Pan Pacific Championships: Better Bring It In Prelims – Coverage Sponsored by TYR

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Column by John Lohn

IRVINE, California, August 18. CONSERVING energy at major competitions, especially for those tackling arduous schedules, is usually of utmost importance. It can be the difference between clocking a time a few hundredths of a second faster later in the meet, and can also be the difference between victory and a silver-medal showing.

The Pan Pacific Championships, which got underway this morning at the Woollett Aquatic Center in Irvine, Calif., work a little differently than most international affairs. For one, there is no semifinal round. The job must be done in the morning preliminaries, or athletes miss out on the chance to battle for a podium position.

But that is only part of the format equation here. A major concern during qualifying is an athlete guaranteeing a top-two finish for his or her country. Although multiple entries are allowed at the Pan Pacific Championships, each country is limited to two swimmers in the championship final. It is conceivable, then, for a country to have a one-two-three placement in the preliminaries and have the third-place finisher relegated to the B Final.

So, what does this mean? Well, it ups the pressure level in the morning and removes any thought of a swimmer coasting through an event. Obviously, the format is something that has been referenced in team meetings, at least for the countries with stacked teams. At Pan Pacs, that means the United States, Australia and Japan.

"It's intense," said Mark Schubert, the National Team Head Coach and General Manager for USA Swimming. ""These athletes are racing in the morning. Normally, a world-class swimmer can figure out what they need to do in prelims. Here, they're swimming their fannies off. We talked about the strategies we used when swimming in the morning in Beijing."

Of course, Schubert is referring to the morning finals that took place at the 2008 Olympics. Because swimming championship races in the morning has a different feel than evening title races, athletes needed to be ready to go a few hours after their wakeup call. The setup certainly translates to this competition.

There was no shortage of the format and rules having an influence on the first morning of action in Irvine. When Allison Schmitt took the blocks for the final heat of the 200 freestyle, she knew what had to be done. She had watched American teammates Morgan Scroggy (1:57.27) and Dana Vollmer (1:57.45) clock strong times in previous races and was aware of the task at hand. Her answer? A meet-record performance of 1:56.23.

"You're definitely swimming for the top two spots," Schmitt said. "I saw a few of the times and tried to be aggressive and go after it. You keep in the back of your mind that only the top two make it."

In the men's 100 backstroke, the United States almost faced a scenario in which Aaron Peirsol, the two-time defending Olympic champion in the event, was left to compete in the consolation final. Although Peirsol recorded a time of 53.85 during preliminaries, good for the fourth-fastest swim, he was behind the United States' David Plummer (53.33) and Ryan Lochte (53.69). When Lochte scratched the final, Peirsol moved into the championship heat, a familiar place for a man who can be considered the greatest backstroker in history.

The setup didn't just affect the United States. In the men's 200 butterfly, Japan placed three swimmers in the top eight, only to have Kazuya Kaneda dumped into the consolation final. Meanwhile, Australia watched Belinda Hocking register a top-eight effort in the 100 backstroke, but be forced to settle for a spot in the consolation heat.

Yes, it's a different format. And, to be honest, I'll take the standard schedule used in other major competition. However, for this one meet, it makes the mornings enjoyable, fast and great for the spectators.

Coverage Sponsored by TYR

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