In her first elite competition since the Beijing Olympics, Kate Ziegler, 20, finished second to her former training partner Chloe Sutton in four freestyle races at the Mission Viejo Tyr Swim Meet of Champions this weekend.

With the world championship trials just over two weeks away, Ziegler is far below the form that made her a four-time world champion as Sutton, 17, who now lives and trains in Mission Viejo, seems to be on the rise.

Ziegler and Sutton, a former open-water specialist, trained together for a couple of years under Ray Benecki at the McLean-based Fish, Ziegler’s longtime club. Sutton, whose father is in the Air Force, moved to Ashburn in March, 2005.

Ziegler  finished the 800 in 8:43.61 (25 seconds above her best time, which is the sixth fastest of all-time) as Sutton touched the wall in 8:27.60. In the 400, Sutton won in 4:08.94 as Ziegler managed a 4:12.84 (almost 9 seconds off her PB). The 200 represented the closest race: Sutton came home in 2:01.61 and Ziegler in 2:02.04 (almost 4 seconds off PB). In the 1,500 free, Sutton won in 16:24.51; Ziegler finished in 16:40.19, (more than 57 seconds off her world-record time).

In the same meet, Michael Flach, Ziegler’s teammate at the Fish, finished first in the 200 fly Friday in 2:04.68.

For all of the results, click here http://www.socalswim.org/HTResults/2009SwimMeetofChampions/

Tags: Michael Flach

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