By John Lohn<\/p>\n
MONTREAL, Canada, July 24. IT didn\u2019t take long for the World Championships to uncork a major surprise, only this development was a stunner of negative proportions. Appearing comfortable midway through his 400 freestyle heat, the United States\u2019 Michael Phelps faded badly over the last 100 meters and finished 18th overall, easily missing the evening final.<\/p>\n
Heading into the meet, Phelps was looking to win eight medals at this event, an accomplishment he enjoyed last summer at the Athens Olympics. Now, however, Phelps is looking for answers to why his first race unfolded so poorly. Originally expected to challenge Australia\u2019s Grant Hackett in the 400 free, Phelps managed a mark of only 3:50.53.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not the way I wanted to start off,\u201d Phelps said. \u201cThe warmup was good, but it didn\u2019t happen in the race. I\u2019m pretty disappointed with the overall race. I do have a relay race tonight and will leave this result behind and step up for the race coming up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The men\u2019s 100 breaststroke, undoubtedly, featured the finest duel of the morning, as Japan\u2019s Kosuke Kitajima and the United States\u2019 Brendan Hansen both dipped under the one-minute barrier. Two of the three men in history to break a minute, Kitajima and Hansen won gold and silver, respectively, in Athens. Kitajima won the race in 59.71, second fastest in history, behind Hansen\u2019s world record of 59.30. Hansen was clocked in 59.84, fourth-fastest all-time.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s 100 Butterfly<\/b><\/p>\n
If the preliminaries are any indication of what is to come, Australia\u2019s Jessicah Schipper is clearly the class of the field. Using a strong back half, Schipper overtook the Netherlands\u2019 Inge Dekker during the final 50 meters and popped a championship-record time of 57.91. Dekker, meanwhile, checked in with the second-fastest performance of the morning session, an effort of 58.48.<\/p>\n
Poland\u2019s Otylia Jedrzejcak, the top seed and Olympic silver medalist, won the last heat of the prelims with the only other time under the 59-second barrier. Jedrzejcak produced a swim of 58.83, which was slightly faster than the 59.05 mark that Australia\u2019s Libby Lenton used to win the penultimate heat. Lenton was followed to the wall by the United States\u2019 Rachel Komisarz (59.19).<\/p>\n
En route to second place in her heat, behind Jedrzejcak, American Mary DeScenza touched the wall in 59.13, good for fifth heading into the semifinals. Eleven women dipped under the one-minute barrier. Martina Moravcova, the longtime international staple from Slovakia, had the seventh-fastest swim of the morning, as she stopped the clock in 59.33, narrowly quicker than the 59.36 showing of Germany\u2019s Annika Mehlhorn.<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s 400 Freestyle<\/b><\/p>\n
Although Australia\u2019s Grant Hackett led the qualifiers for the championship final with a splendid prelim swim of 3:44.63, the story of the event was Michael Phelps\u2019 poor showing. Near the lead at the 300-meter mark, Phelps continually faded over the final two laps and finished seventh in his heat. Immediately, his 3:50.53 swim took the luster off the final.<\/p>\n
Seeking his first world title in the 400 free, Hackett is all but assured of that crown, particularly with Phelps out of the picture. Hackett was followed in qualifying by Romania\u2019s Dragos Coman (3:46.70) and Japan\u2019s Takeshi Matsuda, who finished second to Hackett in the eighth heat, behind a swim of 3:47.28, Japanese record. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was surprised he didn\u2019t make it,\u201d Hackett said, referring to Phelps. \u201cThe first 10 meters, I was thinking about it. That was my fastest morning swim ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
The positive for the United States was Peter Vanderkaay\u2019s effort of 3:47.59, good for the fifth seed in the final. Vanderkaay qualified for the evening session just behind Russia\u2019s Yuri Prilukov, who hit the pads in 3:47.48. The field for the championship race was rounded out by Tunisia\u2019s Ous Mellouli (3:48.89), Italy\u2019s Massi Rosolino (3:48.93) and France\u2019s Nicholas Rostoucher (3:49.00).<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s 200 Individual Medley<\/b><\/p>\n
Closing strong in the freestyle leg, the United States\u2019 Katie Hoff claimed ownership of the shorter I.M., opening her competition with a time of 2:12.38. Hoff wasted little time taking the lead in the heat and appears on track to break her American record in the event, which stands at 2:11.24. Hoff was followed in her heat by Australia\u2019s Lara Carroll, who had the morning\u2019s second-fastest time of 2:13.67.<\/p>\n
Finishing third after the morning session was Australia\u2019s Brooke Hanson, the Olympic silver medalist in the 100 breaststroke. In a field loaded with talent, Zimbabwe\u2019s Kirsty Coventry took down the fourth qualifying slot for the semifinals, with a mark of 2:14.51. At the Athens Olympics, Coventry was the bronze-medal winner in the 200 I.M.<\/p>\n
Securing the fifth slot for the semifinals was Japan\u2019s Maiko Fujino (2:15.45) and the sixth position went to Poland\u2019s Katarzyna Baranowska (2:15.46). The top eight was completed by China\u2019s Yafei Zhou (2:16.03) and the United States\u2019 Whitney Myers (2:16.50. Twelve athletes managed a time under 2:17.<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s 50 Butterfly<\/b><\/p>\n
The world-record holder in the event, American Ian Crocker sizzled a 23.50 performance to top all qualifiers heading into the semifinals of the one-lap fly. Competing in the last heat of the prelims, Crocker battled South Africa\u2019s Ryk Neethling to the wall. Neethling touched in 23.74, the third-fastest effort of the morning.<\/p>\n
