By John Lohn<\/p>\n
ASTON, Pennsylvania, JUNE 1. WITH the Eric Namesnik Memorial Grand Prix already in the bag and the summer season in full swing, it won\u2019t be long before the clock begins to dazzle. Around the globe, we\u2019re hitting that point of the year where the digits get lower. In many ways \u2013 considering the Beijing Olympics are two years out \u2013 these next few months will be a defining stretch. Here are some storylines to keep an eye on.<\/p>\n
**Which club can call itself the elite gathering in the United States \u2013 Longhorn Aquatics or Club Wolverine? That\u2019s a question that might be answered by the end of August, although it\u2019s likely to feature split camps. Longhorn, of course, boasts three hammers in Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol and Ian Crocker, a triumvirate that owns five individual world records on the long-course scene and makes up 75 percent of the world-record holding 400 medley relay.<\/p>\n
Club Wolverine, meanwhile, continues to strengthen its crop around Michael Phelps, Peter Vanderkaay and Klete Keller. In recent weeks, Erik Vendt and Kaitlin Sandeno have been added to a stable that also includes Davis Tarwater. Bottom line: There\u2019s no questioning that the top talent in the United States sits with these two clubs \u2013 obviously making for dynamite training sessions.<\/p>\n
**After enduring 18 years of challenges, Janet Evans\u2019 world record in the 400 freestyle was recently erased by France\u2019s Laure Manaudou, whose 4:03.03 effort is difficult to fathom. But, what will Manaudou do at this summer\u2019s European Championships? The three-time Olympic medalist is loaded with ability and could chase multiple global standards in Budapest, Hungary. Aside from possibly lowering her 400 free mark, there\u2019s no reason to doubt Manaudou\u2019s potential to lower the world record in the 800 free, the 8:16.22 of Evans. More, Manaudou could push Franziska\u2019s Van Almsick\u2019s 1:56.64 record in the 200 free.<\/p>\n
**What will Katie Hoff and Michael Phelps embrace as schedules for the United States Summer Nationals and the Pan Pac Champs, meets that serve as selection competitions for next March\u2019s World Champs in Melbourne. For Hoff, it\u2019s a matter of which events will complement her forays into the 200 and 400 individual medley events. As for Phelps, it will be interesting to see if the eight-time Olympic medalist puts the 200 butterfly and 400 I.M. back in his international repertoire after bypassing his world-record events at last summer\u2019s World Champs in Montreal.<\/p>\n
**Can Otylia Jedrzejczak continue her return to the top of the sport after enduring the emotional and physical pain associated with a car accident late last year that claimed the life of her brother. At the recent Polish Championships, Jedrzejczak appeared recovered from her severe injuries as she notched impressive swims in the 200 freestyle and 200 butterfly, her world record event. Here\u2019s hoping Jedrzejczak \u2013 who auctioned her Olympic gold medal from Athens to raise money for leukemia research – is better than ever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By John Lohn ASTON, Pennsylvania, JUNE 1. WITH the Eric Namesnik Memorial Grand Prix already in the bag and the summer season in full swing, it won\u2019t be long before<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,7,10,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-usa","category-world","category-zzzzzzzzz"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n