AUSTIN, Texas, January 15. THE USA Swimming Grand Prix held in Austin, Texas came to a finish with Janet Evans, 40, earning her second Olympic Trials cut. Meanwhile, the usual suspects shined bright throughout the evening.<\/p>\n
Just two days after first qualifying for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in the women's 400 free with a 4:17.12 during prelims, legendary Janet Evans, 40, added another event to her schedule in Omaha. Evans finished 11th in the women's 800 free today with an 8:49.05 to drop almost exactly 10 seconds from her seed time in negative split fashion. <\/p>\n
Evans announced her return to swimming in June 2011 with her primary goal being to make Trials. She's now done so in a pair of events, including in the race in which her world record stood from August 1989 until August 2008 when Rebecca Adlington cleared the 8:16.22 with an 8:14.10 at the Beijing Games. Evans won four Olympic medals, including three golds at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, during her career that previously ended after the 1996 Atlanta Games.<\/p>\n
NBAC's Allison Schmitt dominated the field with a winning time of 8:31.94, while Mission Viejo's Chloe Sutton battled through illness with a second-place 8:36.93. Sutton's teammate Ashley Twichell checked in with a third-place 8:37.29. <\/p>\n
Colorado Stars' Missy Franklin, who has become a shooting star within the sport in the last year, started the Olympic year off strong with a sub-1:00 effort in the women's 100 back. She dropped a time of 59.92 to set the tone for the year. She ranked fifth in the world last year with a 59.18 from U.S. Summer Nationals. Aquajets' Rachel Bootsma placed second in 1:00.03, while BSS's Georgia Davies checked in third with a 1:00.67. Notably, Natalie Coughlin qualified third in 1:01.19, but scratched the evening swim to focus on the women's 200 IM.<\/p>\n
That decision paid dividends as Coughlin won the medley in 2:12.44, which would have cracked the top 25 last year. FAST's Katie Hoff finished second in the event with a 2:12.95, while Stanford's Kate Dwelley picked up third in 2:13.84. <\/p>\n
After throwing down a 2:22 to win the women's 200 breast earlier in the meet, Trojan's Rebecca Soni cruised to victory in 1:06.88 in the women's 100 breast this evening. She made it a habit to drop 1:05 times the bulk of last year. Texas A&M's Breeja Larson, who had her breakout meet in Austin during the 2011 NCAA Championships, finished second in 1:08.29. Canada's Jillian Tyler wound up third in 1:08.33. <\/p>\n
Texas A&M's Cammile Adams added to what has already been an impressive meet with a strong time of 2:06.76 to win the women's 200 fly. She added that effort to her women's 400 IM victory from a night ago. Tonight's swim would have ranked 10th in the world last year, and would have been the top U.S. time in 2011 ahead of Kathleen Hersey's 10th-ranked 2:06.89 from Santa Clara. BSS's Jemma Lowe placed second in 2:07.39. Lowe ranked third last year with a 2:05.59. Canada's Mackenzie Downing clinched third in 2:10.04. <\/p>\n
Tucson Ford's Matt Grevers topped the men's 100 back in 53.55. That effort was within striking distance of his best time last year, a sixth-ranked 53.14 from U.S. Summer Nationals. Minnetonka's David Plummer earned second-place honors in 54.02, while NBAC's Michael Phelps took third in 54.09. Ryan Lochte, under heavy in-season training as usual, finished sixth in 56.47. <\/p>\n
FAST's Michael Klueh posted a commanding victory in the men's 1500 free with a 15:25.33. Peter Vanderkaay claimed second in 15:39.43, while BSS's Thomas Allen checked in third with a 15:42.33. <\/p>\n
Sebastien Rousseau touched out California's David Russell, 2:00.83 to 2:00.98, for the men's 200 fly title. Canada's Stefan Hirniak placed third overall in 2:01.09. Auburn's Mark Gangloff held off a strong field with a winning time of 1:01.08 in the men's 100 breast. Redlands' Valerii Dymo (1:01.25) and Trojan's Eric Shanteau (1:01.54) placed second and third. Notably, NBAC's Michael Phelps demonstrated some range with a B final win of 1:02.67.<\/p>\n
Phelps completed a medley sweep for the weekend with a 1:58.52 in the men's 200 IM after capturing the men's 400 IM last night. Lochte placed second in 2:00.30, while Florida's Conor Dwyer turned in a third-place 2:01.59.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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