The 9 a.m. finals session began with the men’s and women’s distance events. In the women’s 800m freestyle, Emily Brunemann of Club Wolverine led the entire race, holding a solid five meter lead entering the final 100. Brunemann finished in 8:50.26 for first place. Behind her in 8:54.37 was Monica Drake (Bloomington, Ill.), and, in a battle that came down to the final 25 meters, Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) edged Claire Maust (Alpharetta, Ga.) for the final podium position with a time of 9:01.89.
Michael Phelps swam his final event in the men’s 1500m free, facing a star-studded field which included Erik Vendt (North Easton, Mass.), and Robert Margalis (St. Petersburg, Fla.). The trio, along with George Mason University’s Tom Koucheravy (Fairfax, Va.), hung together through the first 500 meters before two-time Olympian Vendt made his move. After 800 meters, Vendt led the field by almost four seconds, and built that lead to more than six seconds at the 1200-meter mark, eventually touching in 15:31.29. With first-place clearly established, Phelps and Margalis continued to battle for second. After 1200 meters, the two were separated by just six one-hundredths. Margalis led by almost a half-second entering the final 100 meters, but Phelps sped through the final stretch to take second in 15:34.18. Margalis finished in 15:34.63.
Katie Hoff took her first gold medal of the meet in the 200m backstroke. Hoff out-touched the field by nine-tenths of a second, finishing in 2:13.37. In second place was National Team member Elizabeth Beisel (Saunderstown, R.I.) in 2:14.27, followed by North Baltimore’s Felicia Lee (Towson, Md.), who was third in 2:16.28.
Hoff’s second gold came in the 200m breaststroke just 40 minutes later. The 17-year-old easily topped the field taking first place by more than two seconds with a time of 2:32.76. Second-place finisher Ashley Wanland (Long Grove, Ill.) finished in 2:34.86 while third-place finisher Jessica Ward of Pickering Swim Club touched in 2:36.73.
In the men’s 200m backstroke, Club Wolverine’s Chris DeJong (Holland, Mich.) was the winner in a time of 2:01.86. Second place went to Keith Beavers of Region Of Waterloo (2:03.33), followed by Ian Clark in third with a time of 2:07.69.
The men’s breaststroke title went easily to South Africa’s Neil Versfeld (Umhlanga, S. Africa) who trounced the field, winning by more than five seconds with a time of 2:15.94. In a tighter battle for second-place, Scott Spann (Austin, Tx.) prevailed, touching in 2:21.26, while Clark Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) was third in 2:23.54.
In the men’s 100m freestyle, 2004 Olympian Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.), who was joined by his two swimmer brothers (Dane and Alex) in this meet, took first place in 51.23. Second-place went to Ohio State’s Joseph Doyle (Centerburg, Ohio) in 52.01, while two swimmers tied for third. Chris DeJong and Mizzou’s Bennett Clark (St. Louis, Mo.) posted matching times of 52.52.
In the women’s event, Andrea Hupman (Lawrenceville, Ga.) upset top seed Vanessa Garcia, winning in 56.94. Club Wolverine’s Allison Schmitt (Canton, Mich.) was second in 57.70 while Northwestern’s Emily Wong (Nepean, Ontario) finished just seven-hundredths back in 57.77.
The men’s 200m fly featured a thrilling showdown between Daniel Madwed (Stamford, Ct.) and Davis Tarwater (Knoxville, Tenn.) Separated by less than seven-tenths at the 100-meter mark, the two went stroke-for-stroke through the final 100, with Madwed emerging as the winner in 2:00.42. Tarwater finished less than a second behind in 2:01.39, while the rest of the field trailed by about five seconds. Third place went to Omar Enriquez Tenorio of Cobra Swim Club (2:06.38).
The women’s 200m fly featured a 2-3 finish by national team stand-outs Kim Vandenberg (Moraga, Calif.) and Kaitlin Sandeno (Lake Forest, Calif.). First place went to Jemma Lowe of Wales, who set a new pool record of 2:10.24. The record bested the one-day-old mark set by Vandenberg in yesterday’s prelims (2:13.08). Vandenberg took second in 2:11.75, while Sandeno who won three titles this meet, took third in 2:15.62.
The meet concluded with the men's and women's 800m freestyle relays. With Club Wolverine absent from the field, Athens Bulldog swept the event, taking first in both the men's and women's relays. As the pool cleared this morning, the constantly-running “Countdown to Beijing” clock on the wall of Canham Natatorium read 445.15.40 (445 days, 15 hours, 51 minutes).
About USA Swimming: As the National Governing Body for competitive swimming in the United States, USA Swimming formulates the rules, implements policies and procedures, conducts national championships, disseminates safety and sports medicine information and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition. USA Swimming has more than 300,000 members nationwide and sanctions more than 7,000 events each year. For more information, visit USA Swimming on-line.
