Lochte Steals Show At Pan Pacific Championships; Phelps Fails To Qualify For 400 IM Final
Lochte Steals Show At Pan Pacific Championships; Phelps Fails To Qualify For 400 IM Final
WRITTEN BY SHARON ROBB - August 19, 2010
Wearing his rhinestone-studded, bright green high-top sneakers with satin laces and clutching a small stuffed bear on the medal stand, Ryan Lochte was on center stage again Thursday at the Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, Calif.
Lochte, 26, won his second gold medal in the 400-meter individual medley and flirted with the world record for the first 150 meters before settling for a meet record in 4 minutes, 7.59 seconds.
Lochte came back to win his third gold on the anchor leg of Team USA’s winning 4×200-meter freestyle relay in a meet record 7:03.84.
“I told them before the race to give me the biggest lead because I was going to need it,” Lochte said with a smile after the race.
Lochte, who lives and trains in Gainesville, first broke the 400 IM meet record in morning prelims in 4:08.77 and again in finals.
“I went out fast and tried to hold on for dear life,” said a relaxed Lochte. “I am just going out there and having fun and racing. Whatever the outcome is I will take it.”
It was the second and third of seven events Lochte is entered in this week. It is the most demanding of schedules with five individual events and two relays just two weeks after nationals.
Even more interesting, Lochte didn’t need rival Michael Phelps pushing him.
Phelps, the world record holder and two-time Olympian in the event, failed to qualify for the final finishing as the ninth seed in 4:15.38. It was the fourth fastest time in the heats but two of his U.S. teammates were faster, Lochte in 4:08.77 and Clary in 4:09.20.
It was the first time Phelps attempted the 400 IM since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Lochte, 0-9 against Phelps in the event, will have to wait for another showdown if Phelps decides to swim it again.
“I knew 4:07 was nowhere near being in the tank,” Phelps said. “So, it’s finished. I probably shouldn’t have done it. Holy crap, oh my God that was painful. I definitely wasn’t expecting those boys to come out and fire one off like that in heat one.”
In the championship final, Lochte was dominating. He started strong on the butterfly leg and went 25.59 at the wall with six to seven dolphin kicks off the wall. He extended his lead to a body length (54.83) and was on world record pace. In the backstroke he was 1:26.15 at the wall and 1:56.73, slightly dropping off world record pace. He was 2:32.29 after the first 50 of the breaststroke and at 3:08.74 going into the freestyle. With a six-beat kick on the freestyle, he extended his lead to two body lengths for a 3:08.74 advantage with 50 meters to go. He cruised on the final 50.
“I know the whole field,” Lochte said. “I’ve raced against them my whole life.”
After the medal ceremony, Lochte threw teddy bears into the stands.
American Tyler Clary took the silver in 4:09.55 and Brazilian Thiago Pereira took the bronze in 4:12.09.
Phelps, who would have been top qualifier for the “B” final, elected not to swim allowing St. Petersburg’s Robert Margalis to swim and winning in 4:17.28.
Other final results Thursday night:
Women’s 100-meter freestyle: After winning the race, Olympian Natalie Coughlin clenched her left fist in the air as she looked at the scoreboard and smiled. Coughlin, after a year-and-a-half layoff, is back. She won in a meet record 53.67. Aussie Emily Seebohm and American Dana Vollmer tied for silver in 53.96. Coughlin’s turn was the difference, taking advantage of all 15 meters off the wall which set her up nicely for the second half of the race. “I was just trying to remember what I wanted to work on from this morning,” Coughlin said. “I had confidence in my racing style. I tried not to kill myself on the first 25 which helped me on last 50. I came back in January and this is ahead of where I thought I would be. Honestly, all I wanted to do was qualify for World Championships and I have done that. This is icing on the cake.” Fourteen-year-old Aussie Yolane Kukla was fourth in 54.02.
Men’s 100-meter freestyle: America’s newest freestyle hope, Nathan Adrian broke the meet record twice to win the event. Adrian first broke the record in prelims in 48.41 and came back to break it again in 48.15, fastest time in the world this year. Canadian Brett Hayden was second in 48.19, also coming in under the meet record, and Brazilian Cesar Cielo, who squeezed into the final eight (swam 49.13 in prelims), was third in 48.48. Cielo, world and Olympic gold medalist in the event, qualified ninth in the prelims, getting into the final by the two-swimmer per country rule and swam in Lane 8. “I wanted to make sure my body line was good,” Adrian said. “I put every ounce of effort into that last little bit. I didn’t panic. I did a good job swimming my own race and not let what everyone else was doing affect me. I knew it was close but I didn’t know it was that close.” American Garrett Weber-Gale, not happy about being in “B” final, won the race in 48.73.
