SNOW’s Matt McLean takes title in 400 Free

With his victory in the 400-meter freestyle, Matt McLean of SNOW Swimming earned his first USA Swimming national title.

Stopping the clock at 3:47.33, McLean broke Tom Dolan’s 1996 Potomac Valley Swimming resident record.  The former All-Met from Potomac Falls produced the second-fastest time in the event for an American this year.

Former Potomac Falls All-Met Matt McLean won his first USA Swimming national title with a win in the 400-meter freestyle. (Michael Ledecky)

McLean, 23, also re-broke his own resident record in the 200-meter freestyle, placing second to Olympic gold medalist Peter Vanderkaay.

McLean viewed Nationals as an opportunity to work on “process goals”—technical aspects and race details that he hopes to perfect in the final months leading to the 2012 Olympic Trials in Omaha.

“Any time that you’re able to compete at the highest levels and learn how to hone racing skills is a positive experience,” said McLean.

McLean has trained primarily with Coach Jon Urbanchek of Fullerton Aquatics Sports Team (FAST) in California this summer.  But he continues to work with Mike Pliuskaitis of SNOW and Mark Bernardino of U-Va.

“I have three awesome coaches at my disposal,” said McLean.  “They’re all able to provide me with their own unique perspectives and things I can focus on.”

Earlier this year as a senior for the University of Virginia, McLean won the 500-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division I Championships.  He has qualified to represent Team USA at the 2011 World University Games in Shenzhen, China.  The swimming events, which will be held August 14-19, will follow an Olympic prelims-semifinals-finals format.

“It should be a good platform for me to work on,” said McLean.

Conger breaks NAG record in 100 back

After winning the bonus final of the men’s 100-meter backstroke with a time of 55.09, RMSC’s Jack Conger had not quite clinched a 15-16 national age group record.

Conger had surpassed a mark set by a contemporary, Ryan Murphy of Jacksonville.  As Conger climbed out of the pool, Murphy prepared to swim in the faster consolation final.

Murphy swam a personal best time, but Conger retained the record.

“I guess you can call us rivals, but he’s a good guy and went fast in this pool,” said Conger of Murphy.

Conger’s highest finish at the meet came in the 200-meter backstroke.  Winning the consolation heat to place 11th overall, he turned in a time of 1:59.98.

Conger and teammate Sarah Haase will travel with USA Swimming’s national junior team to compete at FINA’s Junior World Championships in Lima, Peru. The meet will be the Good Counsel standouts’ second international competition.  Conger and Haase swam on the National Club Swimming Association all-star team at the 2010 Irish Nationals in Dublin.

“I like the competitive atmosphere of international meets,” said Haase.  “I like having people to push me and make me realize that I need to go faster and work harder during practice.”

Haase qualified for the team with a 20th-place finish in the 100-meter breaststroke (1:10.15).

Ed Moses satisfied with rate of progress

While Athens and Beijing Olympic gold medalist Brendan Hansen made headlines with multiple victories in his return to the national stage, another former breaststroke world record holder swam in a national championship for the first time in years.

At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Curl-Burke swimmer and Lake Braddock graduate Ed Moses earned silver in the men’s 100-meter breaststroke and gold with the United States’ 4 x 100-meter medley relay team.  But in 2004, Moses failed to make the Athens team and retired after he graduated from UVA months later.

Now, Moses, 31, seeks to return to his Olympic form as 2012 approaches.

2-time Olympic medalist Ed Moses (center) examines the scoreboard after the consolation final of the 200-meter breaststroke. (Michael Ledecky)

At Nationals, Moses failed to qualify for the top heats in his specialties, placing 17th in the 100-meter breast and 16th in the 200-meter breast.  Nevertheless, he is pleased with the rate at which he has progressed.

“I’m real satisfied with my training.  My times here were pretty good,” said Moses.

Earlier this year, Moses joined Dave Salo’s Trojan Swim Club at USC.  His training group includes 4­-time Olympic gold medalist breaststroker Kosuke Kitajima and breaststroke American record holder Eric Shanteau.

“I went every morning long course, swimming hard with the best in the world.  I got in there and mixed it up with them and got my butt kicked every day,” said Moses.  “It’s something I wasn’t used to.  I was used to being the best every day, every practice.”

Moses will have to drop a significant amount of time in Omaha to put himself in contention for an Olympic spot.  Brendan Hansen, who won both breaststroke events in Palo Alto, swam 2.37 seconds faster than Moses in the 100 and 4.92 seconds faster in the 200.

Moses, nevertheless, remains unfazed.

“It’s obvious that I got a long, hard year in front of me,” said Moses. “It’s a big mountain, but I’m prepared.  I’m ready for it.”

Less than 11 months remain before Olympic Trials.  But Moses has a penchant for rapid improvement: in only two years, Moses progressed from 1998 second team All-Met swimmer to 2000 Olympic champion.

