Beijing Olympic Games

Expect 1-2 finish for Hoff, Zeigler in Beijing

By Janet Evans, Yahoo! Sports

Women’s 200 backstroke: I must admit that 2004 Olympic veteran Margaret Hoelzer’s performances in both the preliminaries and semifinals of the women’s 200-meter backstroke had me both puzzled and concerned. After qualifying for the 2008 Olympic team in the 100 backstroke, I figured that the 200 backstroke – considered to be her best event – would be hers to lose. But Hoelzer was less than impressive in the two 200-meter swims leading up to this evening, and prior to this race, it seemed that Hoelzer could lose her position as our country’s best 200 backstroker to either Elizabeth Beisel or Hayley McGregory, the top two finishers going into Saturday’s final. But Hoelzer retained her spot in spectacular fashion and put an exclamation point on it with a new world record time of 2:06.09. Beisel, the 15-year-old who is having an incredible meet, finished second in a blazing 2:06.92, a time that was under Hoelzer’s old American mark of 2:07.16 and is a full four seconds under her best time prior to this competition. Finishing a heartbreaking third was McGregory. This is the fourth third-place finish in her Olympic trials career.

Women’s 800 freestyle: Katie Hoff dominated this race from the 400-meter mark on. Pulling away from the field at the beginning of the fifth 100, Hoff opened up a substantial lead that saw her touch the wall in 8:20.81, nearly five seconds ahead of Kate Ziegler’s second-place time of 8:25.38. It was the fifth victory for Hoff in Omaha and was her 14th race of the competition! Hoff has now qualified for the Olympic team in three freestyle races: the 200, 400 and 800. Along with the 200 and 400 IM and 4×200 freestyle relay, Hoff will have the chance to win six medals in Beijing. As for Ziegler, her second-place time came as a surprise to me. After her outstanding 4:03.92 in the 400 freestyle, I had expected her to give Hoff a run for her money, especially considering that Ziegler’s best event is considered to be the 800. However, Ziegler placed second and earned a spot in this race in Beijing, where it really counts.

WHAT WE LEARNED SATURDAY

Women’s 200 backstroke: It seems that our American backstrokers could save the best for last come Beijing. Hoelzer’s effort Saturday broke the world record of Kirsty Coventry from Zimbabwe, the woman who has recently dominated this race on the world stage and was considered a favorite to win the gold in Beijing. Coventry needs to watch out. With the American duo of Hoelzer and Beisel, Coventry will find herself in quite a race in a few short weeks. With Hoelzer’s new world record and fast times from Olympic trials, her confidence and vast international experience give her the edge to beat Coventry in Beijing. And don’t forget Beisel: With such an incredible drop in time in this event in Omaha, the sky is the limit for her. Although I predict Hoelzer and Coventry to swim a hard-fought battle for the gold, Beisel is my dark horse in this race.

Women’s 800 freestyle: I must admit that I was surprised with the 800 meter results from Saturday. Between the new Speedo LZR racer and the fast times posted by Ziegler and Hoff in the 400 freestyle, I was expecting a world-record time from these amazing freestylers. But from my experience, the Olympic trials is a much more emotionally draining competition than the Olympic Games themselves. As mentioned before, Hoff has stepped onto the starting blocks here in Omaha fourteen times. Regardless of her incredible fitness level, she is bound to be a little bit tired. Beijing could be a different story. As odd as it may sound, I predict less pressure on Hoff come the Olympics. She can only build on the excitement and motivation of standing on that Olympic medal podium as the Games progress, and will most likely come into the 800 meter race renewed, refreshed and ready for victory. As for Ziegler, I expect her to have a better competition in Beijing. She will certainly post faster times in just a few weeks and will most likely go head-to-head with Hoff in a fierce battle for the gold. Regardless of who wins in Beijing, I predict a one-two finish for the American women in this race.

