By John Lohn<\/p>\n
CRANBURY, New Jersey, February 5. THIS week's installment of SwimmingWorldMagazine.com's<\/b> Olympic Preview Series shifts to the butterfly, specifically the women's 200 fly. The event has primarily been the domain of Poland's Otylia Jedrzejczak and Australia's Jessicah Schipper for the last few years, with American Kim Vandenberg now a key player.<\/p>\n
Defending Champion:<\/b> Otylia Jedrzejczak (Poland) \u2013 2:06.05
\nWorld-Record Holder:<\/b> Jessicah Schipper (Australia) \u2013 2:05.40
\nMost Titles:<\/b> United States (Four) \u2013 Karen Moe (1972); Mary T. Meagher (1984); Summer Sanders (1992); Misty Hyman (2000).
\nNotable:<\/b> When Misty Hyman won gold in Sydney in 2000, her victory was one of the biggest upsets of the Games. Hyman was expected to contend for silver or bronze, but Aussie Susie O'Neill was considered the heavy favorite to defend her title. However, Hyman blasted to a personal-best mark of 2:05.88 and used that Olympic record to prevail.<\/p>\n
Here's a look at the leading contenders in the 200 butterfly:<\/p>\n
Jessicah Schipper:<\/b>
\nThe world-record holder is also the reigning world champion, as she went 2:06.39 in Melbourne last year. The time was the second-fastest readout of the year. Schipper, who won the silver medal at the 2005 World Championships, has consistently moved up the ranks and will be an overwhelming choice to medal. Only Susie O'Neill has won Olympic gold in the event for Australia.<\/p>\n
Otylia Jedrzejczak:<\/b>
\nThe former world-record holder and defending Olympic champ has rebounded splendidly from a car accident in October of 2005 that claimed the life of her brother. Although she won the bronze medal at the 2007 World Champs, Jedrzejczak posted the fastest time of the year, a mark of 2:05.92 from the Paris Open. Jedrzejczak is also one of the world's elite 400 freestylers and is also a medal contender in the 100 fly and 200 free.<\/p>\n
Kim Vandenberg:<\/b>
\nThe UCLA product enjoyed a significant breakthrough at last year's World Champs. In Melbourne, Vandenberg turned in a time of 2:06.71, good for the silver medal and the third-quickest time in the world for the year. Vandenberg has shown no signs of peaking, suggesting that a run for the gold medal is within reach. Of course, Vandenberg must first negotiate the U.S. Trials.<\/p>\n
Kathleen Hersey:<\/b>
\nOne of the bright spots among the American youth contingent, Hersey ranked sixth in the world in 2007, thanks to a best time of 2:07.19. There's reason to believe that Hersey is just tapping into her potential, talent that landed her gold at the Pan American Games. Hersey is also a rising star in the 400 individual medley.<\/p>\n
Audrey Lacroix:<\/b>
\nThe Canadian star had a huge year in 2007, finishing fifth at the World Championships in 2:07.73. Later in the year, Lacroix got faster at the World University Games, clocking a time of 2:06.83. That effort was the fourth-fastest of the year. For Lacroix to medal, she'll likely need to dip into the low-2:06 range, perhaps faster.<\/p>\n
Jiao Liuyang:<\/b>
\nIf she qualifies for the Games, Jiao would obviously be a hometown favorite and would receive plenty of support inside the Water Cube. Jiao just missed out on a medal at the 2007 World Champs, placing fourth in 2:07.22. She cemented that performance in the Japan International Swim Meet, where she was timed in 2:07.06, the fifth-fastest in the world.<\/p>\n
Yuko Nakanishi & Natsumi Hoshi:<\/b>
\nThis Japanese tandem must get faster to work into the medal mix, but it's doable. Nakanishi ranked seventh in the world in 2007 (2:07.65) and was the sixth-place finisher at the World Championships. As for Hoshi, she won gold last week at the test event at the Water Cube, going 2:08.55 in the final after a 2:07.35 effort in the prelims.<\/p>\n
Mary DeScenza:<\/b>
\nThe University of Georgia product has plenty of options for the United States Trials, but the 200 fly is the event that put her on the international map. DeScenza had a strong showing recently at the Long Beach Grand Prix and was eighth in the world last year with a best time of 2:07.84. DeScenza is also an elite 200 backstroker and 200 freestyler.<\/p>\n
Felicity Galvez:<\/b>
\nThe second-best Australian, behind Jessicah Schipper, Galvez ranked ninth in the world last year by narrowly clipping the 2:08 mark with a swim of 2:07.95. Swimming alongside Schipper at the upcoming Australian Trials could help Galvez manage a time that would vault her status on the international scene.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By John Lohn CRANBURY, New Jersey, February 5. THIS week's installment of SwimmingWorldMagazine.com's Olympic Preview Series shifts to the butterfly, specifically the women's 200 fly. The event has primarily been<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":85124,"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":[10,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","category-zzzzzzzzz"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n