Phelps, of Club Wolverine won the 200m IM with a time of 1:56.50, out-touching Lochte in a head-to-head match-up that went down to the wire. Lochte, of Daytona Beach Swimming finished just 28-hundredths behind in 1:56.78. Eric Shanteau of Swim Atlanta was third in 1:58.05.
The trio turned in the top three times in the world this year, and Phelps’ and Lochte’s performances were the fourth- and sixth-fastest of all time. Phelps still holds nine of the 10 fastest times in the history of this event.
“It hurt, but it’s supposed to hurt,” Phelps said. “It goes back to the crowd. When you’re in a race you can feel the energy, and it makes it more exciting.“With the three of us swimming as fast as we did tonight, hopefully we can send a message in this event, and hopefully we can keep bringing the time standard down even further.”
Phelps broke out to an early lead and was ahead of world record pace through the butterfly and backstroke, with Lochte breathing down his neck the whole way. The race was not decided until the final stroke.
“Ryan and I have battled it out in that event, and it’s getting closer and closer,” Phelps said. “That last 50 hurt pretty bad for me. I don’t know how it felt for him, but I’m definitely in a lot of pain.
“I can’t say enough. He’s had a great year. I knew it was going to be a tough race, and I was fortunate to get a hand on the wall first.”
Hometown favorite Jason Lezak of Irvine Novaquatics also brought the crowd to its feet, winning the 100m free with a meet record time of 48.63. Neil Walker of Longhorn Aquatics was second in 49.23, while Cullen Jones of North Carolina State Aquatics was third in 49.35.
“I’m excited,” Lezak said. “Not just to win a national championship, but to do it here in front of my home crowd. I couldn’t be more thrilled right now. This is my race right now, and until someone takes me down in it, I still have the American record.”
Lezak jumped out to a lead from the start and was ahead of world record pace at the 50. He fell off that pace down the homestretch, but by that time, the damage had been done to the rest of the field.
“I don’t know what my split was going out, but I saw I was pretty far ahead,” Lezak said. “I know I may have pushed it a little more than I wanted to, because it was very painful to finish. I just tried to drive it into the wall.”
Kim Vandenberg of UCLA came out on top of a tight race in the 200m butterfly, edging Mary DeScenza of Athens Bulldog Aquatics at the finish, 2:08.51 to 2:08.73.
DeScenza established a slight lead at the 100-meter mark, only to have Vandenberg overtake her by a fraction of a second at the 150. The two went stroke-for-stroke down the final length, and at 10 meters, it was still anyone’s race.
“I knew I had to swim my best, and I knew I could do better than 2:09,” Vandenberg said. “I didn’t see anyone. I was really focused on my own race. (DeScenza) really pushed me to work harder, and I thank her for that. She’s a great competitor.”
The two touched the wall about two seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Kathleen Hersey of Swim Atlanta was third in 2:10.53.
“It was a great race,” DeScenza said. “All the best to Kim. I’m looking forward to the next race against her. She’s a great person, and she’s always going to push me to race harder.”
In the women’s 200m back, Olympian Margaret Hoelzer of Auburn Aquatics took the lead going into the first 100 meters and steadily cruised home to a win in 2:10.71. Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Beisel of Bluefish Swim Club was second in 2:12.11, while Germantown’s Teresa Crippen was third in 2:13.09.
“I don’t know the last time I raced against a 13-year-old, but the older I get, it seems to be happening more and more,” said the 23-year-old Hoelzer. “I don’t know how I feel about it.”
The 2006 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships continues Saturday morning with the prelims of the women’s 100m freestyle, the men’s 200m backstroke an the men’s and women’s 200m breaststroke. Finals will be contested in each of those events, plus the women’s 800m free and the men’s 1500m free. Timed finals for the men’s and women’s 400m medley relay will also be held Saturday night.