WHAT WE CAN EXPECT SUNDAY

Women’s 50-meter freestyle: We can expect another stellar performance from Dara Torres in Sunday’s only race. In Saturday’s semifinal, Torres reclaimed her American record with a speedy 24.38. It had been a wild few hours for the U.S. standard in this event: Before Saturday morning, Torres owned the record with a 24.53. In the preliminaries, Lara Jackson eclipsed the mark with a 24.50. It stood for a few hours, only to be broken by Jessica Hardy in the first semifinal. Hardy clocked a 24.48. Not to be outdone, Torres sailed through the second semifinal heat and touched the wall one-tenth of a second ahead of Hardy’s time – enough to put her name back on the record books. Jackson’s 24.94 in the semis pushes her back to a fourth-place ranking for the final, just behind second-place qualifier Hardy and third-place qualifier Kara Lynn Joyce. Like any sprint event, this race is tough to predict and could come down to hundredths of a second differentiating first place from last. But based on her fast swimming in the 100m and her incredible will to win, my money is on Torres.

Swimming-Hoelzer shatters 200 backstroke world record

OMAHA, Nebraska, July 5 (Reuters) - Margaret Hoelzer set a new 200 metre backstroke world record at the U.S. Olympic trials on Saturday when she clocked a time of two minutes, 6.09 seconds.

Hoelzer sliced .30 seconds off the mark of 2:06.39 set by Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry in February. (Writing by Steve Keating; Editing by John O’Brien) (For more stories visit our multimedia website “Road to Beijing” at http://www.reuters.com/news/sports/2008olympics; and see our blog at http://blogs.reuters.com/china)

On Phelps’ night, Hoelzer sets world record

OMAHA, Neb. (AP)—Margaret Hoelzer has set the ninth world record of the U.S. swimming trials, winning the 200-meter backstroke in 2 minute, 6.09 seconds.

The 25-year-old got a great surge off the wall heading into her third lap, then closed strong to beat the record of 2:06.39 set by Zimbabwe’s Kirsty Coventry in February.

Fifteen-year-old Elizabeth Beisel, a rising star in American swimming, rallied to take the second Olympic spot in 2:06.92. Hard-luck Hayley McGregory finished third again, matching her finish in the 100 back and denying her a berth on the Beijing team.

Swimming-Hoelzer breaks 200 backstroke world record

OMAHA, Nebraska, July 5 (Reuters) - Margaret Hoelzer set a new 200 metre backstroke world record at the U.S. Olympic trials on Saturday when she clocked a time of two minutes, 6.09 seconds. (Editing by John O’Brien) (For more stories visit our multimedia website “Road to Beijing” at http://www.reuters.com/news/sports/2008olympics; and see our blog at http://blogs.reuters.com/china)

Phelps bests Lochte, himself in 200 IM

by Matt Biondi, Yahoo! Sports

Men’s 200-meter backstroke: Friday’s 200 backstroke final featured the tightest race so far at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. Aaron Peirsol swam faster between the walls, while Ryan Lochte had faster turns and more efficient underwater kick outs, matching and surpassing any lead Peirsol could establish in the middle of the pool. Peirsol’s training and overall fitness was put to the test at the finish where he touched out Lochte by two one hundredths of a second and tied Lochte’s existing world record in a time of 1:54.32. Stay tuned as both men go head to head later this summer, this time for gold.

Men’s 200-meter individual medley:In a virtual repeat of the 400 IM, Lochte swam Michael Phelps stroke for stroke in the 200 IM, but simply could not overcome Phelps’ turning speed and underwater work in and out of the walls. Lochte made a push at the finish, but once Phelps had the lead, he simply would not yield. Phelps, who held the world record in the 200 IM, set his second world record of the meet (1:54.80), bettering himself by 18 one hundredths of a second. Lochte showed incredible competitiveness and endurance in what was his second event final of the evening.