Notes

Curl-Burke’s Ellyn Baumgardner turned in the highest finish by a Potomac Valley woman with a third-place finish in the 100 breast. The University of Arizona NCAA finalist will represent the U.S. at the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico….2008 All-Met swimmer of the year and 2011 NCAA champion Eric Friedland placed 2nd in the 200 breast and 8th in the 100 breast for Longhorn Aquatics….Michael Flach, a 2009 first team All-Met from Bishop O’Connell, placed 9th in the 200 fly en route to five Olympic Trials cuts….RMSC and U-Va. swimmer Brady Fox won the bonus final of the 200 back….Curl-Burke’s Joe Pascale earned his second Olympic Trials cut with a 50.69-second time trials swim in the 100 free….2009 All-Met swimmer of the year Amanda Kendall swam to a 7th­­-place finish in the 100 free….Curl-Burke’s women’s 400 medley relay broke an open age PVS resident record by 2.76 seconds.  The team of Janet Hu, Ellyn Baumgardner, Kaitlin Pawlowicz and Katie Ledecky placed 12th with a time of 4:13.35.

–Michael Ledecky

Michael Phelps won three events and set one world record at last week's U.S. championships wearing a Speedo suit considered by many to be antiquated. (Michael Conroy, Associated Press)

Swimmers and coaches feared the U.S. swimming championships in Indianapolis last week would be a high-tech farce, taken over by ordinary swimmers helped to surprising victories by technologically over-the-top swimsuits. But while the newest suits proved enormously popular and successful for many swimmers, they didn’t throw the competition into chaos.

An unofficial analysis of last week’s event shows that 72 percent of athletes who reached the 26 event finals, and whose suits could be identified, competed in recently released versions made by Jaked, Arena, Tyr or BlueSeventy. Yet swimmers wearing older models — in most cases because of contractual obligations to the company Speedo — won more gold and silver medals than athletes in other suits and therefore earned more qualifying spots for the upcoming world championships in Rome.

About 33 percent of U.S. gold and silver medal winners wore Speedo’s LZR, the acclaimed suit of last year that is now perceived as out-moded, compared to about 25 percent for Jaked, 24 percent for Arena models, 9 percent for Tyr and 8 for BlueSeventy.

“I don’t think it’s a slow suit at all for me,” said Cullen Jones, who wore the LZR to set an American record in a swim-off for second place in the 50-meter freestyle after wearing a Jaked01 in the final. “When I jump off the blocks, I feel like I’m in a much tighter line. At the same time, when I get tired, suits that help me float, I like that, too.”

Not only are the most advanced new suits tight-fitting and designed to make swimmers slip faster through the water, but many are also impermeable and buoyant, helping with flotation.

The brand of suits on 29 of the 208 finalists and two of the 52 first- and second-place finishers at the U.S. championships could not be determined.

The controversy over the long-length suits, which has simmered in recent years, blew up a month ago when the world governing body of swimming, FINA, reversed course on plans to restrict the increasingly high-tech suits at the July 26-Aug. 2 world championships.

In anticipation of the promised clamp-down, Speedo did not create a more advanced suit this year. When FINA decided to approve 400 suits from more than two dozen manufacturers for this summer, athletes under contract with Speedo flew into near-panic.

Despite the hubbub, Michael Phelps, Speedo’s highest-paid athlete, wore his Speedo LZR and won three titles while also breaking a four-year-old world record. Jones, a Nike-sponsored athlete, swapped the Jaked for the LZR, and Ryan Lochte and Dana Vollmer each won two finals while wearing LZRs.

There were other hints that the suits did not disrupt the competition as feared: Three world records were set, all by men who had set them previously. The total was arguably lower than expected at such a critical meet.

That’s not to say the newest of the high-tech suits did not have a major impact. About a half-dozen of the U.S. team’s biggest stars did not compete or were not in top form, so although international marks did not fall in abundance, the meet was ripe with personal bests and, in some cases, phenomenal drops in times from less accomplished athletes.

Many said they did not like the new suits but that they felt compelled to try to get every advantage they could. Plenty did. Aaron Peirsol, who set two world records, wore Arena’s new X-Glide suit, as did Eric Shanteau, who set two American records in the 200-meter breaststroke, and Rebecca Soni, who won a pair of breaststroke events. Nathan Adrian won the 50- and 100-meter freestyle in the coveted Jaked01.

More finalists at the U.S. championships — about 27 percent — wore Jaked than any other brand.

“FINA has put us in a very difficult situation,” said Dara Torres, a Speedo-contracted swimmer who wore a Jaked01 to win the women’s 50 free. “It’s unfortunate they kept going back and forth, back and forth on their decision. They should have just stuck with one thing. Now, it makes it tough for swimmers to decide what to do.”

Many of the athletes who wore the newest suits did so almost apologetically.

“Obviously, the suits help,” Shanteau said. “That’s more than obvious. But I have definitely put in the work.”

Despite being a Speedo-sponsored athlete, Lochte said he had tested out all of the new suits. The Jaked, he said, worked particularly well on the underwater portion of races, such as starts and while coming off the walls. The Arena, he said, was the opposite, doing more to keep the swimmer above the water.

But Lochte, who won the 200 and 400 medleys in the LZR, said he actually preferred his old suit to the newer models.

“Everybody’s all hyping the new Arena, the new Jaked” suits, he said. “I’m kind of trying to stick it to them.”

