Streaming live on USA Swimming right now. 200 free finals with Lochte and Phelps.

Lochte took it out fast but couldn't hang on. Phelps was never close until last 25 meters. Neither placed. Highly disappointing race.

Missy Franklin is awesome. At 16 she is already a force on the US team. At 29 you have to wonder when Amanda Beard is going to give it up. I suppose when she doesn't make the London team?

[This message has been edited by Beretta O/U (edited 5/13/2011 5:56p).]

I think Beard will make the second spot in the 200, outside shot at the 100 if Hardy doesn't swim it (or bombs it like she did last summer).

Did you watch the swim-off last night?? That was an EPIC race. That's the kind of thing that brings fans to the sport.

I did watch it. Jones is still getting it done. Really bad camera angle for a 50 though. Universal Sports should be able to put another camera at the other end or overhead.

I was really looking forward to the 200 back tomorrow with
Lochte and Phelps. However I don't think either one came to race hard. They seem to be saving it all for Worlds.

Bowman's been on vacation in Australia for the last 3 weeks...to me that doesn't sound like Phelps is saving anything, it sounds like he probably has been sitting on his butt getting fat for 3 weeks.

Eugene Godsoe had a great meet. Career bests in the 100 fly and 100 free on night one.

Phelps got beat in the 200 fly final by his team mate.

The 200 back did turn out to be a good race with Phelps and Lochte going 1-2.

Jones and Weber-Gale big disappointment in the 100 free.

How about SwimMAC going 1,2,3 in the 50!

Didn't get to watch any of it. But it looks like only Coughlin and Franklin came to race. Phelps' times were terrible. Lochte too.

Beretta, Peng trains at Club Wolverine...I think he and Phelps only overlapped there for a few months, if that. He had a decent swim in the 200 back...might be a new event for him to focus on? Though Bowman still wants him in that 200 fly.

Most of the USC crew looked very good too (aside from Hosszu). Soni impressed as usual, Hardy was pretty good, Shanteau looked REALLY good.

Anyone else a little depressed with US men's sprinting the last few years???

It's still good, don't get me wrong (with the talent pool the US has, it should always be up there) it's just not as dominant as it used to be I guess, and it couldn't last forever but the slide happened quicker and harder than I thought it would....

Everyone wants to be Michael Phelps...the IM's have become the glamor events...

I wouldn't say we've really ever been dominant the way we have been in other events...maybe the 50 moreso than the 100 (dual golds in 2000, Jr. in 2004), but three of our 4 medals at the last 4 Olympics have been from the same guy (Gary Hall Jr.) which means it just takes that one to get back to the top. Also, many of the most dominant 50 freestylers are training in the US (Bousquet, Cielo until recently), so we still sort of are...

In the 100 again, two of our 3 medals since 1992 are by...Gary Hall Jr! Plus a bronze by Lezak in 2008.

Compare that to our backstrokers/400 IM'ers, where its been passed to a ton of different medalists, tons of 2-medal performances, etc....

I think US sprinting has been on a slow decline for years. The win in the 4x100 in Beijing was in some ways an anomoly because we shouldn't have won if not for Lezak's superhuman swim.

I don't know what the problem is. The French, Aussies, etc. have definitely gotten better and it isn't all because some of their best guys swam at Auburn.

I think Feigen would be better if he had gone to Cal or Auburn instead of Texas. Imagine if he had been training all this time with Nathan Adrian.

Crocker kinda lost "it" in the two years before Beijing. Cullen Jones is a great guy but seems to be distracted by his charity work.

Phelps efforts to improve his 100 speed seem to have failed.

And so on....

Hall Jr. needs to rejoin his Dad at the Race Club. Those two guys have the know how to get the next crop of sprinters ready.

Hall Jr. not being involved in the sport is just a shame. Having said that his diabetes charity work and the company he's trying to start are both doing great work.

Beretta - I am not a GH Jr. fan. Honestly I think it was good he retired. His comments, particularly those that questioned the "clean-ness" of some athletes, were damaging. He seemed to ignore the fact that he really wasn't training nor racing that much. He whined in the 2004 Olympics because Phelps swam the 4x100 instead of him.

It seemed bitter, petty, and kinda like Lemond vs. Armstrong. I like athletes with personality, but I like it better when when they back up their boasts and don't whine about others.

GHJ definitely trained differently when he did train, and he was focused completely on sprinting. I like that part.

I think the US's sprinting would immediately improve vs. the world if Auburn would quit training the best sprinters outside the US.

There's a reason why American swimmers don't work with Brett Hawke. 1) I know many HS swimmers that get this notion in their head that they don't want to train with foreign swimmers (has cost A&M a few recruits), which I don't understand. And 2) Brett Hawke has a certain sort of personality that I don't think clicks with all Americans. He is brash, outspoken, and sometimes violent, and certainly won't coddle an elite athlete.

That being said, he's bringing his first few classes of recruits where he got to do the signings, and the results so far are phenomenal. He had something like 6 50 freestylers score at NCAA's. That's absurd. I think we'll see more American sprinters start to come out of that program.

Was also not a big GH Jr. Fan. I don't think I'd want him teaching the next generation of American swimmers...

[This message has been edited by AGBlastoff (edited 5/19/2011 11:54a).]

I loved Gary Hall Jr., always think an outspoken guy is good for any sport. Without characters we are just another boring sport and will never get recognized. Also Blastoff I can see how 17-18 year old Americans can be turned off by swimming with foreign swimmers. They can think multiple things, that they won't have anything in common with them, that they are taking Americans money that could have been theirs. Whether its right or wrong is another question all together, just was saying I can see why that happens

People don't like Gary Jr's comments I get get that. I didn't like them either. However he was an incredible athlete and our sport needs some personalities at times. He and his Dad know sprinting and that knowledge needs to be passed on. His Dad has a lot of international athletes that come train with him at the Race Club, its just a shame that Jr. doesn't want to be involved any longer and possibly get more US swimmers down there.

The success of Auburn sprinters has as much to do with their strength and conditioning coach every bit as much as it has had to do with Marsh, Hawke, or even dare I say Quick.

I agree GHJ was an incredible athlete. I just don't think we need HIM. Favre - I like personalities as I said. I just don't like GHJ's personality.

Rivalries like Lochte/Phelps and Phelps/Cavic are good for the sport. When Phelps does a staredown with Cavic and beats him for a world record without a poly suit - that's fun to watch.

From what I hear from former 'horn swimmers, Eddie is still a bit old school with much of his training. It could be why they turn out so many good 200 guys. If Feigen swam every day with five guys who swim 19.0 50s he'd probably be faster than he is today.

Well, looking at the debate this has sparked, glad to see I'm not the only one that noticed, hahaha

nm

[This message has been edited by Beretta O/U (edited 5/20/2011 5:19p).]