Phelps beat out world-record holder and Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) to win the 200m back in 1:54.65. Phelps missed the world record by 33-hundredths but the two-time Olympian set a meet and U.S. Open records with the swim. Phelps’ time was the third-fastest ever recorded.
“Going into the last 50 I actually knew what the pace was – I knew it was 1:25 flat,” Phelps said. “The thing I wanted to see was a 1:24, so when it said 1:25 I thought, ‘This isn’t good.’ The last 25 I started to tighten up so, I didn’t get [the world record]. But that’s what keeps me hungry – being so close to something and not getting it.” Club Wolverine’s Chris DeJong (Ann Arbor, Mich.) finished second in 1:56.75 and Longhorn Aquatics’ David Cromwell (Missoula, Mont.) finished third in 1:57.43. Lochte finished fourth in 1:59.11.
In the women’s 100m free, Torres, who turned 40 earlier this year, claimed her fifth national title in the event with her winning time of 54.45. The four-time Olympian and new mother led the field throughout the entire race to earn the eighth-fastest time in the world this year. “It’s great to be back swimming and racing,” Torres said. “It was the first time racing and swimming against this new batch of girls. You can’t put an age on your dreams. I never thought I would be back here. I especially wasn’t thinking it after 2000. It’s a great feeling. I don’t feel like I’m 40. I am excited to be here. The next step is to get ready for my 50 [meter free, which will be contested on Saturday.]”
Olympians Amanda Weir (Lawrenceville, Ga.) and Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Tx.) finished second and third, respectively. Weir finished in 54.79 and Vollmer finished in 54.95.
Longhorn’s David Walters (Yorktown, Va.) took the top spot in the 100m free, earning his first national title with a time of 48.96. South African Ryk Neethling finished second in 48.98 and Sun Devil’s Nick Brunelli (Mansfield, Mass.) finished third in 49.04.
Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.) won gold in the women’s 400m IM in 4:40.81. Sixteen year-old Leverenz overtook the field during the breaststroke leg to earn her first-ever national title. Leverenz’s Pan American teammate Kathleen Hersey (Atlanta, Ga.), who earned her first national title in the 200m fly last night, finished second in 4:40.81. Stanford Swimming’s Julia Smit (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) rounded out the top three in 4:42.37.
In the men’s 400m IM, Lochte earned the national championship with a time of 4:13.55, swimming in the absence of world record-holder Phelps. Erik Vendt (North Easton, Mass.), who won the 1500m free Tuesday, picked up his second medal of the meet, earning silver in 4:15.84. Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.) of Longhorn Aquatics swam a time of 4:16.29 to earn bronze.
Olympian Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) earned gold in the 200m back in 2:10.31. Mary Descenza (Naperville, Ill.) turned in the second-fastest time in 2:11.26, while Germantown Academy’s Katie Riefenstahl edged out teammate Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) for the bronze in 2:11.67. Crippen finished in 2:11.79.
The 2007 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships continues Thursday, Aug. 2, and runs through Saturday, Aug. 4. For a full schedule of events for the meet, please visit usaswimming.org. Finals each night will be webcast live at usaswimming.org starting at 6 p.m. EDT. There is no cost for the webcast.
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.
