By John Lohn<\/p>\n
OMAHA, Nebraska, June 24. FINALLY, it's time for the United States Olympic Trials to begin. The buildup for the Trials has been lengthy and the speculation — arguably — overdone. Soon, the results will start to pour in and we'll have a clear picture of who will represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games in London next month.<\/p>\n
Although a few things might change based on scratches and tweaks to individual schedules, here are my picks for the week. I've included a third individual for the non-relay-deciding events so you can see who I believe will be knocking on the door. Enjoy what will certainly be a tremendous week.<\/p>\n
400 IM (Men)
\n1. Ryan Lochte
\n2. Michael Phelps
\n3. Tyler Clary
\nNOTE: Just because Lochte is picked to prevail here doesn't mean he's the automatic pick to win in London.<\/p>\n
100 Butterfly (women)
\n1. Dana Vollmer
\n2. Natalie Coughlin
\n3. Kathleen Hersey
\nNOTE: Vollmer has been sensational since last summer's World Champs and is headed for a showdown with Sweden's Sarah Sjostrom.<\/p>\n
400 Freestyle (Men)
\n1. Peter Vanderkaay
\n2. Matt McLean
\n3. Conor Dwyer
\nNOTE: Behind Vanderkaay, any number of athletes could secure the No. 2 slot for the United States.<\/p>\n
400 IM (Women)
\n1. Elizabeth Beisel
\n2. Caitlin Leverenz
\n3. Katie Hoff
\nNOTE: The Florida Gator contingent should drop big time after coming down from heavy workloads, and that group includes Beisel.<\/p>\n
100 Breaststroke (Men)
\n1. Brendan Hansen
\n2. Eric Shanteau
\n3. Mark Gangloff
\nNOTE: Hansen's comeback story gets a little bit better when he checks in with a 59-mid clocking.<\/p>\n
100 Backstroke (Women)
\n1. Missy Franklin
\n2. Natalie Coughlin
\n3. Rachel Bootsma
\nNOTE: A brutally difficult event to pick and I won't be shocked if Bootsma punches a ticket to the Games.<\/p>\n
200 Freestyle (Men)
\n1. Michael Phelps
\n2. Ryan Lochte
\n3. Ricky Berens
\n4. Peter Vanderkaay
\n5. Conor Dwyer
\n6. Dax Hill
\nNOTE: The Americans, not surprisingly, are putting together a dynamite 800 freestyle relay.<\/p>\n
100 Breaststroke (Women)
\n1. Rebecca Soni
\n2. Jessica Hardy
\n3. Annie Chandler
\nNOTE: This might be the easiest event to pick on the women's program.<\/p>\n
100 Backstroke (Men)
\n1. Ryan Lochte
\n2. Matt Grevers
\n3. Nick Thoman
\nNOTE: After missing out on the World Champs last year, Grevers is going to be hungry. <\/p>\n
400 Freestyle (Women)
\n1. Allison Schmitt
\n2. Chloe Sutton
\n3. Katie Hoff
\nNOTE: Anyone sleeping during the morning preliminaries is playing with fire in a tightly packed field.<\/p>\n
200 Freestyle (Women)
\n1. Allison Schmitt
\n2. Missy Franklin
\n3. Dana Vollmer
\n4. Katie Hoff
\n5. Megan Romano
\n6. Jasmine Tosky
\nNOTE: It will be interesting to see how low Schmitt and Franklin will go. Look for 1:54.<\/p>\n
200 Butterfly (Men)
\n1. Michael Phelps
\n2. Tyler Clary
\n3. Bobby Bollier
\nNOTE: As Phelps nears the end of his career, enjoy his final forays in the event that started it all.<\/p>\n
200 IM (Women)
\n1. Caitlin Leverenz
\n2. Ariana Kukors
\n3. Elizabeth Pelton
\nNOTE: Another tightly packed field, which includes a lurking Natalie Coughlin.<\/p>\n
100 Freestyle (Men)
\n1. Nathan Adrian
\n2. Jimmy Feigen
\n3. Ricky Berens
\n4. Garrett Weber-Gale
\n5. Anthony Ervin
\n6. Matt Grevers
\nNOTE: After Adrian, Feigen fulfills the high expectations that were long ago placed on his shoulders.<\/p>\n
200 Butterfly (Women)
\n1. Kathleen Hersey
\n2. Teresa Crippen
\n3. Cammile Adams
\nNOTE: Going with the women who represented the United States last summer in Shanghai.<\/p>\n
200 Breaststroke (Men)
\n1. Brendan Hansen
\n2. Eric Shanteau
\n3. Clark Burckle
\nNOTE: Like the 100 breaststroke, this event should feature a fine showdown between Hansen and Shanteau.<\/p>\n
100 Freestyle (Women)
\n1. Missy Franklin
\n2. Dana Vollmer
\n3. Natalie Coughlin
\n4. Allison Schmitt
\n5. Jessica Hardy
\n6. Megan Romano
\nNOTE: After this event, we'll have an idea of where the United States stands in relation to the Netherlands and Australia.<\/p>\n
200 Backstroke (Men)
\n1. Ryan Lochte
\n2. Tyler Clary
\n3. Ryan Murphy
\nNOTE: This is the first event of a difficult double for Lochte, who will later race the 200 individual medley.<\/p>\n
200 Breaststroke (Women)
\n1. Rebecca Soni
\n2. Caitlin Leverenz
\n3. Micah Lawrence
\nNOTE: A slam dunk for the victory for Soni, the reigning Olympic champ.<\/p>\n
200 IM (Men)
\n1. Ryan Lochte
\n2. Michael Phelps
\n3. Tyler Clary
\nNOTE: Lochte will be coming off the 200 backstroke, making this event that much more difficult. Still…<\/p>\n
50 Freestyle (Men)
\n1. Nathan Adrian
\n2. Jimmy Feigen
\n3. Anthony Ervin
\nNOTE: Can Anthony Ervin and his pure sprinting prowess make an Olympic return after 12 years?<\/p>\n
800 Freestyle (Women)
\n1. Chloe Sutton
\n2. Katie Ledecky
\n3. Kate Ziegler
\nNOTE: Ledecky could be the teenage star of this year's United States women's team.<\/p>\n
100 Butterfly (Men)
\n1. Michael Phelps
\n2. Tyler McGill
\n3. Tim Phillips
\nNOTE: Although at the end of his schedule, Phelps won't be touched. I know: That's hardly a daring statement.<\/p>\n
200 Backstroke (Women)
\n1. Missy Franklin
\n2. Elizabeth Beisel
\n3. Elizabeth Pelton
\nNOTE: The battle for the second position will be terrific.<\/p>\n
50 Freestyle (Women)
\n1. Jessica Hardy
\n2. Dara Torres
\n3. Amanda Weir
\nNOTE: Just a hunch that Torres will again defy age, something she does better than anyone.<\/p>\n
1500 Freestyle
\n1. Chad La Tourette
\n2. Peter Vanderkaay
\n3. Arthur Frayler
\nNOTE: Not a strong event for the American men by any means.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By John Lohn OMAHA, Nebraska, June 24. FINALLY, it's time for the United States Olympic Trials to begin. The buildup for the Trials has been lengthy and the speculation —<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"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":[3,17,7,10,4],"tags":[53976],"class_list":["post-30911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-commentary","category-usa","category-world","category-zzzzzzzzz","tag-2012-united-states-olympic-trials"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n