be the favorite in this event going into the world championships in Rome, particularly if Michael Phelps does not swim it.
I really hope Ryan gives the 400 IM one last try at the international level. A race between Cseh, Ryan and Tyler Clary would be really fun to watch.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Santa Clara Grand Prix - June 14 Prelims - 100 Free & 100 Back
The picture of Ryan's gold medal in the 200 back is from http://www.swimstars.org/100 Free
Ryan's prelim time in the 100 free was 50.00, good enough for 3rd fastest. The A finals are going to be so exciting as times for all 9 qualifiers were so close together.
Here's the A final for tonight:
1 Hayden, Brent 49.34
2 Adrian, Nathan G 49.85
3 Lochte, Ryan S 50.00
4 Brown, Adam T 50.01
5 Burnett, Simon A 50.03
6 Walters, David W 50.04
7 Phelps, Michael F 50.07
8 Grevers, Matthew C 50.09
9 Monk, Kenrick 50.15
100 Back
The 100 back prelims were almost as close as the 100 free. Ryan swam a 55.46, which tied with Michael Phelps for 4th fastest qualifying time (they were in different heats). The A final looks like this:
1 Grevers, Matthew C 55.15
2 Russell, David P 55.43
3 Delaney, Ashley 55.44
4 Lochte, Ryan S 55.46
4 Phelps, Michael F 55.46
6 Barnea, Guy M 55.83
7 Hesen, Benedict E 56.04
8 Hawes, Matt 56.09
9 Wollach, Pascal D 56.44
Peter Marshall just missed out on thet A final with a time of 56.64. It's too bad. I wanted to see him compete against Ryan ever since he broke Ryan's SC world record last fall.
200 IM
Ryan scratched the 200 IM. At first I was disappointed, but then I reconsidered. He already knows where he's at in that event because he swam it at the Ultraswim. Now he'll be able to conserve energy for the 100 free and 100 back.
In other news, Laszlo Cseh swam at the Mare Nostrum meet in Monte Carlo this weekend, winning the 200 fly and the 200 IM. His time in the 200 IM was 2:00.31. It looks like Laci did not swim the 400 IM. I'm wondering if he has given up on that event like Michael Phelps. If he has, it makes him more dangerous in the 200 IM.
Also, Paul Biedermann of Germany swam a 1:44.88 in the 200 free. That's insane. Ryan's swam the 200 free faster than that in a relay but not from a flat start.
Thanks to http://www.swimnews.com/ for the Mare Nostrum information.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Laci Cseh - Hungarian nationals
http://www.swimnews.com/News/view/6759
Laci Cseh won 5 gold medals at the Hungarian nationals last week. Here are his results:
Laci Cseh won 5 gold medals at the Hungarian nationals last week. Here are his results:
200m free - 1:48.69
5om back - 25.51
100m free - 50.67
50m fly - 24.38
100m back - 54.21
He apparently didn't swim the 200 or 400 IM or 200 fly. I'm not sure if this meet served as a qualifier for Rome.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Laci Cseh training in South Africa for 3 weeks??
http://www.blikk.hu/sport/cseh-elutazott-del-afrikaba-136257.html
According to a very poor translation of this article, it appears that Laci Cseh (I love calling him that) has been training in Durban, South Africa for 3 weeks starting at the end of February.
I have no doubt that Laci will be ready to go next summer in Rome, despite (and possibly because of) his long break after the Olympics.
According to a very poor translation of this article, it appears that Laci Cseh (I love calling him that) has been training in Durban, South Africa for 3 weeks starting at the end of February.
I have no doubt that Laci will be ready to go next summer in Rome, despite (and possibly because of) his long break after the Olympics.
I could not find results from any races that Laci has entered recently, or any evidence that he has competed since Beijing. It's difficult to figure out what is going on when most articles are written in Hungarian and I cannot read them!
In any event, Laci is looking happy and fit in the photo to the left and he appears to be back in the water training hard.
Laszlo "Laci" Cseh
I was searching for updated information on Laszlo Cseh, wondering if he is training again and if he has entered into any competitions. Given that I cannot understand Hungarian, it was difficult to find out where Cseh is in his training. However, I did learn that his nickname is Laci, which is awesome. Also, I found some interesting videos on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO5-jb4su0kHere is a video of the 200 IM race at the Beijing Olympics where Michael Phelps won gold, Laci won silver and Ryan won bronze. Laci beat Ryan by only .01. The video is from Hungarian television. What really struck me watching this was how tired Michael looked after the race. The announcers talked about Ryan a lot....wonder what they said.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfSfVODeriQ
Here's a video from Hungarian television of the 400IM race in Beijing. I forgot how great Ryan looked for the first 300 meters. He really went for it in the back and breast and then died at the end. Swimming as fast as possible in the middle 200 was the only chance Ryan had to beat Michael Phelps and win gold. Ryan could have swam a safer race and won silver. Although his race strategy ultimately did not work, it was a super gutsy move by Ryan, who was really sick at the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0qWQgH4eQ4
Here's a video of the medal ceremony for the 200 IM at the Olympics. It starts with Laci receiving his silver medal and continues with Michael receiving his gold. I've always wanted to see this medal ceremony because photos show Michael and Ryan had such a great time. This doesn't show much, but it shows a little bit of the fun.
As soon as I find out when Laci will compete again, I will write about it. He must have some kind of qualifying meet coming up for worlds but I haven't yet figured out how it works, i.e. if Hungary has a separate national meet or if there is a combined European meet that serves as trials for all participating countries.
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