Men’s 50-meter freestyle semifinals:Surprisingly, the fastest overall time out of both qualifying heats in the 50 freestyle, the shortest race on the Olympic schedule, was not the fastest starter off the blocks. Both semifinal heats were won by the swimmer who could maintain a maximum distance per stroke over the second half of the pool. At the conclusion of both qualifying heats, Cullen Jones, winner of the second heat, held and maintained the best form and is my choice to win the final Saturday evening. Ben Wildman-Tobriner won the first heat and holds the fastest qualifying time from the semifinals in 21.65. Jones first swim in the morning (21.59) set up an exciting race that also includes crowd favorite Gary Hall Jr. For the fashion conscious, tune in to see which sensational outfit Hall will choose to parade out in for the event final.

Comeback queen Torres delivers in spades

By Janet Evans, Yahoo! Sports

WHAT WE SAW FRIDAY

Women’s 200-meter breaststroke: In my opinion, Rebecca Soni was a lock to win Friday’s 200m breaststroke race Friday at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials and finally claim her spot on the 2008 Olympic team. In 2006, she was ranked 31st in the world in this event, but burst onto the international scene in 2007, dropping eight seconds off her best time and posting the second-fastest time in the world. After dominating the field in Thursday’s semifinals, she came into tonight’s race leading her competitors with a 2:23.05, more than two seconds ahead of second-place qualifier Amanda Beard. However, not everything at these Olympic trials is a foregone conclusion. Soni also led the field going into the 100-meter breaststroke finals only to finish a disappointing fourth. So, prior to the finals, there were some who weren’t sure that Soni had the confidence and/or experience to win the event on this very large stage. But Soni came through and didn’t disappoint. She dominated the field and was under world-record pace at the 100-meter mark. Her final time: a blazing 2:22.60, only .14 seconds off Beard’s American record. Beard finished second with 2:25.13 – far off her record, but good enough to make the team.

Women’s 100-meter freestyle: Although Natalie Coughlin was ranked first going into the finals, the story was still 41-year-old comeback-queen Dara Torres. The big question was not whether Torres would make the team – with six swimmers qualifying for the 4×100 relay, there was ample opportunity – but whether she would be able to beat a field of experienced sprinters to qualify for one of the two individual spots in this race. Torres, using her incredible competitive drive, not only made the team in the individual race, but also bested Coughlin by .05 seconds to qualify in first place! She now has officially qualified for an incredible five Olympic teams. Torres’ final time was a 53.78, followed by Couglin’s 53.83. Rounding out the relay team in Beijing will be Lacey Nymeyer, Jessica Hardy, Emily Silver and Julia Smit.

WHAT WE LEARNED FRIDAY

200m breaststroke: Despite the now-confirmed presence of 2004 Olympic champion Beard in Beijing, this race belongs to Australian superstar Leisel Jones. With eight of the 10 fastest times ever in this event, Jones’ world record is still more than two-and-a-half seconds faster than Soni’s winning performance Friday. When you couple that with the fact she is hungry for an individual Olympic gold after her disappointing performances in Athens, she is a virtual lock to win the gold in Beijing. But the race for the silver could be interesting. If Soni can remain confident and calm, she is certainly a good bet. However, no one can count out Beard, the experienced veteran who just qualified for her fourth Olympic team. If anyone can pull off an upset for the silver – or even for the gold – it would be her.

100m freestyle: As sprint races go, they are pretty much anyone’s race until the swimmers touch the wall. This is how I feel the 100m freestyle will be in Beijing. Despite the recent dominance of world-record holder Libby Trickett (formerly Lenton) of Australia and Britta Steffen of Germany (also a former world-record holder), Torres’ winning time from Friday was only .90 seconds behind Trickett’s record, which she set this past March. In a race that is won or lost by hundredths of a second, the American women could certainly win the gold and the silver. With the experienced duo of Torres and Coughlin, this is a strong possibility in Beijing.

WHAT WE CAN EXPECT SATURDAY

Women’s 800-meter freestyle: Well, we want to see a world record of course! Now this could be a touchy subject for me, seeing that the current world record is owned by yours truly, but I fully expect my 8:16.22 from the 1989 Pan Pacific Games to fall Saturday evening. The only question is: Which Kate will do it – Hoff or Ziegler? In Friday’s heats, Ziegler swam an 8:29.29 to Hoff’s 8:29.91. However, the preliminaries of a distance race usually are not indicative of what the final will ultimately bring. Hoff has shown great speed, but I certainly won’t count Ziegler out, as she only gets better as the races get longer.

