Olympian Brendan Hansen (Havertown, Pa. / Longhorn) shattered his own world record in the men’s 100m breast, turning in a time of 59.13 and finishing more than a second ahead of his next closest competitor, Olympian Scott Usher (Grand Island, Neb. / Wyoming Aquatics), who touched in 1:01.11. Hansen’s Longhorn Aquatics teammate, Matt Lowe (Minot, N.D.), was third in 1:01.61.
Hansen turned in what was the 10th-fastest time in history in this morning’s prelims. In finals, he was ahead of world record pace the entire way.
“I didn’t think I’d come to Nationals and break the 100,” Hansen said. “I thought the 200 was more in sight.
“I just wanted the opportunity. Just give me a lane and give me the chance. This whole summer has been special for me so far. It was just a matter of me putting all the little things together and just having a good race.”
Olympian Katie Hoff (Towson, Md. / North Baltimore) came close to a world record herself, but settled for breaking her own American record in the women’s 200m IM with a time of 2:10.05. Hoff was .35 seconds ahead of the world record pace after the breaststroke leg but couldn’t hold on down the final stretch.
Whitney Myers (Oxford, Ohio / Tucson Ford) finished second in 2:12.06, while King Aquatic’s Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.) was third in 2:13.86. Hoff’s efforts qualify her for the U.S. Pan Pacific Championship team, which will compete at Pan Pacs Aug. 17-21 in Victoria, British Columbia.
The match-up between Hoff and Kate Ziegler (Great Falls, Va. / The Fish) was one of the most anticipated races of the night, and the race definitely lived up to its billing. Both swimmers were under American record pace at 200 meters when Hoff began to pull away slightly.
That’s when Hayley Peirsol (Irvine, Calif. / Club Wolverine) decided to crash the party. Peirsol chased the leaders down and moved into second place behind Hoff at the final turn. Ziegler, however, would not be beaten. She turned on the jets in the final 40 meters to overtake both Hoff and Peirsol.
The final result? Ziegler first in 4:05.75, followed by Hoff in 4:05.83 and Peirsol in 4:06.31. Both Ziegler and Hoff swam faster than the previous U.S. Nationals meet record of 4:05.85, set by Janet Evans in 1993.
“Katie and Hayley make great competitors,” Ziegler said. “I knew I had to give it all I had. Certainly having two people like that racing me made me work a little harder.”
Hoff agreed.
“I’m just completely psyched I went that time,” Hoff said. “I think having Kate and Hayley right there definitely pushed me. Hopefully, we can go 1-2 at Pan Pacs. I’m totally psyched for it, and I think we can push each other to be even faster.”
The 2006 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships continues Wednesday with prelims and finals of the men’s and women’s 100m backstroke, the men’s and women’s 200m freestyle, the men’s 200m butterfly and the women’s 400m free relay.
For complete coverage from Nationals, including links to results, flash quotes, agate and more, visit the USA Swimming media section and follow the link for the special USA Swimming Nationals media page.
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