Elizabeth Beisel Punches Ticket to London in 200 Back; Dara Torres, Arthur Frayler Ready for Monday Finals
Monday, July 2, 2012 | Men's Swimming & Diving
Elizabeth Beisel (Kingstown, R.I.) used a second-place finish in the 200-meter back (2:07.58) on her final day of competition at the U.S. Swimming Olympic Trials to punch her second ticket to London after qualifying earlier in the week in the 400-meter individual medley – her same Olympic Games slate as in 2008. Beisel will join high school standout Missy Franklin as the United States representatives in the 200 back.
Also wrapping up a phenomenal trials run Sunday was Gator great Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.), who competed in finals of the men's 100-meter butterfly, finishing third (51.65) with the fourth-fastest time in the world this year behind Michael Phelps and second-place and first-time Olympic qualifier Tyler McGill. Lochte concludes this year's 2012 Olympic Trials with a four-event individual slate in London: 400 IM, 200 free, 200 back and 200 IM, while also earning a spot on the 800 free relay. Lochte will likely participate in two additional relays. Friend and foe Michael Phelps added his fifth individual event Sunday with the 100-meter fly win and has the option to mimic his 2008 Olympic Games program this summer in London.
Former Gator Dara Torres, the American record holder in the 50-meter freestyle, inched one day closer to her sixth Olympic Games after finishing fifth in prelims of the 50 free (25.00) for a semifinals berth and advancing to the eight-woman Monday final with an even faster 24.80, third-place Sunday semifinal. After her first Olympic Games at age 17 in 1984, Torres – at age 41 – 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 finals of the event Monday at 8 p.m. ET.
Also representing for the Orange and Blue Sunday was incoming Gator freshman Arthur Frayler (Ambler, Pa.), who will be seeded third overall in the men's 1500-meter freestyle entering finals Monday with a 15:08.08 mark. Frayler will be looking for a top-two finish to answer his London call. Peter Vanderkaay (Royal Oak, Mich.) will also swim the distance event, entering finals seeded fourth behind Frayler with a 15:08.93.
2012 senior Teresa Crippen (Conshohocken, Pa.) brought her 2012 Olympic Trials run to a close with a sixth-place finish in the 200-meter backstroke, clocking a 2:11.79 to best her prelims and semifinals marks.
For the Gators, Beisel, former men's swimmer Conor Dwyer (Winnetka, Ill.), Lochte and Vanderkaay have all stamped tickets to London, Beisel in the 400 IM and 200 back, 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 conclude Monday from the CenturyLink Center in Omaha with finals of the men's 1500-meter free and the women's 50-meter freestyle finals. The last day of Finals will air live on NBC at 8 p.m. ET and 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.
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SUNDAY RESULTS
FINALS
Women's 200 Back Final
2. Elizabeth Beisel 2:07.58
6. Teresa Crippen 2:11.79
Men's 100 Fly Final
3. Ryan Lochte 51.65
Women's 50 Free Semifinal
3. Dara Torres 24.80
PRELIMS
Men's 1500 Free
3. Arthur Frayler 15:08.08 – advances to finals
4. Peter Vanderkaay 15:08.93 – advances to finals
51. Nick Caldwell 15:54.28
54. Joey Pedraza 15:56.40
56. Jason Taylor 15:57.36
61. Billy Silva 16:01.03
72. Conor Signorin 16:06.81
75. John Koehler 16:07.72
Women's 50 Free
5. Dara Torres 25.00 – advances to semifinals
75. Kaitlin Frehling 26.36
MONDAY SLATE
| Monday, July 2 (NO PRELIMS) | |
| Monday, July 2 (FINALS): 7:45 p.m. ET Women's 50m Free – Final Men's 1500m Free - Final |
