FRANKLIN AND LOCHTE ARE GOLDEN IN MINNESOTA

11/13/2010

Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) won the 50y free and 100y back Saturday night on the second day of competition at the Minnesota Grand Prix. Franklin’s medal count in Minneapolis is now at four individual golds with just one day of competition remaining. The Minnesota Grand Prix is the first stop of the seven-meet 2010-2011 USA Swimming Grand Prix Series which awards the top swimmer of the series a $20,000 purse.
 
Franklin’s first win of the night came in the 50y free with a time of 22.28. Lia Neal (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was second in 22.56 and Erika Erndl (Naples, Fla.) placed third in 22.81. Franklin earned her second gold medal with a win in the 100y back. The 15-year-old Franklin won the event in 52.47, finishing more than a second ahead of National Teamer Elizabeth Pelton (Baltimore, Md.), who was second in 53.87. Melanie Klaren of Mission Viejo finished third with a time of 54.27.
 
Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) picked up his first gold medal of the Grand Prix Series with a win in the men’s 100y back. The Olympic gold medalist edged out long course National Champion David Plummer (Oklahoma City, Okla.) to win the race in 46.42. Plummer finished in 46.72 and Ricky Berens (Charlotte, N.C.) was third in 47.34.
 
Tunisian Olympic gold medalist Ous Mellouli had an exceptionally strong swim Saturday night in the men’s 500y free. Mellouli dominated the race from start to finish, picking up the gold in 4:11.15. His time marks him as the 9th fastest all-time performer in the event. Trojan Swim Club’s Mads Glaesner was second in 4:16.73 and Michael Klueh (Evansville, Ind.) was third in 4:17.42.
 
Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.) also took home a gold medal with a strong performance in the 500y free. Sutton won the race in 4:38.79. University of Minnesota swimmers Ashley Steenvoorden and Hannah Whitehead placed second and third, respectively, Steenvoorden’s time was 4:41.16 and Whitehead finished in 4:43.88.
 
In the men’s 200y fly, Berens swam a strong final 50 meters to win the race with a time of 1:45.13 earning him Olympian his third gold medal of the meet. Todd Patrick (St. Louis, Mo.) placed second in 1:45.52 and City of Plano Swim Team’s Seth Stubblefield was third in 1:46.67.
 
Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill.) earned his second gold medal of the meet with a win in the men’s 200y breast. He dominated the field to win in 1:54.37. City of Plano Swim Team’s William Licon was second in 2:00.43 and University of Minnesota’s Ivan Gutesa was third in 2:02.03.
 
In other races, Great Britain’s Simon Burnett won the men’s 50y free with a time of 19.52. Club Wolverine’s Robert Savulich was second in 19.85 and Lochte was third in 19.94. In the women’s 200y fly, Kelly Nelson of the Nittany Lions won the event with a time of 1:56.14. University of Minnesota’s Molly Belk placed second in 1:57.49 and Kaela Anderson of the University of Minnesota was third with a time of 2:00.31.
 
The Minnesota Grand Prix concludes Sunday with five events. The competition will include prelims and finals in the women’s and men’s 1650y free, 200y IM, 200y back, and 100y free. The finals session will also feature the 400y medley relay. Prelims begin at 9 a.m. CT and finals start at 5 p.m. CT. Race footage from the meet will be broadcast LIVE throughout the weekend on www.swimnetwork.com. For a complete schedule of events and results, go to usaswimming.org/grandprix.