The meet opened with 11 heats of the women’s 400m freestyle where Olympic gold-medalist Kaitlin Sandeno (Lake Forest, Calif.) advanced as the number two seed, with a time of 4:17.85. Sandeno easily won her heat, touching nearly five seconds ahead of the field. The number one seed went to Sandeno’s Club Wolverine teammate Emily Brunemann (4:17.72). Also advancing was 2007 World Championships silver-medalist, Kim Vandenberg (Moraga, Calif.), who earned the number four seed with a time of 4:19.59. Fifteen-year-old World Champs veteran Elizabeth Beisel (Saunderstown, R.I.) finished in 4:20.84, good for the fifth spot, and Pan American Games Team member Caroline Burckle (Louisville, Ky.) took the seventh seed in 4:21.86.
A stacked field in the men’s 400m freestyle featured four U.S. Olympians in Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.), Erik Vendt (North Easton, Mass.) and Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.). Lochte just missed the ‘A’ final, when he touched in 4:01.72, for the ninth-seed. The top heat, which included Vanderkaay, Phelps, David Tarwater (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Robert Margalis (St. Petersburg, Fla.) went stroke-for-stroke through the first 150 meters and Vanderkaay led by one one-hundredth at the 200-meter mark. Phelps began to pull away at the turn, leading by .34 after 300 meters, and went on to take the top seed in 3:58.64. Vanderkaay posted the second-fastest time in 3:59.18, while Margalis was third in 3:59.52. Tarwater (3:59.76) advanced as the fourth seed, and Daniel Madwed (Stamford, Ct.) was seventh in 4:00.66. Pan American Games Team members Matt Patton (Charlotte, N.C.) and Matthew Owen (Scottsdale, Ariz.) also earned A-finals spots.
Beisel and Sandeno each advanced in their second event of the evening, taking the number one and number two seeds respectively in the 200m individual medley. Beisel swam the field’s fastest time, finishing in 2:18.61, while Sandeno touched in 2:18:80. Pan Ams-bound Ava Ohlgren (Northville, Mich.) posted a time of 2:20.69 to advance in the sixth spot.
In the men’s 200 IM, world record-holder Phelps easily took the top seed with a time of 2:06.95. Fellow Olympian Lochte moved ahead as the number three seed in 2:07.61, and Margalis earned his second A-finals bid of the meet as fifth-seed with a time of 2:07.94. World University Games Team member Patrick Mellors also advanced, taking the eighth-seed in 2:09.54.
The opening prelims session wrapped with the men’s and women’s 50m freestyle events. In the women’s race, the top seed went to Team Puerto Rico’s Vanessa Garcia (26.23). WUGs-bound Kara Denby (Simi Valley, Calif.) posted the second-fastest time, touching in 26.32 and Club Wolverine’s Margaret Kelly was third in 26.40. World Championship teammates Vandenberg and Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) took the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. Vandenberg posted a time of 26.43 and Hoff finished just four-hundredths behind in 26.47.
The men’s 50m freestyle saw a pair of World University Games Team members advance. Bryan Lundquist (Marietta, Ga.) posted the field’s top time in 23.78 and Athens’ Bulldog’s Peter Verhoef (Newport News, Va.) took the seventh seed in 24.12. Toronto Swim Club’s Kyle Smerdon is the no. 2 seed in 23.80 and Bennett Clark of Mizzou is no. 3 in 23.81.
At the conclusion of tonight’s prelims, the “Countdown to Beijing” clock, which runs constantly at Canham Natatorium, read 448.06.54:31.8.
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.