Eric Shanteau set an American record in the 200-meter breaststroke. (Darron Cummings, AP)

Locals’ Results

U.S. Swimming Championships Archives

INDIANAPOLIS, July 11 — A year ago at this time, Eric Shanteau fretted and trained, trained and fretted. He had testicular cancer diagnosed days before the Olympic trials, qualified for the team in the 200-meter breaststroke, then put off the necessary surgery to remove his cancerous testicle until after the Summer Games.

When it was all over — the Olympics, the surgery, the panic and preparation — Shanteau felt lost. He did not know what to do next. And his worries were far from over.

So he got back in the pool. As many of his Olympic teammates vacationed, Shanteau, 25, worked himself into the best shape of his life. And it’s paid off in a way he could never have imagined.

Shanteau capped a great day, an excellent week and a stunning year Saturday night with a runaway victory in the 200 breast in 2 minutes 08.01 seconds. The dominant performance gave Shanteau his first U.S. title and his second American record of the day in the event.

It also gave him his fourth berth on the U.S. team that will compete at the late-July world championships in Rome.

“My situation has been pretty [lousy] — for the past two years,” Shanteau said. “I kind of have light at the end of the tunnel now. There’s some bright spots shining through now, which is nice. I’ve been through a lot of hard spots.”

Added Shanteau: “I’m obviously very, very happy.”

Neither of Saturday’s races was even close. In the evening’s race, Shanteau topped second-place finisher Adam Klein by more than two seconds; Klein touched the wall in 2:10.39, as Shanteau already was celebrating. Curtis Lovelace finished third in 2:10.96.

“When I was behind those blocks,” Shanteau said. “I was probably more relaxed than I’ve ever been.”

In his morning preliminary heat, Shanteau had been urged on by announcer Sam Kendricks, who riled a sleepy crowd at the Indiana University natatorium into a bit of a frenzy. He touched the wall in 2:08.43 seconds, going under Brendan Hansen’s 2006 American mark of 2:08.50.

That mark had stood as the world record until June, when Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima swam a 2:07.51 in Tokyo.

“Obviously, I was shooting for it, but not necessarily this morning,” said Shanteau, who has competed this week in Arena’s acclaimed new X-Glide suit. “It’s kind of funny that the first American record I would break comes in a preliminary swim.”

Shanteau has qualified for the world championships in three events, the 100 and 200 breast and 200 individual medley, and he also will have the option of swimming in the 50 breast in Rome — though Shanteau said competing in four individual events might be too taxing.

“It’s a lot,” Shanteau said. “People see Michael [Phelps] doing 50 million events. We’re not all like Michael.”

For the moment, it’s not so bad to be Eric Shanteau. Shanteau’s parents are here watching, another bonus for the Georgia native. His father, Rick, found out he had terminal lung cancer about a year before Shanteau received his diagnosis. But unlike his son, Rick Shanteau did not have the option of surgery, or the hope of being cured.

“He’s here, two years after being diagnosed,” Shanteau said. “I think for the situation he’s in, and what he was given, you can’t ask for anything more.

“It’s everything,” Shanteau also said. “All aspects of my life are going very well right now.”

A competitive turnaround, Shanteau said, came at the short-course U.S. championships in Atlanta last December. Few Olympians bothered to attend that meet, but Shanteau had been undergoing heavy workouts and weight training at his training home in Austin for two months.

Largely unnoticed, he posted personal-best times in several events. He could not, he said, believe it.

It was then that Shanteau directed his training toward improvement rather than merely escape. For a while, he sought distraction; he hadn’t bothered chasing concrete goals. But as time went on, and the blood tests he must take for the rest of his life continued coming up negative, he realized he could still swim — and, perhaps, better than he had before the cancer.

“I definitely surprised myself at the short-course nationals in December when I went all best times,” he said. “That was kind of like the start of things. ….. That was really like the turning point of my career.”

There is more, Shanteau hopes. He wants the world record. He wants a strong performance at the July 26-Aug. 2 world championships, a medal or two. At the Olympics last year, he finished 10th.

“It’s different this year,” Shanteau said. “I don’t have a gorilla on my back going into the world championships. ….. In the last year, I’ve learned a lot about myself, what I’m capable of, and I think I got to prove that to myself this week.”

Aaron Piersol set a world record in the 100-meter backstroke. (Michael Conroy, AP)

Locals’ Results

U.S. Swimming Championships Archives

INDIANAPOLIS, July 11 — The message from Aaron Peirsol: Stop taking my world records. For the second time this week at the U.S. swimming championships, Peirsol reclaimed a world record he had recently lost.

Saturday night, it happened in the 200-meter backstroke as Peirsol exploded over the last 100 meters to outswim Ryan Lochte and break his world record by a staggering 0.86 of a second.

Peirsol finished in 1 minute 53.08 seconds, as Lochte touched the wall in 1:54.21 and Tyler Clary in 1:54.53. North Baltimore Aquatic Club’s Nick Thoman got fourth in 1:54.83.

“I’m extremely elated,” Peirsol said.

Earlier this week, he took back the world record in the 100 backstroke, a mark he lost just over a week ago when a Spanish swimmer lowered it. Peirsol said his excitement about the victories was dampened knowing Japanese star Ryosuke Irie of Japan had swum faster in the 200 back in a similar high-tech suit (Irie’s record was disallowed because the suit was not approved).

“I feel like, if I do the race I can, he can’t catch me,” said Peirsol, who wore Arena’s X-Glide pants.

