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--- Lane 9 News ---
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Timing Could Prove Troublesome for Pereira -- September 10, 2007
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil, September 8. FOR Thiago Pereira, the Brazilian star whose stock continues to rise, timing may not be everything. Looking ahead to next year's Olympic Games in Beijing, Pereira might be the top-rated male performer to leave the competition without a medal. Such is the difficulty of the events in which he excels.
While Pereira was phenomenal at the Pan American Games earlier this summer, a glance at his prime events suggests that work remains if he is to corral a podium position and some hardware in China. The most recent world rankings have Pereira slotted fourth in the 200 individual medley (1:57.79) and fourth in the 400 I.M. (4:11.14).
In the shorter medley, Pereira sits behind Americans Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte and Hungary's Laszlo Cseh. It's highly unlikely that Pereira will topple Phelps or Lochte, but catching Cseh certainly is a possibility. Actually, the 200 I.M. might be Pereira's best chance at claiming a medal. In the 400 I.M., Pereira again trails Phelps and Lochte, along with Italy's Luca Marin.
However, expect Cseh to make a surge in the 400 I.M., arguably his best event, making the longer medley a difficult medal chance for the Brazilian. Meanwhile, American Erik Vendt figures to make noise in the event at the U.S. Olympic Trials and, if he succeeds in qualifying for Beijing, count Vendt among the leading medal contenders. Heck, the man won silver in the discipline in Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004.
Pereira's other two top events, the 200 backstroke and 200 breaststroke, featured respective world rankings of 14th and 17th. Obviously, major improvements will be needed in these events for any medal hopes. There's no doubt that Pereira is one of the world's elite swimmers, but it goes to show that timing does play a big role in the search for Olympic medals.
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