Lochte Second in 200 IM Final, Adds Individual Race to Rio Slate

For what could be the final time on U.S. soil, Ryan Lochte and counterpart Michael Phelps went head to head in the 200 IM finals Friday night.

Lochte Second in 200 IM Final, Adds Individual Race to Rio Slate

Friday, July 1, 2016 | Men's Swimming & Diving, Women's Swimming & Diving, Olympics

Beisel, Dressel move on to 200 back, 50 free finals

By: Layne Weitzel

LOOKING AHEAD: GATORS IN PRELIMINARIES
SATURDAY, JULY 2
Natalie Hinds	50 Free	37 (25.64)
Arthur Frayler	1500 Free	10 (15:14.09)
Ben Lawless	1500 Free	56 (15:40.79)
Blake Manganiello	1500 Free	81 (15:45.91)
Andrew Brady	1500 Free	94 (15:48.11)

OMAHA, Neb. -- Ryan Lochte took full advantage of his last opportunity to represent the United States in an individual Olympic event in Rio.

Lochte placed second in the 200 IM final at 1:56.22 Friday night, adding the event to his Olympic schedule. Earlier in the week, he qualified for the 4x200 free relay team but had yet to make Rio in an individual race.

Lochte, a now four-time Olympian, is the defending silver medalist in the 200 IM and also set the still-standing world record at 1:54.00 in July 2011 at the World Aquatics Championships.

Twelve Gator swimmers have qualified for the Olympics: Lochte (United States), Caeleb Dressel (United States), Conor Dwyer (United States), Elizabeth Beisel (United States), Mitch D'Arrigo (Italy), Hilda Luthersdottir (Iceland), Corey Main (New Zealand), Sebastien Rousseau (South Africa), Eduardo Solaeche-Gomez (Spain), Dan Wallace (Great Britain), Jan Switkowski (Poland) and Pawel Werner (Poland).

Michael Phelps, who won the race in 1:55.91, swam in the final alongside Lochte, and the two were shoulder-to-shoulder for much of the race. Almost three seconds separated Lochte and third-place finisher David Nolan.

The 200 IM final represented likely the final time that Lochte and Phelps would go head-to-head on American soil.

Like Lochte, Caeleb Dressel and Elizabeth Beisel were also successful in their semifinals.

Dressel swam the second semifinal of the men's 50 free, finishing third and fifth overall at 22.04. He moves on to the 50 free finals Saturday night, which will be his final 2016 trials appearance.

Elizabeth Beisel, who is fighting through an injury to her left pinky finger, competed well in the second semifinal of the 200 back. She matched Dressel's heat and overall finishes, placing third in her heat and fifth overall at 2:09.81. She also moves on to the finals Saturday night.

The U.S. Olympic Team Trials continue on Saturday, the seventh and penultimate day of competition. Five Gators are scheduled to compete in two events, the women's 50 free and the men's 1500 free.

Each day of trials will begin with preliminary heats at 11 a.m. EST and conclude with event finals and semifinals at 8 p.m. EST. Estimated start times for each preliminary event can be found here, and the event schedule for the entire meet can be found on the USA Swimming website.

Prelims will be broadcast live daily on the NBC Sports app and online and on edited tape-delay on the NBC Sports Network. Event semifinals and finals will air live on NBC and online. The full TV schedule is available here.

FloridaGators.com will recap the Gators' performance after each day of trials. Follow along on Twitter at @GatorsSwimDv, @GatorsOlympics and @USASwimming, and check out the hashtags #GatorsAlways and #SwimTrials16 for more immediate coverage.

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