Speedo South Sectionals Results - Friday Finals & Saturday Prelims

In Friday's finals Ryan finished 1st in both of his events. The results were:

200m Free - 1:50.08
100m Fly - 55.42

Last year Ryan won the 200 free in 1:48.17. He was almost 2 seconds slower this year but had nobody to race. The 2nd place finisher was more than 2.5 seconds behind. Ryan didn't swim the 100 fly at the Speedo meet last year, but his time (55.42) is must slower than he swam in last year's Missouri GP.

In Saturday's prelims, Ryan had a false start in the 400m free and finished 1st in the 100m back with a time of 56.55. Last year at the Speedo meet Ryan won the 100 back with a time of 53.95, which was really fast. It will be interesting to see how he does in tonight's final.

Speedo South Sectionals - Friday, March 19, 2010

Ryan's events today are:

200m free - Event 8, heat 8 of 14, lane 5
100m fly - Event 12, heat 13 of 14, lane 5

Get real time results here:
http://www.flaswim.com/realtime/2010springscs/

Ryan to swim in Speedo South Sectional Championships in Fort Lauderdale Mar. 18-21, 2010

The Speedo South Sectionals begin tomorrow in Fort Lauderdale. This is an outdoor meet in a 50m pool. I remember when Ryan swam at this meet last year. Will write more about it tonight but here is the psych sheet for anyone who is interested.

http://www.fgcswim.org/meetresources/meetinfo/10Info/10Mar/SCSFortLauderdale31810Psych.pdf

Ryan Lochte to compete in JAX 50 Sprint Duel Challenge on April 10-11 in Jacksonville, Florida

http://www.bolles.org/news/detail/bolles_to_host_olympic_swimmers_in_jax_50/

On April 10-11, 2010, the Bolles School will host the JAX 50 Sprint Duel Challenge in Jacksonville, Florida. The Challenge will award $10,000 in prize money to professional swimmers. A portion of the proceeds from the Challenge (25%) will be used to raise money to support a bone marrow donation center. The money is being raised in an effort to find a bone marrow donor for Bolles graduate Seun Adebiyi, a Nigerian Olympic hopeful who was diagnosed with lymphoblastic lymphoma and stem-cell leukemia.

The meet format is really cool and unlike any other swim meet I've ever heard of. Here's how it will work:

In the morning prelims on Saturday, April 10, age group swimmers will particpate in a 50-yard freestyle race in a short course (25 yard) pool. The two fastest boys and two fastest girls for each age group will advance to the afternoon finals. In the finals, the 16 qualifiers will each be paired with a professional swimmer of the opposite sex to form a team. The boys will compete against boys and girls will compete against girls in 2-person 50-yard freestyle races in a round-robin, single-elimination tournament. Points will be awarded as teams advance. Losing teams will be eliminated each round until a winner emerges.

Here's how the $10,000 in prize money will be divided:

1st place = $3,000.00
2nd place= $2,500.00
3rd place= $1,500.00
4th place= $1,000.00
5th place= $800.00
6th place = $600.00
7th place = $400.00
8th place = $200.00

On Sunday, April 11, the professional swimmers will host a clinic for the age group swimmers.

In addition to Ryan, other professional swimmers who are expected to attend are Matt Grevers, Cullen Jones, Amanda Weir, Caitlin Geary and George Bovell.

The Challenge's official website can be found at http://www.planetswim.org/. An Swimming World Magazine article about the Challenge can be read at http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/23733.asp?q=Bolles%20School%20Sharks%20Hosting%20Exciting%20Sprint%20Classic%20Meet%20in%20April.

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.

2010 Commonwealth Games - another big swim meet in 2010

The Commonwealth Games are held every 4 years and have many of the same events as the Summer Olympics, including swimming. Participating countries include England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Canada, Australia, and other countries that used to be part of the British Empire.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games will be held in Delhi, India from October 3 - 14. The swimming portion of the games will be held on October 4-13. Australia and Canada will be competing in both the Commonwealth Games and the Pan Pacs. I wonder if top swimmers will elect to participate in just one competition or both.

Australia's nationals, which serve as the selection trials for the Pan Pacs, will take place this coming week (March 16-21) in Sydney. The Australian team for the Commonwealth Games will be selected from performances at nationals and Pan Pacs.

The English team will be chosen from the fastest times at the European Championships (August 4 - 14 in Budapest, Hungary), the British Championships (March 29-April 3) and ASA Nationals (August 18-21).

2006 U.S. Summer Nationals - Phelps vs. Lochte - 200 IM

Here's another great 200 IM race between Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte. It took place in Irvine, CA - the same pool where the 2010 Nationals & Pan Pacs will be held. It was a very close race. Watching it makes me really excited about this summer. I think the 200 IM is going to be the most exciting race at Nationals & Pan Pacs.

The only thing that would make it [MUCH] better is if Laszlo Cseh competed at Pan Pacs too. This is doubtful given that (a) Hungary isn't anywhere near the Pacific Ocean and (b) Cseh has the European Championships in August 2010.