TEAM USA WINS 5 GOLDS ON FIRST NIGHT OF PAN PACS

IRVINE, Calif. – The United States won 13 medals – five gold, four silver and four bronze – and set two meet records Wednesday on the first night of competition at the Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships.

The USA leads the field in both medal count and team scoring (107 points). Australia has eight medals overall and is second in the team scoring (76 points). Brazil is third in the medal count with two medals overall (a gold and silver), but Japan is third in the team scoring with 46 points.

Allison Schmitt won the first gold and set the first meet record for Team USA Wednesday, taking the women’s 200m freestyle in 1:56.10. Veteran Aaron Peirsol set the second meet record, finishing first in the men’s 100m backstroke in 53.31.

Other gold medalists for the U.S. Wednesday were Ryan Lochte in the men’s 200m free, Michael Phelps in the men’s 200m butterfly and Kate Ziegler in the women’s 800m free.

Schmitt broke the meet record twice Wednesday, qualifying as the top seed in prelims in 1:56.84, then breaking that record again in finals. The former record stood at 1:57.48, set by Costa Rica’s Claudia Poll in 1997.

Teammate Morgan Scroggy also swam faster than the former meet record in this morning’s prelims, turning in a time of 1:57.27. Scroggy won silver behind Schmitt tonight in 1:57.13, while Australia’s Blair Evans was third in1:57.27.

USA’s Dana Vollmer finished ninth overall in 1:56.47, and became the third-fastest swimmer in the world this year, behind Italy’s Federica Pellegrini and Schmitt. Vollmer finished this morning’s prelims as the third seed overall. Because Pan Pac rules allow only two swimmers per country in the “A” final, Vollmer was relegated to the “B” final.

Peirsol found himself in a similar position after this morning’s prelims of the men’s 100m backstroke, qualifying as the third seed. He, too, would have been stuck in the “B” finals if teammate Ryan Lochte, who qualified as the second seed, hadn’t scratched from tonight’s finals to concentrate on the 200m free.

Peirsol made the most of the opportunity, surging ahead of the field down the homestretch to break the former meet record – which he set in 2006 – by a hundredth of a second. Japan’s Junya Koga was second in 53.63, while Australia’s Ashley Delaney was third in 53.67.

Peirsol’s teammate David Plummer was fifth in 53.80, while Nick Thoman finished ninth overall in 53.66.

“I should start off by thanking Ryan Lochte,” Peirsol said. “He didn’t do it for me, but I certainly appreciated it.

“This morning was a bit of a wake-up call for me. I made sure tonight I was prepared. It was a wonderful race, very tight. I built into that first 50 and just tried to hold on.”

With just the men’s 200m free to concentrate on, Lochte, too, made the most of the opportunity, touching with the fastest time in the world this year in 1:45.30. Korea’s Tae Hwan Park had a slight lead over Lochte at the 100-meter mark, but Lochte took control on the third 50 and built about a body-length lead heading into the finish.
Park was second in 1:46.27, while Team USA’s Peter Vanderkaay was third in 1:46.65. American Ricky Berens was ninth overall in 1:47.45.

“The second 50, I saw (Park), and I knew if I was even with him at the 100, I could take it,” Lochte said. “It felt good. I’ve done the training, and I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Phelps kept doing what he’s been doing for a long time, namely, winning the men’s 200m butterfly. His time of 1:54.11 was the fastest time in the world this year and was more than a half-second ahead of Australia’s Nick D’Arcy, who finished second in 1:54.73. Teammate Tyler Clary was seventh in 1:56.83, while Mark Dylla finished 13th overall in 1:58.23.

Phelps led the race from start to finish, but afterwards said it was painful.

“I was hurting coming home,” Phelps said. “The last 15 meters, I was like, ‘Please get to the wall.’ Overall it was OK, I just think the fitness level is not there.”

Kate Ziegler put some distance between her and the rest of the field in the second half of the women’s 800m free, winning in 8:21.59. Her performance was the second-fastest in the world this year. Teammate Chloe Sutton took silver in 8:24.51, while Australia’s Katie Goldman was third in 8:26.38.

“I think this is the first time I’ve ever negative split a race before,” Ziegler said. “Not that I was trying to do that, but it worked, and I’m really happy with the result.”

Also winning medals for Team USA Thursday were Christine Magnuson with a bronze in the women’s 50m butterfly (26.33), Natalie Coughlin with a bronze in the women’s 100m backstroke (59.70), Teresa Crippen with a silver in the women’s 200m butterfly (2:06.93), Kathleen Hersey with a bronze in the women’s 200m fly (2:07.27) and Chad LaTourette with a silver in the men’s 1500m free (14:54.48).

Other Americans swimming in tonight’s finals and “B” finals included Jessica Hardy, who finished fifth in the women’s 50m fly (26.52); Ariana Kukors, who finished 12th in the women’s 50m fly (27.52); Cullen Jones, who finished fifth in the men’s 50m fly (23.50); Tim Phillips who finished seventh in the men’s 50 fly (23.92); Tyler McGill, who finished 11th in the men’s 50m fly (24.09); Missy Franklin, who finished fourth in the women’s 100m back (1:00.16); Elizabeth Pelton, who finished ninth in the women’s 100m back (1:00.15); Mary Mohler, who finished ninth in the women’s 200m fly (2:09.31); and Sean Ryan, who finished fourth in the men’s 1500m free (15:06.34).

The Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Championships continues Thursday with prelims and finals of the women’s and men’s 100m free, 100m breast, 400m IM and 50m backstroke. Finals of the men’s and women’s 800m free relay will also be contested. Click here to see complete results.