U.S. Olympic Trials: Allison Schmitt Shoots Down Trials Record on 200 Free Semis

Full wall-to-wall coverage, including photo galleries, athlete interviews, recaps and columns are available at the Event Landing Page

OMAHA, Nebraska, June 27. ALLISON Schmitt has quickly become the freight train rolling right through freestyle events here at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha. Schmitt, training for NBAC this year, smashed the field in the women's 200 free semifinal rounds with a Trials record.

Schmitt smoked a time of 1:55.59 to clear Katie Hoff's Trials record of 1:55.88 set last time here in Omaha four years ago. She still has plenty in the tank, as she already owns the second-best time in the world this year with a 1:55.04. She stands behind only Camille Muffat's 1:54.87 textile best. Schmitt already won the women's 400 free earlier in the meet, and made the 200 free look like a race for second and relay spots for everyone else as she tries to best her American record of 1:54.96 in finals.

Athens Bulldog Shannon Vreeland surprised out of the first semifinal with a strong time of 1:57.78, which had lowered the Trials textile best of 1:58.02 set by Schmitt in prelims, until Schmitt blasted the overall Trials mark in the second heat. Vreeland cleared her personal best of 1:58.79 and is looking to turn NCAA success (four A finals this year) into an Olympic bid.

California's Dana Vollmer, already on the team with a scorching 100 fly victory, is looking for more with a third-seeded 1:57.81, while Athens Bulldog Megan Romano finished fourth in 1:57.99. That's a total of three Georgia-trained swimmers in the top four.

Colorado Stars' Missy Franklin (1:58.04), Arizona's Alyssa Anderson (1:58.09), UVAA's Lauren Perdue (1:58.28) and Terrapin Chelsea Chenault (1:58.64) rounded out the finals, while teenage wonder Katie Ledecky of Curl Burke just missed finals with a ninth-place 1:58.66.

The Finalists:
Allison Schmitt — 1:55.59
Shannon Vreeland — 1:57.78
Dana Vollmer — 1:57.81
Megan Romano — 1:57.99
Missy Franklin — 1:58.04
Alyssa Anderson — 1:58.09
Lauren Perdue — 1:58.28
Chelsea Chenault — 1:58.64

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