Phelps Lowers 200 LCM Fly World Record in Quick Day Two of Missouri Grand Prix

By Jason Marsteller

COLUMBIA, Missouri, February 17. MORE than a month before World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, Michael Phelps popped a 1:53.71 in the 200 butterfly to break the long course world record at the Missouri Grand Prix in Columbia, Mo.

"I didn't think I was going to break a record tonight," said Phelps. "I could tell something good was happening when I heard the crowd yelling, but when I looked up at the clock I thought it said 1:56. When I took off my goggles and saw the time, you could tell that my reaction changed a little bit, and I basically went nuts. I definitely did not expect that tonight.

"I hope to go faster in a month from now, but I still have a few events I need to get ready for here. I'm pleased with the way it went right now, and I'm confident. A lot of our practice has been focused on underwater kicking, and I know that the more kicking I do, the faster I can go. And coming off the wall well when people are getting tired is a good weapon to have. We have wanted to work on it, and it's starting to show now."

The performance, which lowered his 1:53.80 set at Pan Pacs on Aug. 17, 2006, was among four times clocked this evening that are the fastest in the world in this young year. Additionally, eight other top-10 times in the world this year were recorded during the second day of competition.

Women's 100 freestyle
Natalie Coughlin obviously held back a bit during prelims as she dropped a whopping two-and-a-half seconds from prelims to hammer home a first-place time of 53.95. That time currently second to Marleen Veldhuis'53.80 for tops in the world in this young year. Meanwhile, Amanda Weir grabbed second in 56.07, while Martina Moravcova rounded out the top three in 56.66

Men's 100 freestyle
Simon Burnett went sub-50 for the fifth-fastest time in the world this year of 49.66 to win the race. Cullen Jones clocked a 50.14 to hold off Jakob Adkaer's 50.16 for second place.

Women's 200 butterfly
Kim Vandenberg cruised to victory in the 200 fly with a time of 2:08.22. Notably, that performance cut more than a second off the previous top time in the world this season. Katie Hoff picked up second-place honors in 2:11.99, while Mary DeScenza closed out the podium with a third-place 2:12.15.

Men's 200 butterfly
In the highlight of the day, Michael Phelps popped a surprising global standard in the 200 fly much to the delight of the crowd with a 1:53.71. That effort lowered his world record time of 1:53.80 set at Pan Pacs on Aug. 17, 2006 by .09 seconds. Amazingly, Phelps kicked on the after burners down the stretch with a final 50-meter split of 28.99 to capture the record after falling behind record pace. We all wonder what he might do not only the rest of this meet, but also at Worlds when he is actually tapered.

In other 200 fly action, Tamas Kerekjarto took second in 1:59.79, a time that stands sixth in the world this year, while Juan Veloz placed third in 1:59.86, the eight-best effort in the world this year. Pretty quick podium overall.

Women's 200 backstroke
Mary DeScenza took home gold in one of the closest races of the meet. DeScenza hit the wall in 2:15.32 for first, while 17-year-old Ariana Kukors took second in 2:15.64. 17-year-old Lauren English, coming off a disappointing day in which she originally thought she had the U.S. Open record in the 50 back based on inaccurate record reporting on the psyche sheet, grabbed bronze in 2:17.40.

Men's 200 backstroke
Aaron Peirsol easily clocked the fastest time in the world during the initial part of the year with a 1:56.27 when he basically swam against himself in the championship heat. Teammate David Cromwell finished a distant second in 2:01.72 – the seventh-fastest time of the year in the world, while Thiago Pereira took third in 2:05.00.

Women's 400 freestyle
Katie Hoff improved her best time of the year with a 4:09.47 – the second-best in the world this year – to claim a relaxing middle distance win in front of second-place finisher, Flavia Rigamonti's 4:13.56. Meanwhile, Kalyn Keller took third in 4:14.18.

Men's 400 freestyle
Peter Vanderkaay ripped off the top time in the world this year with a time of 3:48.92, while Ous Mellouli posted the second-fastest effort in the world with a 3:49.55. Jan Wolfgarten placed third in 3:54.86.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x