USA Swimming Nationals: Michael Phelps Destroys Own U.S. Open Record to Win Men’s 200 Free; Peter Vanderkaay Sizzles on Way to Silver

By John Lohn and Dana Lawrence Lohn

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, August 3. A little more than four months after he took down Ian Thorpe's world record in the 200 freestyle with a clocking of 1:43.86, Michael Phelps made a run at his mark en route to the 35th national title of his career. Phelps, just .01 over world-record pace at the 100-meter mark, finished in a U.S. Open-record time of 1:44.98. It was the eighth-fastest time in history.

Phelps shot to the lead off the start, hitting the 50-meter mark in 24.69 and turning at the midway point in 51.01. Phelps toured 150 meters in 1:18.20 and held it together down the stretch to fend off his Club Wolverine training partner, Peter Vanderkaay. Thanks to a splendid performance of 1:45.45, Vanderkaay became the fourth-fastest performer of all-time. Only Phelps, Thorpe (1:44.06) and Pieter van den Hoogenband (1:44.89) have been quicker than Vanderkaay.

For Phelps, it was his third title of the meet, joining his crowns in the 200 backstroke and 100 butterfly. Vanderkaay has been having a spectacular meet, as he won the 400 free on Thursday night ahead of Larsen Jensen and Phelps. Meanwhile, he posted a personal-best time in the 100 freestyle. Without a doubt, Vanderkaay has positioned himself as a top contender for an individual Olympic medal next year in Beijing.

The normally-reserved Vanderkaay was clearly delighted, providing an enthusiastic take on his result. "It was an awesome race for me – I feel it all coming together. I did a lot of strength training for this race, and [in the last 50] I buried my head and hit the wall … this has been a real breakout meet for me, and if I stick with the plan I can go even faster."

Grabbing the bronze medal was Australia's Kenrick Monk, a 19-year-old rising star who was timed in 1:47.40. Monk finished ahead of Jayme Cramer (Southeastern), who checked in at the wall with a mark of 1:47.51, a personal best. David Walters (Longhorn), the winner of the 100 free, was fifth in 1:47.93. Ricky Berens (Longhorn) won the consolation final in 1:48.42.

Click here to view event results PDF file.

Peter Vanderkaay swims in 200 Free Prelims at the 2007 US Nationals.

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