Ziegler also bested the rest of the field in the 800m free by nearly five seconds. Her next closest competitor - 2008 Olympic teammate and National Teamer Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.) - finished in 8:30.50. Sutton's time was also faster than the meet record of 8:31.05 that Ziegler posted Thursday. Chelsea Chenault, a member of the 2010 National Youth Team, was third in 8:38.03.
Afterward, Ziegler said the swim was her best performance since 2008. "Going into that race, I didn't know what to expect," Ziegler said. "I was hoping after last night to go under 8:30, and I felt pretty strong for mid-season and just very happy with that race.
"I've been struggling with my times for a while, and I feel like that was a big confidence booster heading into Nationals. Based off that swim, I'm just going to go back and train hard and hopefully have another great swim at Nationals."
Another American Olympian, Kara Lynn Joyce (Ann Arbor, Mich.), came out on top of a competitive field in the women's 100m free, edging 11-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.) 54.69 to 54.84. National Teamer Jessica Hardy (Long Beach, Calif.) finished third in 54.93. Four of the eight women who stepped up on the blocks in the 100m free Friday represented the U.S. in the Olympic Games, including Joyce, Coughlin, Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) and Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas).
2008 Olympian and National Teamer Nathan Adrian (Bremerton, Wash.) beat everyone by a body length in the men's 100m free, turning in a time of 48.71. Israel's Nimrod Shapira Bar-Or was second in 50.10, followed by Lars Persson in 50.28. Less than half a second separated second through seventh place in this race.
On a side note, 2008 Olympic hero Jason Lezak (Irvine, Calif.) finished ninth in the 100, but his time of 50.03 in the consolation finals was the second-fastest swim of the night.
In one of the more surprising races of the evening, 15-year-old Madison White of Crown Canyon edged Olympic and National Team veteran Hoff in the women's 200m back, 2:12.15 to 2:12.79. Bonnie Brandon of Mission Aurora was third in 2:13.96.
In other races, Yang Jiao won the women's 200m fly in 2:08.40, followed by National Teamer Lyndsay DePaul (Orange, Calif.) in 2:08.44 and Tanya Krisman in 2:09.00. Yin Chen won the men's 200m fly in 1:56.92, followed by National Teamers Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.) in 1:57.85 and Bobby Bollier (Mission Hills, Kan.) in 1:58.28. Austrian Olympian Markus Rogan took the men's 200m back in 1:59.46, edging U.S. National Teamer David Russell (Wellesley, Mass.) by nine-hundredths, while Cory Chitwood finished third in 2:01.39.
Hungarian Kantinka Hosszu, the 2009 world champion in the 400m IM, won the women's 400m IM Friday, turning in a time of 4:34.38 and missing the meet record by a half second. U.S. National Teamer Ariana Kukors (Auburn, Wash.) was second in 4:39.55, while Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.) was third in 4:40.73.
Canadian Olympian Ryan Cochrane won the men's 400m free in 3:50.78. Finishing on his heels were U.S. National Teamers Michael Klueh (Evansville, Ind.), who was second in 3:52.05 and Charlie Houchin (Raleigh, N.C.), who was third in 3:52.53.
The LA Grand Prix continues Saturday, July 9.
The top medal-winner at the conclusion of the 2010 Grand Prix Swim Meet Series will be awarded $20,000, courtesy of USA Swimming. Swimmers are awarded five points for a gold medal, three points for a silver medal and one point for a bronze medal.
