Morning Blast: Paging the 100 Freestylers!

Caeleb Dressel
Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

By David Rieder

Of all of the American flops at the World Championships in Kazan, none stand out like a sore thumb more than the U.S. flop in the 400 free relay. The American team of Jimmy Feigen, Anthony Ervin, Matt Grevers, and Conor Dwyer tied for 11th and finished out of the finals as they were beaten by swimming powerhouses like Canada, Poland, and Belgium. The country’s stable of 100 freestylers needs a boost.

The most notable of the American splits on that prelims relay came from the veteran Ervin, who faded badly on his leg of the relay on his way to clocking a 49.59. That came after Feigen had led off in 49.21, leaving too big a deficit for Grevers and Dwyer to catch up, and the Americans finished more than a half-second back of eighth place. But even had they made the finals and added Nathan Adrian and Ryan Lochte to the squad, the U.S. would have been in a battle for the bronze medal, at best.

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Photo Courtesy: Maria Dobysheva

Today at U.S. Nationals will feature the men’s 100 free and a chance for the country’s rising crop of sprinters to not only stake their claims as tops in the country but also to pump some hope into the 400 free relay prospects for the Olympics next year. The field will include a pair of teens who have already won National titles in San Antonio, another who has two runner-up finishes, and a fourth who, one month ago, no one expected to be seeded first entering the event’s prelims.

Any sprint discussion has to start with Caeleb Dressel, who threw down a monster performance in the 50 free on Saturday night. He clocked 21.53, the third-fastest time in the world for 2015 behind only Florent Manaudou and Nathan Adrian. He exploded off the start in the 50 free and led by an arm’s length the entire swim, and he ended up beating out former American record-holder Cullen Jones by more than three tenths of a second.

The knock on Dressel has, recently, been his endurance to hold on in the 100 meter distance. He did not swim well in the 200 free on Friday, ending up 20th overall, and he did not score in either the 100 free or 100 fly at NCAAs this year despite winning the 50 free. Dressel has a best time of 49.28 in the event from Junior Nationals all the way back in 2013, but he will have goals of more than just breaking under 49 today.

Maxime Rooney, meanwhile, won the National title in the 200 free in 1:47.10, putting him firmly in the mix for the 800 free relay next summer, but he has high goals in the 100 free as well. The Florida Gator-to-be won the event at Juniors last week in 49.35, but he already cut two seconds off his 200 free time since that meet, so look for another drop today in the 100. He’s still entered with his pre-Juniors best time, however, so he’ll swim in heat five of nine with his 50.44 seed time.

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Photo Courtesy: Donna Nelson

 

Jack Conger, meanwhile, has thrust himself into the national conversation in both butterfly events with runner-up finishes to Michael Phelps each of the past two nights. Conger clocked a 1:54.58 in the 200 fly and a 51.33 in the 100 fly, both in the top ten in the world for 2015, and he also has some 100 free chops. He finished second in that event at World University Games in 49.02 while also providing a 47.7 split on the American 400 free relay.

And then there’s the guy who’s seeded first in the 100 free, Michael Chadwick. Chadwick went to Athens for Sectionals four weeks ago with best times of 22.90 in the 50 free and 49.98 in the 100 free. He has dropped a lot in the span of the last month. On Saturday night, Chadwick finished second in the 50 free in 22.02, and now, the Mizzou Tiger looks like a favorite for the national title in the 100 free.

Chadwick put up times of 49.24 and then 48.87 in the 100 free at Sectionals. The time already ranks Chadwick as the third-best American in the world this year, with only Adrian and SwimMAC training partner Lochte ahead of him. Chadwick could have another big drop in him today. And like Dressel, Rooney, and Conger, Chadwick has youth on his side − all four are currently aged 20 or younger.

From this field, expect someone − or perhaps multiple someones − to establish themselves as bona fide contenders for the American 400 free relay team. That squad has not won an Olympic or World title in the event since 2009, and the core of the team has remained pretty constant throughout that frustrating span. Only one man (Adrian) swam faster than 48.96 at last year’s full-strength Nationals. Even with the Worlds team absent, expect more fast swims from some younger faces this time around.

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