By Charean Williams, McClatchy Newspapers –
OMAHA, Neb. — Thirty-seven swimmers have secured spots on the U.S. Olympic swim team. Three of them will swim a combined 22 events.
Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin will dominate NBC’s coverage back home later this month. Phelps will swim eight events, the same as in Beijing, after winning the 100-meter butterfly at the U.S. trials on Sunday. Lochte finished third in the 100 fly, so he will swim seven events in London. Franklin, 17, won the 200 back Sunday, giving her seven events in her first Olympics.
While Phelps has been there, won that, with his record eight gold medals in the 2008 Games, no woman ever has swam more than six events. Natalie Coughlin and Katie Hoff both competed in six events in 2008, and Shirley Babashoff swam in six in 1976.
“I can’t believe I have seven events,” Franklin said. “It’s so overwhelming, but so exciting at the same time. I’m going to work as hard as I can the next three weeks to really focus on the small things and hopefully be better in London.”
Franklin is poised to replace Coughlin as the face of women’s swimming. She will swim the 100 and 200 backstrokes, the 100 and 200 freestyles and all three relays in London.
Franklin’s 2:06.12 in the 200 back was the ninth-best time ever and the best in the world this year, topping Russia’s Anastasia Zueva (2:06.59) and Australia’s Belinda Hocking (2:06.68). It was close to the U.S. Open and trials record of 2:06.09 set by Margaret Hoelzer in 2008. But it was slower than the American record of 2:05.10 Franklin set last summer in Shanghai.
“The most exciting thing is we walk out of this Olympic trials with phase one of our plan in the books,” said Todd Schmitz, Franklin’s coach with the Colorado Stars swim team. “We know that we can dial in a lot of things that weren’t necessarily hitting 100 percent this week. …I truly feel that we’ll be more relaxed in London, because the work is done.”
Phelps will swim the same program he swam in London after winning the 100 fly, 200 IM, 200 free and 200 fly, while finishing second to Lochte in the 400 IM. On Sunday, he won the 100 fly in 51.14, the fastest time in the world this year.
“It shows I can do an event program like this at a high level again,” Phelps said. “I think we were struggling over the last couple of years with doing one event at this level … hopefully we’ll build off this.”
Tyler McGill was second to Phelps in 51.32, with Lochte third in 51.65. Lochte said it would not have mattered if he had been second: He would have scratched the event in London to avoid the exhausting triple swim he endured Saturday in winning the 200 back, finishing second in the 200 IM and qualifying for the 100 fly final.
“I have no regrets,” Lochte said. “This meet was a training meet. (Sunday) morning I had a practice. [Saturday night] was everything I had in those three swims. I wanted to go out at the end of this meet knowing there is so much left. I haven’t fully rested yet, so I know come London, I’ll have that full taper, and I’ll be fully rested, and hopefully I’ll be a lot faster.”
BRIEFLY
Katie Ladecky’s victory in the 800 free Sunday night opened a spot on the National Youth Team. Julia Anderson accepted the spot Sunday night for non-Olympic qualifiers who are 18 or under. Anderson will swim the 200 free and the 4×200 free relay for Team USA in the 2012 Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Honolulu from Aug. 23-26.
Dara Torres, 45, can become the first American swimmer to make six Olympic teams. She qualified for Monday night’s 50 free final, with the third-best semifinal time (24.80).