Jones Claims Berth
Earlier, 2008 Olympic relay team members Garrett Weber-Gale and Cullen Jones faced off in a two-man swim-off to decide the second-place finisher in Thursday’s 50 free. The pair had tied in that race.

Jones not only claimed a world championship berth with the victory, but he also broke Weber-Gale’s American record (21.47), touching the wall in 21.41 seconds; Weber-Gale came home in 21.70.
Jones said he switched high-tech suits, dumping the more acclaimed Jaked01, which he wore in Thursday’s 50 free final, for the older Speedo LZR.

Morris Places Second
In the men’s 1,500 freestyle, North Baltimore Aquatic Club’s Brennan Morris, 17, qualified for his first world championship team with his second-place finish in 15:13.47. Morris, the boyfriend of Katie Hoff, finished behind Jackson Wilcox, who touched the wall in 15:11.98.
In a time trial at the end of the night, Dara Torres, 42, lowered her American record in the 50 fly but missed the world record. She finished in 25.50.

Local Splashes
Arlington Aquatic Club’s Katherine Radloff, 20, finished third in the C final of the women’s 100 free in 3:56.08; in the C final of the 200 back, Andrew Relihan, 19, of the Rockville-Montgomery Swim Club finished seventh in 2:05.18; Daniel Johnson, 21, of the University of Virginia was disqualified. North Baltimore Aquatic Club’s Austin Surhoff, 18, finished fourth in the B final in 2:01.19. In the C final of the 200 breast, Virginia’s John Azar finished eighth in 2:21.59.

Eric Shanteau, left, shown here with Ryan Lochte, set an American record in the 200-meter breaststroke this morning. (Darron Cummings, Associated Press)

INDIANAPOLIS, July 11 — The way he’s been swimming in recent months, Eric Shanteau figured he would eventually take down the American record in the 200-meter breaststroke.

But at just past 10 a.m. Saturday in a preliminary heat?

“That,” Shanteau said, “was definitely a surprise.”

Urged on by announcer Sam Kendricks, who riled a sleepy crowd at the Indiana University natatorium into a bit of a frenzy, Shanteau blazed through the first 100 in 1 minute, 01.90 seconds, and, sensing something special was going on, swam hard to the wall.

He finished in 2:08.43 seconds, going under Brendan Hansen’s 2006 mark of 2:08.50. That mark had stood as the world record until June, when Japan’s Kosuke Kitajima swam a 2:07.51 in Tokyo.

“Obviously, I was shooting for it, but not necessarily this morning,” Shanteau said. “It’s kind of funny that the first American record I would break comes in a preliminary swim.”

Shanteau, 25, who trains in Austin, Tex., can hardly believe how well this summer has gone.  Shanteau had surgery to remove a cancerous testicle shortly after the Summer Games in Beijing; he got back in the water to escape the stress of his fight with cancer. As many fellow Olympians vacationed and rested, Shanteau worked.

“I think I’ve made the best out of my situation,” Shanteau said. “My situation has been pretty s—— for the past two years. There’s definitely light at the end of the tunnel.”

Now, cancer-free and bulked up from hours in the weight room, Shanteau has qualified for the world championships in Rome in two events, the 100 breast and 200 individual medley, and he looks ready to add a third in the 200 breast final Saturday night.

He will also have the option of swimming in the 50 breast in Rome, though Shanteau said swimming four individual events might be too taxing.

“It’s a lot,” Shanteau said. “People see Michael [Phelps] doing 50 million events. We’re not all like Michael.”

For the moment, it’s great to be Eric Shanteau.

Shanteau’s parents are here watching, another bonus for the Georgia native. His father, Rick, found out he had terminal lung cancer about a year before Shanteau received his diagnosis. But unlike his son, Rick Shanteau did not have the option of surgery, or the hope of being cured.

“He’s here, two years after being diagnosed,” Shanteau said. “I think for the situation he’s in, and what he was given, you can’t ask for anything more.

“It’s everything,” Shanteau also said. “All aspects of my life are going very well right now.”

Phelps Trains, Improves

Michael Phelps worked out lightly Saturday morning, swimming about 4,000 yards. Phelps, who dropped out of the men’s 100 free with neck soreness, appeared to be in good shape.

“He said it’s not 100 percent, but it’s probably 90 percent,” his coach Bob Bowman said.

Top Qualifiers

Women’s 100 free: Dana Vollmer, 54.21; Amanda Weir, 54.25; Christine Magnuson, 54.45; Lacey Nymeyer, 54.52; Caitlin Geary, 54.60; Julia Smit, 54.91; Kara Lynn Joyce, 54.98; Kate Dwelley, 55.06

Women’s 200 breast: Keri Hehn, 2:26.05; Rebecca Soni, 2:26.73; Elizabeth Tinnon, 2:27.09; Ashley Wanland, 2:27.55; Sara Nicponski, 2:27.56; Megan Jendrick, 2:27.80; Elizabeth Smith, 2:28.50; Justine Mueller, 2:28.54

Men’s 200 breast: Eric Shanteau, 2:08.43; George Klein, 2:11.25; Scott Spann, 2:12.33; Robert Lovelace, 2:12.43; Jack Brown, 2:13.68; Bart Steninger, 2:14.22; Aaron Opell, 2:16.03; Nolan Koon, 2:16.03

