The fireworks came early on Monday at the US Olympic swimming trials, thanks to back-to-back backstroke world records for Hayley McGregory and Natalie Coughlin in the preliminaries.
No such sparks flew in the finals, when the serious business of booking berths for the Beijing Games continued with victories for Katie Hoff in the women’s 400m freestyle, Brendan Hansen in the men’s 100m breaststroke, and Christine Magnuson in the women’s 100m butterfly.
Hoff had already punched her ticket to China with a world record-setting victory in the 400m individual medley on Sunday.
PHOTO: AFP
She won the 400m free in four minutes, 02.32 seconds, with 1,500m freestyle world record-holder Kate Ziegler qualifying for a spot with the runner-up finish in 4:03.92.
Magnuson clocked 58.11 seconds to beat Elaine Breeden by one-tenth of a second.
Hansen, who came within a hair’s breadth of bettering his world record in the 100m breaststroke semi-finals on Sunday, was clearly disappointed not to improve the mark in the final.
But upon reflection, he said he would be happy to save such heroics for Beijing.
“It just wasn’t on the cards tonight,” Hansen said of a record. “That’s OK for me because I’m going to get dealt a whole new hand in Beijing.”
He admitted his desire to secure his spot on the team had made him nervous.
“When I’m nervous, I get out of my rhythm,” he said. “Last night, I felt like I used all my strength. Tonight, I feel like I bench pressed the 100m breaststroke.”
McGregory and Coughlin had nothing to lose in the women’s 100m backstroke heats, and it showed.
A few moments after McGregory clocked 59.15 seconds to seize Coughlin’s 100m backstroke world record in the penultimate heat of the event, Coughlin ripped off a time of 59.03 in the final heat to regain the standard.
“I was planning on going a lot easier this morning,” said Coughlin, 25. “But it gave me motivation to go a little faster than I was planning. The original goal was just to make the top 16 and conserve, but I didn’t want her to have it for long!”
McGregory emerged from the evening semi-finals with the top time of 59.48, with Coughlin second-quickest in 59.74.
Michael Phelps, fresh off his 400m individual medley world record on Sunday and celebrating his 23rd birthday, settled for the second-fastest time in the 200m freestyle semi-finals behind Ryan Lochte, the man who pushed him to the brink in the medley.
“I’m happy with it,” Phelps said of his 1:45.64, barely behind Lochte’s 1:45.61. “I wanted to go out in 1:45, I’m happy with the split and that sets me up for a pretty good one tomorrow.”
Phelps, who owns the world recored of 1:43.86, said he was focusing less on records than on his task of qualifying in the events he needs to give him a shot at Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals at one Games in Beijing.
“I’m getting a good feel for my stroke,” Phelps said. “I’m thinking about what I have to focus on. I have the [200m] butterfly tomorrow morning and hopefully I’ll have a strong [200 free] final tomorrow night.”
World record-holder Aaron Peirsol also professed himself happy with the second-fastest semi-final time in the men’s 100m backstroke of 53.26 seconds.
“It’s trials, I want to build into swims, take it step by step,” he said, although his attention was certainly caught when he saw Randall Bal win the second semi in 53.09.
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