Dana Vollmer won the women's 200 meter freestyle event at the U.S. swimming championships. (Ezra Shaw, Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, July 8 — Towson’s Elizabeth Pelton, 15, did it again.
The rising star at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club upset some big names and won herself a spot — a second one — on the U.S. team that will compete at the world championships later this month in Rome.
Pelton finished just behind Hayley McGregory, who also trained at NBAC until moving to Austin to train five weeks ago, in the 100 backstroke Wednesday night at the U.S. swimming championships.
Pelton touched the wall in 1 minute 0.66 seconds as Gregory came home in 1:00.07. The two claimed the available berths for Rome and Pelton, perhaps, cemented her status as the hottest up-and-coming swimmer in the United States.
Margaret Hoelzer, a three-time Olympic medal winner, took third in 1:00.78. Reston’s Mei Christensen, who has swum for years for Curl-Burke and attends the University of Virginia, finished fifth in 1:01.16.
“I was just really, really excited to come to this meet,” Pelton said immediately after the race. “This is just the cherry on the top.”
Pelton, whose time established a new national age-group record, also finished second in the 200 individual medley Tuesday night, so she will compete in both events — and possibly more — in Rome.
She said she received 35 text messages and 10 phone messages after her performance Tuesday.
“It’s a little overwhelming,” Pelton said. “I didn’t even think about [qualifying in] the 100 back — I just wanted a best time.”
Pelton is also entered in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 back, but the only race in which she is expected to even make the final is the 200 back. She is seeded fifth in that event.
Vollmer Wins 200M Freestyle: In the women’s 200 free, Dana Vollmer finished first in 1:56.20, followed by Allison Schmitt, who came home in 1:57.25. Ariana Kukors got third (1:58.28) and Alyssa Anderson fourth (1:58.45).
Dagny Knutson of North Dakota finished fifth in 1:58.46, and NBAC’s Katie Hoff claimed eighth in 1:59.59 — more than four seconds off of her American record in the event (1:55.78).
Hoff, who won three Olympic medals last year, also failed to make the world team in the 400 freestyle Tuesday when she finished sixth.
“I admire her tonight as much as I ever did when she was winning all of those events,” Hoff’s coach Bob Bowman said. “It’s tough to stand up, when all of the expectations are on you and when you’re not at your best and give it all you’ve got.”
Tags: Allison Schmitt, Dana Vollmer, Elizabeth Pelton, Hayley McGregory, Katie Hoff, Margaret Hoelzer, Mei Christensen, U.S. Swimming Championships
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