Men’s 200 back: Tyler Clary, 1:55.37; Aaron Peirsol, 1:55.78; Ryan Lochte, 1:55.99; Matt Grevers, 1:57.04; Rexford Tullius, 1:57.28; David Russell, 1:58.00; Nick Thomas, 1:58.09; Timothy Johnson, 1:59.47

LOCAL NOTES: North Baltimore Aquatic Club’s Nick Thoman, 23, posted the seventh-fastest qualifying time in the 200 back heats; Austin Surhoff, 18, of NBAC qualified for Saturday night’s B final in 2:02.14; Virginia’s Daniel Johnson, 21, (2:04.14) and Rockville-Montgomery’s Andrew Relihan, 19, (2:04.28) made the C final. Rockville-Montgomery’s Eric Friedland, 19, made the C final in the 200 breast in 2:19.31; he will be joined by John Azar, 21, of the University of Virginia, who finished in 2:20.00. Katherine Radloff of the Arlington Aquatic Club posted the 18th best time in the 100 free heats (56.06) earning a spot in the C final. ]]> http://reachforthewall.com/2009/07/11/shanteau-gets-u-s-record-in-morning-swim/feed/ 0 http://reachforthewall.com/2009/07/10/swim/ http://reachforthewall.com/2009/07/10/swim/#comments Sat, 11 Jul 2009 02:15:54 +0000 Amy Shipley http://reachforthewall.com/?p=1346

Elizabeth Beisel, left, hugs Elizabeth Pelton after Beisel's win in to 200 backstroke at the U.S. swimming championships. Pelton finished second to earn her another berth in the world championships. (Darron Cummings, Associated Press)

Locals Results

U.S. swimming championships archives

INDIANAPOLIS, July 10 — North Baltimore Aquatic Club Coach Paul Yetter attempted to respond to a bystander’s congratulations, but he had difficulty saying anything at all. His words came out stripped of various syllables.
It was understandable: Yetter had just screamed himself hoarse for the third night this week.

His star pupil, Towson’s Elizabeth Pelton, 15, had just won her third silver medal at the U.S. swimming championships Friday night, her latest finish in the 200-meter backstroke ensuring that she would be considered Team USA’s hottest teen star entering the July 26-Aug. 2 world championships in Rome.

With her performances this week, Pelton earned the right to compete in four individual events in Rome, a distinction that, with one day of competition here remaining, only one other U.S. swimmer can claim.

That swimmer, you may have heard of him, is Michael Phelps.

“This team is kind of the ‘next generation,’.” Pelton said. “I think the next generation is starting to make [its] move. I’m really excited.”

Leading the generational shift is Pelton, who also claimed second in the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley earlier this week. Her finish in the 100 back gave her an additional world-team berth in the 50 backstroke, an event not raced here, raising her total of individual events to four.

“It’s always fun to see somebody break out like she’s broken out here,” said Mark Schubert, USA Swimming’s National Team Director. “She’s starting to swim like a veteran.”

Because the 200 medley and 100 back take place nearly back-to-back in Rome, it’s possible Pelton will compete in only three events, perhaps the trio of backstrokes. That likely will be sorted out in the coming days as the U.S. team begins its preparations here before departing for a U.S. training base in Italy on Tuesday.

In any case, it’s an impressive load for a swimmer whose previous biggest meet was last January’s Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Guam. In fact, she didn’t even think to pack a bag for Italy. A suitcase assembled by her brother arrived Friday, carried by the mother of another swimmer competing here this weekend.

In Guam, North Dakota’s Dagny Knutson, 17, had been the unequivocal star, winning seven gold medals. Elizabeth Beisel, 16, meantime, had emerged as a promising prospect years before, having made her international debut at the senior Pan Pac championships at age 13.

Both of those teens were more acclaimed up-and-comers entering this meet. Both have made the U.S. world team — Knutson qualifying for a 200 relay team spot — but neither has shined as brightly as Pelton.

“The meet in Guam, that’s where I kind of realized I could do pretty well at this meet,” Pelton said. “That’s kind of where the motivation comes from for this season.”

Beisel won the U.S. title in the 400 individual medley and Friday’s 200 back, outracing Pelton over the last 50 meters. Beisel finished in 2 minutes, 8.80 seconds. Pelton touched the wall in 2:09.19. Both of them finished ahead of American-record holder Margaret Hoelzer, 26, who finished third in 2:09.63.

Virginia swimmer Mei Christensen, 20, who has represented Curl-Burke Swim Club here, finished seventh in 2:12.28.

“It was really nerve-wracking,” Pelton said. “All of these races are nerve-wracking.”

Pelton, however, swam a smart race. Fifth after the first 50 meters, she made her move during the backstroke leg and swam steadily after.

“I didn’t really expect her to qualify in as many events as she did, but in the back of my mind I expected she would perform at a high level,” Yetter said. “She’s really, really cool, calm and confident. The credit goes to her family.”

Pelton uprooted her family for the sport in the summer of 2006. The Peltons had grown tired of a 100-mile round-trip commute to swim practices from their home in Fairfield, Conn. They realized they had to make a move to ensure Pelton and her brother Greg — who will swim next fall at Harvard — could get the training their talents warranted without wearing out the family.

