"It was very humbling to be in a heat like that," said Peirsol, who finished second to Krayzelburg in the 200m back at Sydney. "This heat was absolutely spectacular. I tried to stay pretty calm. I tried to remember I've been working for this moment the last four years."
While Krayzelburg didn't win, he was clearly relieved to be the runner-up. The winner of three gold medals in Sydney, he has struggled with shoulder problems since then and conceded that he's still swimming in pain.
After lunging at the end to beat out Marshall, Krayzelburg pumped a fist in the air. He then looked over at Peirsol, who gave a thumbs-up.
"It was a mighty close race. This had to be maybe the greatest race ever with all the experience," Krayzelburg said. "My shoulder is quite a bit sore."
Coughlin, who failed to make the team at the 2000 trials, bounced back from that disappointment to win easily at 59.85. She's the only woman to break the 1-minute barrier in the 100m back, doing it for the third time, but fell short of her 2-year-old world record of 59.58.
It didn't matter. Coughlin emerged from the water with a big smile, waving to the crowd and hugging runner-up Haley Cope, who finished with a time of 1:01.24.
"It is very much a relief," Coughlin said. "I knew it was in me. It was just about getting it done. Now I can relax and enjoy the rest of the meet."
Beard, who has won four medals at the last two Olympics, will get a chance to add to her haul at Athens. She definitely earned this trip, winning the 100 breaststroke in 1:07.64. Kirk was right behind in 1:07.69.
"It's definitely as exciting as the first two," said Beard, a teenage sensation at the 1996 Atlanta Games. "You never get used to this feeling."
Like Phelps, Beard pulled double duty during the evening session. She came back after her breaststroke victory to lead semifinal qualifying in the 200 IM at 2:12.02.
"It's fun," Beard said. "I train my body hard to do stuff like this. I had a lot of adrenaline that took me right through my IM."
In the women's 200m free, US record-holder Lindsey Benko advanced to Saturday's final with the top time of 1:59.36 in the semis.
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