Women’s 200-meter backstroke: Surprisingly, I expect Saturday’s 200 backstroke to be a three-way race between Elizabeth Beisel, Hayley McGregory and Margaret Hoelzer. Hoelzer, a 2004 Olympian who placed fifth in this event in Athens, is the current American record holder and the third-fastest swimmer ever in the history of this event. She has already qualified for Beijing in the 100 backstroke and is considered by many to be a lock to win this race. But she now faces some stiff competition from Beisel and McGregory in the final. In the semis, she could only manage a third-place qualifying time of 2:09.04. Having already qualified for the Olympic team in the 400 IM, Beisel is having quite a meet. Her first-place semifinal time of 2:07.78 is more than three seconds faster than her best time prior to this competition. As for McGregory, she qualified second for the finals with a 2:08.28 effort. After finishing third in the 100 and 200 backstrokes at the 2004 Olympic trials and third in the 100 backstroke at this year’s trials, this could be McGregory’s last chance to qualify for an Olympic team. As such, we can expect her to swim quite a race.

Phelps, Torres and Peirsol light up Olympic trials

By Steve Keating

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - Michael Phelps roared to another world record, Aaron Peirsol equaled one and Dara Torres had a swim for the ages as the U.S. Olympic trials produced plenty of Independence Day fireworks on Friday.

Phelps, who has targeted Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals in a single Games in Beijing, added the 200 individual medley to his Olympic program in spectacular style, storming home in a world record one minute, 54.80 seconds.

Chased to the wall by good friend and rival Ryan Lochte, Phelps shaved 0.18 seconds of his old mark of 1:54.98 set at last year’s world championships in Melbourne.

It was the seventh world record to fall at the trials and the second by Phelps, who bettered his own record in the 400 individual medley on Sunday.

“I was just trying to win the race,” Phelps told reporters. “I knew Ryan, even though he had just swum the 200 meter back 30 minutes before, was going to be tough.

“Both of us hate to lose. Getting in the water with him, that last three or four races it has taken a world record to win.”

Olympic champion Aaron Peirsol completed the backstroke double, touching first in the 200 but needed a world record-equaling 1:54.32 to hold off Lochte in the most thrilling race of the night.

Lochte, who had set the record in Melbourne last year, was just 0.02 behind.

EMOTIONAL WIN

Torres’ victory in the 100 freestyle was the most emotional, the near capacity crowd of over 14,000 at the Qwest Centre leaping to their feet when the 41-year-old mother touched first to qualify for her fifth Olympic Games.

Torres, who won the first of her nine Olympic medals at the in Los Angeles in 1984, before Phelps was even born, becomes the oldest female swimmer to compete at a Games.

“I can’t believe it, I made the Olympics team,” said Torres, who was cheered on by her husband and one-year-old daughter Tessa in the stands. “I’m going to Beijing.”

In the night’s only other final, Rebecca Soni, won the 200 breaststroke booking her ticket to Beijing with a time of 2:22.60, the second best time in the world this year.

Swimming pinup Amanda Beard, who took time off from the sport to pursue a modeling career after winning the 200 gold in Athens, secured a spot on her fourth Olympic team with a runner-up finish.

“Not a lot of people expected me to make this team,” said Beard. “I knew I could but I knew it was a long shot.”

After seven days and two world records, Phelps has just one more swim, the 100 butterfly on Saturday, to complete his busy Beijing program of eight events.

Just 20 minutes after breaking the 200 individual medley world record, Phelps was back on the blocks for the semi-finals of the 100 butterfly and clocked the fastest time of 51.10.

World champion Ben Wildman-Tobriner enters Saturday’s 50 freestyle final fastest after a best time of 21.65 in the semis.

(Editing by Martin Petty)

(For more stories visit our multimedia website “Road to Beijing” at http://www.reuters.com/news/sports/2008olympics; and see our blog at http://blogs.reuters.com/china)