Lochte Adds Two Events to London Swimming Slate, Beisel & Crippen Advance; Torres Preps for Sunday Prelims
Sunday, July 1, 2012 | Men's Swimming & Diving
In an epic and highly anticipated Ryan Lochte/Michael Phelps battle Saturday – the third this U.S. Swimming Olympics Trials – Phelps out-touched Lochte1:54.84 – 1:54.93 in the 200-meter IM, as the duo clocked the two fastest times in the world this year in the event, not more than a half hour after Lochte clinched gold in the 200-meter backstroke final (1:54.54).
Lochte brought his London slate to four individual events with Saturday's swims: 400 IM, 200 free, 200 back and 200 IM, while also earning a spot on the 800 free relay.
After Lochte's impressive Friday double, the Gator great topped that, turned around after two finals and capped off his Saturday triple in Omaha with semis of the 100-meter butterfly, advancing in sixth (52.47) and setting up a final Lochte vs. Phelps clash in Sunday evening finals, as Phelps enters as the top seed (51.35).
It was former Gator Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.), who punched his ticket to London in the 400 free already, that touched third after Phelps and Lochte in the 200 IM, snagging a 1:58.92. Former Gator Rex Tullius (Daytona Beach, Fla.) joined Lochte in the 200 back final, swimming to a 1:59.16, good for sixth in the championship heat.
In women's semifinals action for Elizabeth Beisel (Kingstown, R.I.) and Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.), both solidified spots in the top-eight Sunday evening final of the women's 200-meter backstroke, Beisel entering as two seed (2:08.41), Crippen heated seventh (2:12.21). Incoming 2012-13 Gator freshman Sierra Kuhn (Verona, Wis.) fell just shy of a top-eight finals qualifying mark in ninth (2:12.79), but will serve as the first alternate for the 200-meter back Saturday evening.
Sunday also marks the start of women's 50-meter free competition, where former Gator and five-time Olympian Dara Torres will aim to make and unprecedented sixth Olympic team. At age 41, Torres was the oldest swimmer to make an Olympic team in 2008, and she'll be looking to top that at age 45. A 12-time Olympic medalist – four gold, four silver and four bronze – Torres will take to the pool in prelims of the 50 free Sunday morning, with semis scheduled for Sunday evening, finals Monday.
For the Gators, Beisel, Dwyer, Lochte and Vanderkaay have all stamped tickets to London, Beisel in the 400 IM, Dwyer in the 400 free and 800 free relay for his first Olympic appearance, Lochte in the 400 IM, 200 back, 200 IM, 200 free, 200 back and 800 free relay, while Vanderkaay took top honors in the 400 free to qualify for his first Olympic Games.
The 2012 USA Swimming Olympic Trials continue Sunday and Monday from the CenturyLink Center in Omaha.
All but the fastest heats of preliminaries will be webcast live at www.usaswimming.org June 25-July 1. NBC Sports will broadcast the fastest 2-4 heats of preliminaries on tape delay later that day. Please note that finals will air live on NBC at 8 p.m. ET and at 7 p.m. CT. Finals will air tape delayed in the Mountain and Pacific time zones at 7 p.m. and at 8 p.m., respectively.
A full recap of each day's events and results will be available on GatorZone.com. For news, schedules, events and the Facebook and Twitter feeds of the 2012 Olympic Trials, please log on to the USA Swimming website.
For up-to-the-minute information on everything Florida swimming related, follow swimming and diving on Twitter @GatorZoneSwimDv. You can also follow the Gators on Facebook.
SATURDAY RESULTS
FINALS
Men's 200 Back Final
1. Ryan Lochte 1:54.54
6. Rex Tullius 1:59.16
Women's 200 Back Semifinal
2. Elizabeth Beisel 2:08.41 – advances to finals
7. Teresa Crippen 2:12.21 – advances to finals
9. Sierra Kuhn 2:12.79 – first alternate
Men's 200 IM Final
2. Ryan Lochte 1:54.93
3. Conor Dwyer 1:58.92
Men's 100 Fly Semifinal
T6. Ryan Lochte 52.47 – advances to finals
PRELIMS
Men's 50 Free
20. Brad deBorde 22.76
41. Jordan Smith 23.05
86. James Turner 23.43
Women's 800 Free
26. Jamie Bohunicky 8:48.42
34. Alicia Mathieu 8:50.14
Men's 100 Fly
6. Ryan Lochte 52.21
45. Cameron Martin 54.50
Women's 200 Back
3. Elizabeth Beisel 2:09.35
7. Sierra Kuhn 2:12.33
8. Teresa Crippen 2:12.34
134. Trish Regan 2:19.73
SUNDAY SLATE
| Sunday, July 1 (PRELIMS): 11 a.m. ET | |
| Women's 50m Free Men's 1500m Free Sunday, July 1 (FINALS): 7:45 p.m. ET Women's 200m Back - Final Men's 100m Fly - Final Women's 800m Free - Final Men's 50m Free - Final Women's 50m Free - Semifinal |