Knowing the reputation for churning out young stars at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, the home club of Phelps and three-time Olympian Katie Hoff, the Pelton family put their house up for sale. Elizabeth Pelton, her mother Anne and three siblings moved to Towson.

But the family patriarch, Greg Pelton, a former collegiate swimmer who competed at the 1980 U.S. Olympic trials, stayed behind. He moved into a studio apartment in Manhattan, close to his job as a professor at Columbia University. He travels to Towson on weekends.

The Peltons have never regretted the move, Anne Pelton said during a recent interview, but in case there was any wavering, Elizabeth Pelton’s performance this week surely erased it.

“She definitely has the potential,” Beisel said, “to medal in the events she is going to swim.”

Nathan Adrian celebrates his win in men's 100 meter freestyle at the U.S. swimming championships. Adrian, 20, also won the 50 free Thursday. (Tom Strickland, Associated Press)

Locals Results

U.S. swimming championships archives

INDIANAPOLIS, July 10 — Nathan Adrian claimed his second sprint title of the week at the U.S. swimming championships Friday night, winning the men’s 100-meter freestyle final in 48.00 seconds.

Adrian’s time did not approach the American record in the event (47.51) held by Michael Phelps, who withdrew from the field Friday morning because of neck soreness.

Despite his early departure, Phelps ended the meet with victories in the 100 and 200 butterfly and 200 freestyle, with the possibility of competing in those events and all three relays at the world championships later this month in Rome.

Phelps’s premature exit opened the door for Adrian, who outraced David Walters of Yorktown, Va. Walters claimed second place in 48.17, and Garrett Weber-Gale claimed third in 48.19.

Adrian, 20, who also won the 50 free Thursday, emerged this week after finishing fourth in the 100 free at the U.S. Olympic trials last year. A pre-med student at the University of California, Adrian trained prior to last year’s Trials in Islamorada, Fla., with Olympic great Gary Hall Jr.

“I wouldn’t say I saw [this] coming, but it was what I wanted to do,” Adrian said. “It’s very exciting. This is the year after the Olympics. This is when a lot of people start stepping up and start establishing themselves as swimmers on an international level, and that was kind of my focus.”

Another Win for Lochte: Olympic star Ryan Lochte, 24, won the men’s 200 individual medley in 1 minute 54.56 seconds, adding to the U.S. title he had won in the 400 medley earlier in the week. Cancer-survivor Eric Shanteau, 25, earned his second world-team spot with his second-place finish in 1:56.00. Tyler Clary, 20, claimed third in 1:57.25.

Lochte was under world-record pace through 150 meters, but he fell short of Phelps’s record of 1:54.23.

“I just wanted to take it out smooth, but fast, and just hold on for dear life,” Lochte said.

In the women’s 200 fly, Kathleen Hersey, 19, got first in 2:06.44, topping Mary Descenza, 24, who finished second in 2:07.13.

Local Swimmers Shine: North Baltimore Aquatic Club’s Felicia Lee finished second in the B final of the women’s 200 fly in 2:10.56. Her teammate Kailey Morris claimed fifth in 2:12.68 and the University of Virginia’s Elizabeth Shaw tied for seventh in 2:13.24. NBAC’s Camryne Morris finished seventh in the C final of the event. In the B final of the men’s 200 individual medley, NBAC’s T.P. Patrick finished first in 2:01.80 and Austin Surhoff finished seventh in 2:02.87. In the C final, Bethesda’s Adam Meyer, who swims for SwimMAC Carolina, finished first in 2:01.03. In the C final of the 200 back, Curl-Burke swimmer Meredith Monroe finished third in 2:15.03.

Elizabeth Pelton, 15, could win her third world championship berth Friday night. (Toni L. Sandys, The Washington Post)

Phelps Pulls Out Of 100 Free

Locals Results

U.S. swimming championships archives

INDIANAPOLIS, July 10–Towson’s Elizabeth Pelton, 15, did not expect to make the world championship team in one event here at the U.S. swimming championships, let alone two.

By Friday night, it could be three.

Her performance in Friday’s morning heats of the women’s 200-meter backstroke gave her the second seed for Friday night’s final.

“I kind of like being under the radar,” she said.

She’s not anymore. Her finish in 2 minutes, 09.72 seconds trailed only Elizabeth Beisel, 16, who touched the wall in 2:09.36. Making things interesting will be Katie Riefenstahl, 19, of the University of Texas; she placed third in 2:09.98.

Curl-Burke’s Mei Christensen, 20, also will compete in the final; she drew the eighth seed with her finish in 2:12.98.

The top two finishers in the final will earn spots in the July 26-Aug. 2 world championships in Rome. Pelton is already ticketed for Italy in the 200 medley and the 100 back.

“It’s always fun to see somebody break out like she’s broken out here,” said Mark Schubert, USA Swimming’s National Team Director. “She’s starting to swim like a veteran. Swimming at the world championships can be an important part of that process.”

Because the world championship team will remain in town until departing Tuesday for Italy, Pelton has had a bit of scrambling to do. Her brother Greg, who will swim at Harvard this fall, packed her suitcase Friday, she said. The suitcase will be shuttled here by the mother of another athlete competing this weekend, Pelton said.

