Ryan Lochte held off Aaron Peirsol in a star-studded 200m backstroke at the US swimming championships on Saturday as Michael Phelps was relegated to fourth.
In a race that featured five of the six-fastest performers ever in the event, 2008 Olympic champion Lochte led from start to finish to win in 1 minute, 55.58 seconds.
Peirsol, who set the world record in winning the world title in Rome last year, was second in 1 minute, 56.28 seconds and Tyler Clary was third in 1 minute, 56.36 seconds.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I just went out as fast as I could and then held on for dear life,” Lochte said. “I could see everyone just starting to catch me in the last 50, and I was like: ‘Great, this is going to be ugly.’”
“He swam a great race,” Peirsol said. “He called our bluff.”
Lochte claimed his third victory of the meet after winning the 400m individual medley and notching a 200m medley win that marked his first triumph over Phelps in the event at a major championship.
Phelps, owner of 14 Olympic gold medals, said he was just happy to have a chance to put his backstroke to the test against the likes of Lochte and Peirsol.
Although he came out of the pool saying “I don’t want to do that event ever again,” Phelps said he was, in fact, satisfied with his time of 1 minute, 56.98 seconds.
“I did what I wanted to do,” said Phelps, adding he had targeted a time under 1 minute, 57 seconds.
Phelps again noted that he was paying the price for time off training. Despite his disappointment with his times, he won the 200m freestyle and both the 100m and 200m butterfly.
“I didn’t expect to leave happy,” Phelps said of his patchy preparation. “I’m someone who always wants it to be perfect ... I was setting myself up to not be perfect this week.”
Lochte said he has encountered some hiccups in his training, but was happy with a meet in which he also finished runner-up in the 100m and 200m freestyle.
The meet determined the US team for the Pan Pacific Championships, which start in the same pool on Aug. 18. Times from the two meets will determine the US team for the World Championships next year.
Lochte said he expected to swim faster at the Pan Pacifics, where the charter nations of the US, Australia, Japan and Canada will do battle, along with a scattering of swimmers from other nations.
“In two more weeks, I’m going to be a lot faster,” Lochte said.
Amanda Beard, who gave birth to son Blaise 11 months ago, seemed stunned to find herself eligible for the Pan Pacifics after finishing second to Rebecca Soni in the 200m breaststroke.
Soni cruised home in 2 minutes, 21.60 seconds, while Beard, a former world record holder and Olympic champion, was second, almost five seconds adrift in 2 minutes, 26.50 seconds.
“I’m emotional because I didn’t expect to have to make any decision this week,” said Beard, who wept as she held her baby in her arms.
“I’ve never been away from him for more than three hours at a time,” she added, but with the encouragement of her husband she decided she would take the plunge and compete at the Pan Pacifics.
Jessica Hardy also secured her spot on the team with a runner-up finish — behind Dana Vollmer in the 100m freestyle.
Vollmer had already qualified for Pan Pacifics, but was delighted to get a win in 53.94 seconds after runner-up finishes in the 200m freestyle and 100m butterfly.
Hardy, swimming in her biggest meeting since serving a one-year doping ban that ended in August last year, had disappointing finishes on Thursday in the 100m breaststroke and the 50m freestyle.
“I’m relieved it went well,” said Hardy, who notched a personal best 54.14 seconds.
Eric Shanteau won the 200m breaststroke in 2 minutes, 10.09 seconds, with Scott Spann second in 2 minutes, 12.26 seconds.
Chloe Sutton, already qualified for the Pan Pacifics open water competition, booked her berth in the pool with a victory in the 800m freestyle in a personal best time of 8 minutes, 24.77 seconds.
Chad La Tourette won the 1,500m freestyle in 14 minutes, 55.39 seconds, with Peter Vanderkaay second in 15 minutes, 3.86 seconds.
The men’s 50m freestyle results were finally made official as Josh Schneider, who touched level second with Cullen Jones in the final on Thursday, agreed to waive his second-place finish.
He had swum the final as he appealed the ruling that he was ineligible because he failed to show up for an earlier race without officially scratching.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS