PHELPS WINS REMATCH AND FRANKLIN MAKES HER MARK

OMAHA, Neb. – Michael Phelps won round 2 against Ryan Lochte in the men’s 200m free, and Missy Franklin set an American record in the women’s 100m backstroke Wednesday at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials.

Both Phelps and Franklin earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team for their efforts. Also securing trips to London were Breeja Larson with a win in the women’s 100m breaststroke, Matt Grevers with a win in the men’s 100m backstroke, and Ricky Berens and Conor Dwyer with third- and fourth-place finishes in the men’s 200m free.

Finishing second in finals Wednesday were Lochte in the men’s 200m free, Rachel Bootsma in the women’s 100m back, Nick Thoman in the men’s 100m back and Rebecca Soni in the women’s 100m breast. Lochte qualified for the team after winning the 400m IM on the first night of finals. The other second-place finishers from Wednesday will likely be added to the team pending swimmers qualifying in multiple events.

The fifth- and sixth-place finishers in the men’s 200m free – Matt McLean and Charlie Houchin – may also be added to the team pending swimmers qualifying in multiple events.

Men’s 200m Free
Wednesday’s finals featured another marquee match-up between Phelps and Lochte in the men’s 200m freestyle. On the first night of finals, Lochte came out on top with a win in the 400m IM. This time it would be Phelps, but by the closest of margins.

Phelps jumped out ahead of the Lochte and the rest of the field from the start, but Lochte stuck right at his shoulders the whole way. At the 100-meter mark, Phelps flipped with a .06-second lead. His margin slipped to five-hundredths of a second at the third and final turn, and Lochte momentarily took the lead coming off the wall.

The two went stroke for stroke down the homestretch, with Phelps sneaking his hand on the wall first, touching in 1:45.70. Lochte was second in 1:45.75, followed by Berens in 1:46.56, Dwyer in 1:46.64, McLean in 1:46.78 and Houchin in 1:46.88.

With their swims, Phelps and Lochte turned in the third- and fourth-fastest times in the world this year.
“Obviously it’s been a while (since I beat Lochte),” Phelps said. “It felt better, but there are still some things I can improve on, especially the turns. I got crushed on the wall. I tried to sort of use more speed than anything else. It’s OK, but there are still some things I can work on.”

Lochte congratulated Phelps on a great race.

“Any time you go up on the block and race other U.S. swimmers, it’s going to be a race,” Lochte said.

“You aren’t going to go out there and be by yourself. It was a good race. I’m happy with my time, but hopefully in London I’ll be a lot faster.”

Women’s 100m Back
Franklin overcame a slow start in the women’s 100m backstroke with a strong back half, surging ahead of the field in the final 35-40 meters for the win in 58.85. Her time was an American record. Bootsma finished a little more than a half-second behind in 59.49.

Franklin’s performance was the fastest in the world this year.

“The last 50 is my specialty,” Franklin said. “I love coming home and seeing those rings at the bottom of the jumbotron. It really gets me going.”

Natalie Coughlin, the former American record-holder and two-time defending Olympic champ in the 100m back was ahead of the pack at the 50-meter mark, but faded to third in 1:00.06.

“It’s not exactly what I was hoping for, but coming into this I did everything I needed to do,” Coughlin said. “I’m a little bummed, but not nearly as bummed as everyone expects me to be. I’m proud of what I’ve done in the 100 back, and now it’s time for Missy and Rachel.”

Men’s 100m Back
Grevers was in control of the men’s 100m back the whole way, leading from start to finish and leaving everyone else racing for second place. His time of 52.08 was the fastest time in the world this year. Finishing second was Thoman, whose time of 52.86 is now the third-fastest time in the world.

“I’m so excited,” Grevers said. “Ryan Lochte, Michael Phelps – they know they are going to make it, but I didn’t. So I’m really pumped up about that right now.”

Women’s 100m Breast
There was an upset in the women’s 100m breaststroke with Breeja Larson finishing first ahead of defending world champion Rebecca Soni by seven-hundredths of a second, 1:05.92 to 1:05.99.

Soni’s race was textbook Soni, but Larson moved up on the field in the final 20 meters and found a way to get her hands on the wall first.

It was Larson’s first Olympic Trials, and she said it was the first time she’s ever tapered for a long course meet, so she didn’t know what to expect.

“About an hour before the race, my adrenaline was just really rushing through me, so I just went for it,” Larson said.

Soni was relieved to put herself in a spot to make the team.

“I was pretty relaxed on the blocks beforehand,” she said. “It knew it was going to hurt tonight.”

Semifinals
The top eight swimmers from tonight’s semifinals advance to tomorrow night’s finals.

Allison Schmitt turned in perhaps the top semifinal swim in the women’s 200m free, qualifying first and setting an Olympic Trials meet record with a time of 1:55.59. Also qualifying first in tonight’s semifinals were Bobby Bollier in the men’s 200m fly (1:56.06) and Caitlin Leverenz in the women’s 200m IM (2:10.51).

The 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials continues Thursday with prelims and semifinals of the men’s 100m freestyle, women’s 200m butterfly and men’s 200m breaststroke. Finals will be contested in the women’s 200m free, men’s 200m fly and women’s 200m IM.

For more information about the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, including complete results, go to www.usaswimming.org/trials . Also, follow all the action from Trials on your mobile device with DeckPass Plus, available now for your iPad, iPhone or Android.