Rachael Komisarz (Louisville, Ky.) earned her first career national title with a win in the 100m fly and Club Wolverine's Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Minn.) accepted the honor in the 400m freestyle. It was also Vanderkaay's first National Title.
World record-holders Zeigler and Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) faced off for the second time in three days in the women's 400m freestyle. Zeigler took the lead in the final 50 meters to finish just .39 off the American record in 4:04.24. The time bested her own U.S. Open record and represented a new Nationals record. It was the third fastest time recorded this year. "I wasn't really thinking about that [the world record]," Zeigler said. "I was just trying to have great race and have best times here."
Hoff stopped the clock next at 4:04.60, the fourth fastest time recorded this year. Sierra Marlins' Alyssa Anderson (Granite Bay, Calif.) posted a bronze medal time of 4:11.11.
In the much-anticipated men's 100m fly, Phelps earned the honors by posting a Nationals meet record time of 51.39. "That was my fastest second 50 I have ever had," Phelps said. "We know that is there, now we just have to work on the front half. Hopefully we can put it all together next year. Ben Wildman-Tobriner (San Francisco, Calif.) touched a second later to take second in 52.31. Davis Tarwater (Knoxville, Tenn.) finished third in 52.39. Although Crocker recorded the second fastest time of the evening, he was disqualified for a false start.
In one of the closest races of the evening, Vanderkaay won the men's 400m free in 3:45.55. In the battle for second, Larsen Jensen (Bakersfield, Calif.) collected the silver medal, hitting the wall in 3:47.08 and Phelps took third in 3:47.13. Only 45-hundredths separated the second- and fifth -place spots in the race and Olympians Erik Vendt (North Eaton, Mass.) and Klete Keller (Phoenix, Ariz.) finished in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
Olympian Komisarz picked up her first national title in the 100 fly, overtaking the rest of the field in the final 50 meters to win gold in 58.04. Fellow Olympian Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Tex.) finished second in 58.04 and Tennessee Aquatics' Christine Magnuson (Tinley Park, Ill.) took third in 58.76.
The 2007 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships continues Friday, Aug. 3 and runs through Saturday, Aug. 4. For a full schedule of events for the meet, please visit usaswimming.org. All nights of finals will be webcast live at usaswimming.org starting at 6 p.m. EDT nightly. 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.
