By John Lohn
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana, August 2. THEY went stroke-for-stroke in the 800 freestyle earlier this week, so why should the 400 free have been any different? It wasn't. Kate Ziegler and Katie Hoff, two of the brightest stars in the American female arsenal, delivered an epic showdown in the eight-lap free with Ziegler prevailing in 4:04.24, slightly ahead of the 4:04.60 of Hoff. The women made a run at Janet Evans' 1988 American record in the event, which sits at 4:03.85. Ziegler's time is a meet and U.S. Open record.
Previously, Ziegler set the U.S. Open record with a time of 4:05.44 at the TYR Swim Meet of Champions – which is the same meet where she broke the women's 1500 freestyle world record of Janet Evans.
Ziegler, who narrowly edged Hoff in the 800 free, took the race out hard and led at the 100 and 200-meter marks, with splits of 59.18 and 2:01.04. Hoff, though, charged on the third 100 meters and took the lead from Ziegler into the final lap. At that point, Ziegler shifted into a higher gear and used her strong finish to get the wall first.
While France's Laure Manaudou is the world-record holder at 4:02.13 and Evans is the second-fastest performer in history, Ziegler and Hoff moved to fourth and fifth, respectively, on the all-time chart. Poland's Otylia Jedrzejczak is the third-fastest performer at 4:04.23. Ziegler and Hoff will also see each other in the 200 freestyle.
Alyssa Anderson of the Sierra Marlins grabbed the bronze medal with a mark of 4:11.11 while Ashley Chandler claimed fourth place in 4:11.52. The fifth position was occupied by Caroline Burckle (Lakeside) in 4:11.83.
Click here to view event results PDF file.
