“You can always tell when the crowd’s with you and they’re cheering you through every stroke,” Phelps said. “You always know when something exciting is happening. To come in and be so close, it’s kind of disappointing, but on the same end, I have a number of things I know right now from swimming that race that I can fix.”
Phelps is now tied for fifth all-time with 30 national titles to his credit.
In the 200m free, Phelps led a 1-2-3 finish on behalf of Club Wolverine, finishing with a time of 1:45.63. Klete Keller (Phoenix, Ariz.) was second in 1:46.62 and Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Minn.) was third in 1:47.73. Fourth-place finisher Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla. / Daytona Beach) will join the three Wolverines on the 800m free relay at Pan Pacs. Together, the four are the American record holders in that event, as well as the reigning Olympic and world champions.
Also setting a meet record was two-time Olympian Aaron Peirsol (Irvine, Calif. / Longhorn Aquatics), who won the men’s 100m backstroke. Peirsol, the reigning Olympic gold medalist and world champion in this event, missed his own world record by 21-hundredths of a second, turning in a time of 53.38. Randall Bal (Fair Oaks, Calif. / Stanford Swimming) was second in 53.91, while Peter Marshall (Atlanta, Ga. / Stanford Swimming) was third in 54.77. Bal jumped out to a lead at the start of the race and was under world record pace at the 50, only to have Peirsol overtake him in the final 25 meters. It was Peirsol’s 10th career national title.
“It never gets any easier, especially when you race against these guys,” Peirsol said. “Randall and I swim this race totally different. Randall’s a great front-halfer, and if I can stay with him, my power’s in the back half.”
In the most closely-contested meet of the night, Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif. / Cal Aquatics) won the women’s 200m freestyle, out-touching Katie Hoff (Towson, Md. / N. Baltimore) by just five-hundredths of a second. Coughlin’s final time was 1:58.11 to Hoff’s 1:58.16. Dana Vollmer (Ft. Worth, Texas / Ft. Worth Area) was third in 1:58.79.
“I knew how the race would go,” Coughlin said. “Katie and I swim that race pretty similar. We take it out a little easier and then sprint that third 50. During that fourth 50, we try to hold on. So I knew what was going to happen. It was nice to see (Katie’s) time, and my time and the other girls.”
Vollmer led the field for the first 100 meters, but Coughlin took over at the 150-meter mark and managed to hold off a charging Hoff in the final 10. With the win, Coughlin will represent the U.S. in this event at the Pan Pacific Championships, Aug. 17-21 in Victoria, British Columbia. The top four women have qualified to represent the U.S. at the same meet in the 800m free relay.
With Coughlin out of the picture concentrating on the 200m free, the field was wide open in the women’s 100m back. In the end, it was Leila Vaziri (Coral Springs, Fla. / Coral Springs Swim Club) who came out on top of a very tight field, turning in a time of 1:01.69. Lauren English (Lincoln Park, N.J. / Cougar Aquatic) was second in 1:01.86, while Olympian Margaret Hoelzer (Huntsville, Ala. / Auburn) was third in 1:01.93.
“Yes, this is definitely my first national title,” Vaziri said. “This is my first finals at Nationals, so this is a lot of firsts. Tonight I was just like, I’m going to go out and race and see what happens. It’s been incredible. Very satisfying.”
The 2006 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships continues tomorrow with prelims and finals of the women’s 100m breaststroke, the men’s 100m butterfly, the men’s and women’s 50m freestyle, the women’s 400m IM and the women’s 800m free relay.