Women’s 100-meter breaststroke: American Rebecca Soni won her long-awaited race against Aussie Leisel Jones in a meet record 1:04.93, fastest time in the world this year and third fastest time ever. She broke her own record of 1:05.89 set in prelims. Jones, the Olympic champion in the event, was second in 1:05.66 and teammate Sara Katsoulis was third in 1:07.04 after swimming 1:06.78 in prelims. New mom Amanda Beard, fast off the blocks, finished fifth in 1:07.49. Soni pulled away in the second half of the race. “I couldn’t ask for the race to go any better,” Soni said. “After the turn I knew we were right together. I pushed it all the way. I tried to keep my eyes on my own lane and started sprinting in the end. We’re all chasing those records now and to see a 1:04 is awesome. The last time she beat me by 1 ½ seconds, it was more a fun event I did. Now, it’s more important to me. I’ve been working more on the sprint. I am very excited to face Leisel in the 200 and 50.”
Men’s 100-meter breaststroke: Japan’s four-time Olympic medalist Kosuk Kitajima swam back-to-back races under 1 minute to continue his dominance in the event. He won in 59.35, after swimming 59.04 in prelims. Aussie Chris Sprenger was second in 1:00.18 and American Mark Gangloff was third in 1:00.24. Kitajima was out in 27.99 for the first 50. “I think it was great I was able to swim two races under one minute,” Kitajima said through an interpretor. “I took a year off after Beijing and been living in Los Angeles since last April. I am happy to win here.”
Women’s 400-meter individual medley: After being calmed down by her teammate Caitlin Leverenz in the ready room, American Elizabeth Beisel won her first-ever international gold medal in 4:34.69. With Aussie Samantha Hamill slightly in the lead, Beisel took off on the backstroke leg, closed the gap and overtook the lead on the breaststroke. She had more than a body-length lead after the breaststroke and nearly three body lengths down the final stretch. Hamill was second in 4:37.84 and Leverenz was third in 4:38.03. American Ariana Kukors won the “B” final in 4:38.05. “I was hoping to go faster than prelims. I was really nervous coming in.”
Women’s 50-meter backstroke: In a tight race, Aussie Sophie Edington was quick off the blocks and despite a tight field at 25-meter mark, Edington started building the race and poured it on in the final 10 meters despite hitting the lane line for part of the race to win in 27.83. “I just tried to hold on to the finish,” Edington said. “It is over so quick, I don’t have time to think about it. I look forward to this race because it’s only one lap.” Japan’s Aya Terakawa took silver in 28.04, also under the meet record. Sixteen-year-old American Rachel Bootsma finished in a three-way tie with Fabiola Molina of Brazil and Emily Thomas of New Zealand in 28.44 for bronze.
Men’s 50-meter backstroke: Japan’s 30-year-old Junya Koga pulled off the shocker to win in 24.86. He was quick off the start with tight dolphin kicks and led wire-to-wire. Aussie Ashley Delaney took silver in 24.98 and American Nick Thoman took bronze in 25.02. American David Plummer was fourth in 25.09.
In the final events of the evening, Team USA swept the women’s and men’s 4×200-meter freestyle relay. The women’s team of Dana Vollmer, Morgan Scroggy, Katie Hoff and Allison Schmitt broke the meet record in 7:51.21. The previous record was 7:54.62.
The men’s team of Phelps, Peter Vanderkaay, Rickey Behrens and Lochte also broke the meet record in 7:03.84.
The U.S. leads the medal count with 23 including 12 gold. Australia is second with 13 medals including two gold.
Friday’s events are the men’s and women’s 400-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter backstroke and 50-meter breaststroke.
A total of 21 countries including the Pan Pac charter nations of Canada, Australia, Japan and the U.S. are competing. Brazil, China and Korea are also entered.
It is the biggest international meet of the year for Americans and other non-European swimmers. Only the top two finishers from each country are allowed to advance into the finals.
Prelims are 1 p.m. EST and finals 9 p.m. EST. Prelims and finals are being webcast live on SwimNetwork.com and also being shown on Universal Sports. NBC will televise the meet on Saturday (4-6 p.m.) and Sunday (5-6 p.m.).
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