It was like so many races they’ve had before.
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With his gangly arms cutting through the water, Phelps dazzled the home fans one last time.
Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte set the stage for a blockbuster show in Rio de Janeiro with a scintillating 200m medley duel at the US Olympic swimming trials on Friday.
“That’s probably the last time people in the USA will see that, the two of us race one another”, Phelps said.
“When we race each other, we bring each other to a different level”, the victorious victor said Friday, according to the Los Angeles Times. Phelps is a three-time Olympic champion in this event.
Joining her in the final are newly-minted first-time 100m freestyle Olympic qualifiers Simone Manuel (second in 24.57) and Abbey Weitzeil (24.58) as well as 100m butterfly Olympic qualifiers Dana Vollmer (sixth in 24.96) and Kelsi Worrell (eighth in 25.12).
Lochte was next at 1:56.22 and had no complaints about his consolation prize: an individual race at the Rio Olympics.
“Sure it’s frustrating to not be able to go the same time or faster than I did last year, especially because I think I’m in better shape than I was last year”, Phelps said. “It’s been a long journey, but the journey’s not over”.
Michael Phelps waves to the crowd in his final swim meet on US soil.
Now, that’s out of the way, which means Phelps and Lochte will get another crack at each other in South America.
“At a meet like this time doesn’t really matter, you just want to make your events” DiRado said.
BOLT MAY MISS RIO: Jamaican officials say Usain Bolt, who won Olympic gold in the 100 in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012, has withdrawn from his country’s National Senior Championships, citing an unspecified injury that casts doubt on whether he will appear at the Games. “Neither one of us likes to lose”.
Swimmers arrived in Omaha declaring the pressure of the USA trials was far greater than anything they face at an Olympics but monstrous expectations will weigh heavily in Rio where the stage is bigger, the spotlight brighter and the competition tougher.
In, are a wave of first time Olympians, including Maya DiRado who qualified in three events.
“I felt good with it”, Ledecky said. “I got the job done, punched my ticket”.
“I got a spot and that’s all that I needed to do”, Franklin said.
Franklin, a four-time gold medalist four years ago who crashed to a seventh-placed finish in the 100m back, was fourth at the halfway point but rallied to finish second in 2:07.89 and give herself a chance to defend the 200m crown.
There is no semifinal of the event; instead, the top eight finishers advance to Sunday’s final and the top two from there earn spots at the 2016 Rio Games. She already won the 400 free and still has two more events to go in Omaha.
The 19-year-old is a breathtaking freestyler who has slowly worked her way down in distance from the mile all the way down to 100-meter freestyle events.
Missy Franklin, on the other hand, qualified for the 200-meter freestyle while young swimmer Ledecky dominated a number of events like the 200- and 400-meter freestyle.
2012 Olympic bronze medalists in the 4x100m freestyle relay Amanda Weir and Lia Neal also advance to the semifinals in ninth and tenth place.
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United States women top the world rankings in four events – three of them courtesy of Ledecky and the fourth newcomer Lilly King’s 1:05.20 in the 100m breaststroke.