South Africa\u2019s Roland Schoeman proved he\u2019s in top form for the World Champs, as he notched the second-fastest swim of the preliminaries. Schoeman, a favorite for gold in the 50 and 100 freestyle events, hit the wall in 23.57 while swimming in the 11th of 14 heats. The fourth-fastest mark was turned in by the Ukraine\u2019s Sergiy Breus (23.77) and fifth was taken by Russia\u2019s Evgeny Korotyshkin (23.87).<\/p>\n
Denmark\u2019s Jakob Andkjaer and Brazil\u2019s Fernando Scherer tied for sixth place with times of 23.96, the last marks under 24 seconds. Germany\u2019s Thomas Rupprath place eighth in 24.07, just ahead of Canada\u2019s Mike Mintenko and Croatia\u2019s Duje Draganja, who posted identical swims of 24.08. The Ukraine\u2019s Andriy Serdinov was 11th in 24.09.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s 400 Freestyle<\/b><\/p>\n
En route to the top qualifying time for the evening finals, Canada\u2019s Brittany Reimer brought the hometown crowd to its collective feet, as she won her heat in 4:08.28, defeating a pair of well-respected international standouts. Romania\u2019s Camelia Potec was just behind Reimer in 4:08.40 and Japan\u2019s Ai Shibata hit the wall in third with a time of 4:08.82.<\/p>\n
Swimming in the last of five heats, Olympic champion Laure Manaudou (France) barely made the final, as her time of 4:11.46 was good for only the eighth seed at night. The British duo of Joanne Jackson (4:10.47) and Caitlin McClatchey (4:10.48) finished in fourth and fifth for the final. Costa Rica\u2019s Claudia Poll qualified in sixth (4:10.88) and Australia\u2019s Linda Mackenzie was seventh in 4:11.13.<\/p>\n
The United States failed to advance either of its two entries into the final, as Carly Piper was 10th (4:12.96) and Kelsey Ditto finished 16th (4:15.63). Another notable name failing to qualifying for the championship race was Japan\u2019s Sachiko Yamada. Training with the Mission Viejo Nadadores, Yamada was 12th in 4:13.97.<\/p>\n
Men\u2019s 100 Breaststroke<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u2019s no debating the rivalry between Japan\u2019s Kosuke Kitajima and the United States\u2019 Brendan Hansen, the fastest men ever in the event. The two have been rivals for the past four years and Kitajima won gold at last summer\u2019s Olympics, during a race that included controversy over Kitajima\u2019s use of an apparent dolphin kick off the start and turn. <\/p>\n
Swimming next to each other in the final heat of the prelims, Hansen and Kitajima battled stroke for stroke. Hansen held the lead at the 50-meter mark, going 28.17 to a 28.34 for Kitajima. The Japanese star, however, edged ahead during the final 50 meters and clocked 59.71 to the 59.84 of Hansen. Other than those two men, only Roman Sloudnov has broke one minute.<\/p>\n
France\u2019s Hugues Duboscq had the third-fastest qualifying time and became the fifth-fastest performer in history behind a swim of 1:00.05. Duboscq, the bronze-medal winner at the Athens Olympics, was followed in fourth by Great Britain\u2019s Chris Cook, who sped a 1:00.86. Oleg Lisogor was fifth in 1:01.05 and sixth went to Slovenia\u2019s Emil Tahirovic (1:01.29). The top eight was filled out by Canada\u2019s Mike Brown (1:01.30) and Japan\u2019s Genki Imamura (1:01.37).<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s 400 Freestyle Relay<\/b><\/p>\n
As expected, Australia earned the top seed for the championship final, as the foursome of Jodie Henry, Alice Mills, Shayne Reese and Sophie Edington posted a time of 3:40.57, slightly quicker than the 3:40.84 mark of France. The United States checked in at fifth (3:41.64), but should improve dramatically tonight with the likes of Natalie Coughlin and Amanda Weir added to the lineup.<\/p>\n
Germany heads into the final in third at 3:41.35 and the Netherlands claimed fourth in the prelims in 3:41.55. That time was made possible by an anchor split of 53.74 from Marleen Veldhuis. China (3:41.89), Sweden (3:42.03) and New Zealand (3:45.36) completed the field for the finals.<\/p>\n
In placing fifth, the U.S. relied on the foursome of Kara Lynn Joyce (55.23), Emily Silver (55.84), Mary DeScenza (55.65) and Lacey Nymeyer (3:41.64). <\/p>\n
Men\u2019s 400 Freestyle Relay<\/b><\/p>\n
The United States had little trouble grabbing the top spot for the championship race, as a 3:16.04 mark in the second heat stood up as the top qualifying time. After Ben Wildman-Tobriner opened with a 50.16 leg, the Longhorn Aquatics trio of Nate Dusing (48.92), Garrett Weber-Gale (48.67) and Neil Walker (48.29) closed out the relay.<\/p>\n
The biggest surprises of the event were Canada and Italy, but for two different reasons. Riding the cheers of the home crowd, Canada earned the second-fastest qualifying time, going 3:16.80 and relying on an anchor split of 48.23 from Brent Hayden. As for Italy, an error in judgment left the nation out of the final. Not swimming any of its big guns in the prelims \u2013 Filippo Magnini and Lorenzo Vismara \u2013 Italy placed ninth.<\/p>\n
Australia was third fastest (3:17.63), followed by Russia (3:18.22) and Lithuania (3:18.57). The field for the final also includes Sweden (3:18.61), Germany (3:18.87) and the Netherlands (3:18.93). Italy\u2019s time was 3:19.12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By John Lohn MONTREAL, Canada, July 24. IT didn\u2019t take long for the World Championships to uncork a major surprise, only this development was a stunner of negative proportions. Appearing<\/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":[10,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world","category-zzzzzzzzz"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n