The men’s team also put on a strong showing, advancing four swimmers in three events. In addition, the men’s 400m freestyle relay qualified for tonight’s finals, taking the third seed with a time of 3:16.43.
Tonight’s session will feature finals in the 400m freestyle and 400m freestyle relay, as well as semi-finals in the women’s 200m fly and 200m IM and men’s 50m fly and 100m breaststroke. WCSN will webcast the finals live and on-demand beginning at 7 p.m. local time / 5 a.m. Eastern.
In the first race of the day, two Americans advanced when Rachael Komisarz (Louisville, Ky.) and Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.) combined for a 1-2 finish in the prelims of the 100m butterfly. Komisarz turned in the top time, touching in 57.98 while Coughlin took the number two seed in 58.34.
Komisarz finished more than a half-second ahead of Jessicah Schipper of Australia. “I wanted to let them know I was here,” she said.
Next up was the Men’s 400m freestyle, where the U.S. was represented by two Club Wolverine swimmers. Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Minn.) won his heat by nearly eight-tenths and claimed the top seed with a time of 3:45.82, acing Korea’s Tae Hwan Park (3:46.24) and Russia’s Yury Prilukov (3:46.57). Klete Keller (Phoenix, Ariz.) fell short of the finals after he finished fourth in his heat and 12th overall with a time of 3:49.03. Keller touched three-tenths after Australian stand-out and eighth seed, Grant Hackett.
In the women’s 200m individual medley, American record-holder Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) easily won her heat, posting the top time of 2:12.04. Hoff’s time edged Olympian Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, who was second in 2:12.65. Also advancing for the American team was Whitney Myers (Oxford, Ohio) who finished eighth with a time of 2:15.73.
After 20 heats of the men’s 50m butterfly, Ian Crocker (Portland, Maine) topped the field in 23.30. Crocker’s time edged world record-holder Roland Schoeman of South Africa, who was second in 23.49. Team USA teammate Davis Tarwater (Knoxville, Tenn.) fell short of a semi-finals bid with a time of 24.83.
Hoff took to the blocks again for the 400m freestyle, joined by distance specialist Kate Ziegler (Great Falls, Va.). Both ladies posted finals-worthy times with Ziegler placing second in her heat and fourth overall with a time of 4:07.18.
“I’m really pleased with my morning,” said Ziegler. “That was the fastest I’ve ever swum in the morning, so I’m excited for tonight.”
Hoff advanced with the number eight spot, posting a time of 4:08.38. Tonight, both Ziegler and Hoff will face world record-holder Laure Manaudou, who posted a prelim time of 4:05.29. According to the timeline for tonight’s finals, Hoff will swim the 400m freestyle less than 15 minutes after competing in the 200m IM.
In the day’s sixth event, both U.S. men moved on to the semi-finals in the 100m breaststroke. World record-holder Brendan Hansen (Havertown, Pa.) claimed the third seed with a time of 1:00.59 and Scott Usher (Grand Island, Neb.) finished 12th with a time of 1:01.36. Japan’s Kitajima Kosuke (59.96) and Norway’s Alexander Dale Oen (1:00.34) join Hansen as the top three seeds.
“I just wanted to get the jitters out,” said Hansen of his morning swim. “I looked around and saw no one was there, so I just sort of coasted in to the wall.”
The start of the highly-anticipated relays was marked by a significant increase in crowd noise. The U.S. Women’s Team accepted the challenge and posted the field’s best time of 3:38.32. The team won its heat by nearly 2.5 seconds.
The men’s team enjoyed a photo-finish against Australia, winning its heat and claiming the field’s third-fastest time with 3:16.43. Australia finished in 3:16.46. Team USA trailed Australia early on, but closed the gap when Ben Wildman-Tobriner (San Francisco, Calif.) gained .63 seconds and Cullen Jones (New Brunswick, N.J.) gained .43 seconds on their Australian counterparts.
Tonight’s finals session begins at 7 p.m. Melbourne time (5 a.m. EDT).
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.