“I don’t really like to predict things,” Pelton said when asked why she hadn’t brought extra clothing. “I feel like that jinxes it.”

After the world championships, Pelton will beginning training under Bob Bowman, who coaches Michael Phelps, Katie Hoff and a few other elite athletes at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Pelton has trained under Paul Yetter since her family moved from Fairfield, Conn., but Yetter will assume an assistant coaching position at Auburn after these championships.

“I’m very excited about it,” Bowman said. “It will be really nice to take somebody at the start of her career. It’s a situation where we will have a long-term plan and just gradually take her along.”

Torres Out of 100 Free

Dara Torres, 42, said she would not compete in the 100 free Saturday since she clinched a spot on the world championship team with her victory Thursday in the 50 free. Torres said pushing off the wall taxes her arthritic left knee too much to risk competing in that event.

She will, however, swim in a time trial in the 50 butterfly Saturday in an attempt to set a new world record (she already holds the American record in the event). Torres could compete in the 50 fly event at the world championships. USA Swimming rules give 100 fly champion Christine Magnusson and second-place finisher Dana Vollmer first dibs, but if they decline to compete in the sprint, Torres could get the call.

Schubert Rails Against Suits

Schubert said the new high-tech suits that have proliferated in recent months likely cost some deserving U.S. athletes places on the world championship team.

The world swimming governing body (FINA) in May considered banning more than 100 of the most controversial suits, but then changed its mind and approved 400 suits for use this year.

“I think there are some athletes that are very loyal to their companies who may not have made changes because of that loyalty, and it cost them spots on the team,” Schubert said.

Schubert declined to elaborate, but he surely was referring to some of Speedo’s sponsored athletes. Besides Phelps, Speedo’s top athletes have not had great success here. One that has, Torres, wore a Jaked01 suit in her victory Thursday. Though Speedo was at the forefront of the suit technology last year, dozens of newer and increasingly performance-enhancing suits have since been released.

Speedo’s LZR, the suit of choice at last year’s Olympics, is now considered archaic.

“It would be unfortunate if it makes a difference in who the true world champion is,” Schubert said. “We want athleticism to determine the world champion. There certainly is a risk.”

Schubert also said: “The coaching community and swimming community would like us to go back to the 2007 generation of suits. That’s been the proposal; that’s what FINA promised in January. But they also promised something in May that they didn’t deliver on … I’ve been disappointed.”

Sutton Shines in 800; Ziegler, Hoff, Don’t Swim

Mission Viejo’s Chloe Sutton, 17, qualified first in the women’s 800 heats, which went off without defending world champion Kate Ziegler or Hoff in the field. Sutton, who trained for two years with Ziegler at the McLean-based Fish, finished in 8:29.55.

Ziegler’s hopes of defending her title were erased by a bout with the flu that prevented her from traveling here. Hoff also did not compete in the 800 and she has pulled out of the 100 Saturday as well. A three-time medal winner in Beijing, Hoff finished sixth in the 400 here and eighth in the 200, then described this past year as the hardest of her life.

“I think everybody can have a down year over a long career,” Schubert said. “She’s been a person on top of the national level since she was 14 years old … I’m not concerned; I’m disappointed for her because I know she wanted to be on this team.”

Local Results

NBAC’s Brennan Morris, 18, qualified for the 1,500 final, earning the fourth seed in 15:17.39. Besides Brennan, Pelton and Christensen, there were no other local finalists, but there were a host of top-20 placements: NBAC’s Andrew Cosgarea, 16, finished 13th in 15:32.43 and George Mason grad Thomas Koucheravy, 24, 14th in 15:32.56.  Curl-Burke’s Meredith Monroe, 20, finished 20th in the 200 back in 2:15.61; NBAC’s Austin Surhoff, 18, and T.P. Patrick made the B final of the 200 individual medley, Surhoff coming home in 2:03.46 and Patrick in 2:03.94. In the women’s 200 fly, NBAC’s Lee, Kailey Morris, 21, and Virginia’s Elizabeth Shaw, 20, all qualified for the B final. Lee finished in 2:12.49; Morris, 2:13.94, and Shaw, 2:13.97.

Michael Phelps pulled out of the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. swimming championships Friday morning. (Michael Conroy, Associated Press)

INDIANAPOLIS, July 10—Michael Phelps pulled out of the 100-meter freestyle Friday morning because of a stiff neck, ending his participation in the U.S. swimming championships.

Phelps, who set a world record in the 100 butterfly just hours before on Thursday night, said he woke up with neck pain Thursday morning. He said he was able to compete in the fly event because he doesn’t have to turn his neck to execute that stroke.

Though the pain had worsened Friday morning, Phelps said he wanted to give the 100 heats a try but decided to withdraw on the advice of his coach, Bob Bowman, and a USA Swimming doctor who advised him not to risk injury.

“I came in this morning … hopped in the water and I literally could barely move my neck to breathe,” Phelps said. “We decided it was probably better not to risk anything over the next two weeks.”

Said Bowman: “I made the call.”

Phelps, 24, won the 100 and 200 fly events here and the 200 freestyle, meaning he will compete in all three at the late-July world championships in Rome. He also is eligible for slots on all three relay teams, meaning he could try for as many as six gold medals.

Bowman said Phelps would not have swum the 100 free at the world championships even if he had competed here and made the team because it conflicts with the 200 fly, one of his strongest events.

“The 200 fly, that’s a big race, a race we don’t want to give up,” Bowman said. “We were going to swim the 200 no matter what.”

Phelps, however, hoped to test out an event that has been a grand experiment for him this summer. Phelps had competed in the 100 free previously but never focused on it. Using a new straight-arm freestyle stroke designed for speed and power, Phelps still plans to make the 100 free the next event in which he is dominant, he said.

“This doesn’t effect the long-term plan,” Bowman said.

He said he received treatment on the neck before and after Thursday night’s race and early Friday morning.

“I’ll keep going,” he said. “There will be many more races in the 100 free.”

Michael Phelps won the 100 fly Thursday night in a world-record time of 50.22 seconds. (Darron Cummings, Associated Press)

Locals Results

U.S. swimming championships archives

INDIANAPOLIS, July 9 — There has been one swimmer, and only one, who has been able to lord over Michael Phelps, and that’s a sweet old guy from Maine by the name of Ian Crocker. The now-retired Crocker, soft spoken and into his guitar, hated being Phelps’s nemesis, the bad guy.

But that’s exactly what he became by virtue of the fact he could kick Phelps’s rear, quite routinely, in one event, the 100-meter butterfly. Phelps taped Crocker’s picture on his bedroom wall for motivation six years ago, after Crocker set the 100 fly world record.

Crocker had held the record since — until Thursday, that is.

Phelps finally demolished the mark at the U.S. swimming championships by winning the 100 fly final in 50.22 seconds — 0.18 better than the 50.40 that has stood up since Crocker last set the record in 2005.

“It was big,” Phelps, 24, said. “It was something I really, really wanted to accomplish. Crock and I had a lot of great history, a lot of great races. ….. I’ve wanted that record ever since he took it at the 2003 worlds.”

The performance gave Phelps his first world record since the Beijing Olympics and upped his total of individual world records to five (he also holds world marks in the 200 freestyle, 200 fly, 200 individual medley and 400 individual medley). And it proved that he has not only recovered from a long post-Olympic break, but also that he is getting back into the form that helped him win eight golds in Beijing.

“At the Olympics, I was in the best shape of my life,” Phelps said. “To have the preparation I’ve had and do a best time [here] is pretty cool.”

Phelps’s chase may have seemed like an eternity to him, but for five-time Olympian Dara Torres, six years represents just a tiny blip in a career that spans no fewer than 28 U.S. championships. Torres, 42, took another unprecedented step and shook the usual fist at middle age, winning her 16th national title in the 50 free in 24.43 seconds.

“I guess I don’t think about the age thing,” Torres said, “until I get out of the pool and start limping.”

Thursday, in fact, Torres practically limped into the pool. Bothered by an arthritic knee that will require surgery after the world championships, which begin later this month in Rome — and which she qualified for with the victory — Torres got a slow start off the blocks and did not come close to her American record of 24.07.

She did, however, blow away the field over the last half of the sprint. During the race, “the adrenaline goes and you don’t really think about” the pain, Torres said. Amanda Weir finished second in 24.70 and Lara Jackson came in third in 24.71.

“My start was horrible,” Torres said. “I haven’t practiced starts. The one time I practiced my starts, I had to get my knee drained it swelled up so much. ….. It’s a great feeling to be able to go out of here and still race, but that time won’t medal at the world championships.”

Torres has retired after so many Olympic Games — only to return before the next — that she has competed in just one previous world championships, the 1986 event in Madrid. There, she won a silver medal in the 400 freestyle relay.

In Beijing last summer, as Torres finished second in the 50 free and set the current American record, Phelps set — or helped set — world records in seven of his eight events. The only mark he missed came in the 100 fly, a race he nearly lost to Serbia’s Milorad Cavic.

On Thursday, he easily beat Tyler McGill of Auburn University, who finished second in 51.06 and became the sixth-fastest man ever in the event . Backstroke specialist Aaron Peirsol claimed third in 51.30 seconds — making him the 11th-fastest man ever.

Phelps, of course, is now first.

After Crocker beat Phelps by 1.25 seconds in the event at the 2005 world championships in Montreal, Phelps told his coach Bob Bowman he wanted to “put a bag over his head.” Bowman told Phelps, he recalled, that he wanted to do the same.

“In the race Ian broke that record, that was the worst Michael had ever been beaten,” Bowman said. “We both remember that. ….. That is an amazing record. That’s why it stood the test of time.”

Phelps credits his emphasis on speed events since he returned to the pool six months ago for allowing him to approach what had been such an elusive mark. Phelps said he has never trained the 100 fly harder, and he’s also undertaken a far more rigorous weight-training regimen designed to build the upper-body strength he needs in sprint events.

“It’s killed my body,” he said. “There are days I can’t pick anything up.”

Phelps’s previous best in the event was the 50.48 he swam a couple of weeks ago in Montreal.

“Everything I’ve done has been something I’ve wanted to do, and something I’ve dreamed of,” Phelps said. “I would have liked to have gone eight for eight in Beijing, eight records and eight races. It feels good to have this one here.”