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 Their
records were the fifth and sixth of the meet -- with five days to go. Both
Coughlin and Peirsol were wearing the Speedo LZR Racer, which upped its
tally of world marks to 44 since debuting in mid-February.
"I'm really glad that I stamped my ticket to Beijing. I got that over
with," Coughlin said. "I feel like a huge weight has been lifted."
Phelps made a dogged run at perhaps the most impressive record on his
staggering resume, the time of 1 minute, 43.86 seconds from the 200-meter
freestyle at last year's world championships. He was right on pace as he
powered toward the wall, but he touched with only the third-fastest time in
history, 1:44.10.
Then it was time for Coughlin and Peirsol to shine.
Coughlin became the first woman to break 59 seconds, just one day after
she reclaimed the world record in the preliminaries. She touched in 58.97,
locking up the first of perhaps as many as six races she could swim in
Beijing.
Peirsol showed he's still king of the backstroke, beating a strong field
and his own record in the 100 back at 52.89, ahead of the 52.98 from last
year's worlds.
Six-foot-8 Matt Grevers took second just ahead of Ryan Lochte, who
dropped a spot in the 200 free final -- and another chance to race Phelps -- to give himself a better shot to qualify in the backstroke. The move didn't
pay off; Lochte came on strong over the final 50 but touched in 53.37,
behind Grevers' 53.19. Randall Bal, the fastest qualifier in the semifinals,
settled for fourth in 53.45.
"That was probably the best field I've ever been in," said Peirsol, one
of the Nike-sponsored swimmers who ditched their regular suit to wear the
LZR Racer. "I don't think the Olympic field will be any harder than that."
Lochte will remember it, too, though he didn't bother to share his
disappointment with the media. He walked right past reporters and never came
back.
"He's got other races, and I'm sure he's trying not to get caught up in
this one," said Phelps, who beat Lochte in the 400 individual medley when
they both went under the previous world record. "He's trying to move
forward."
Phelps returned to the pool about 50 minutes after the 200 free, posting
the fastest time in the semifinals of the 200 butterfly at 1:54.02. He'll
head to Wednesday's final as a big favorite in yet another event which has
his name at the head of the record book.
As for the 200 free, one minor mistake probably cost him a new record.
"The only thing I was not happy with was the last turn," Phelps said.
"That's something little I can fix between now and Olympics."
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Coughlin, who won five Olympic medals in Athens, will surely be one of
the biggest stars of the powerful U.S. swimming team, along with Phelps and
Katie Hoff.
A day earlier, Coughlin watched her world record in the 100 back snatched
away by Hayley McGregory in the prelims. Two minutes later, Coughlin took it
right back. Twenty-four hours later, she went even faster.
"I knew I could go a 58," she said.
After briefly holding the world record, McGregory failed to even qualify
for the Olympics. She finished third in the final, edged out by Margaret
Hoelzer's time of 59.21. McGregory touched in 59.42.
On a busy night, Coughlin also qualified third in the semifinals of the
200 individual medley, an event her coach persuaded her to swim only a week
ago. She has another of her strongest events, the 100 freestyle, still to
come and figures to be a key member of all three relay teams in Beijing.
But no one -- not even Phelps -- is swimming more than Hoff. She had four
more races Tuesday, competing in the prelims and semis of the both the 200
freestyle and 200 IM.
She was the top qualifier in each. In Wednesday's final, she'll try to
add the third and fourth races to her Olympic schedule.
In Tuesday night's other final, Jessica Hardy earned her first trip to
the Olympics by winning the 100 breaststroke. The 21-year-old was under
world-record pace at the flip but faded on the return lap. Still, she
managed to win in 1:06.87.
Megan Jendrick, who won two golds at the Sydney Olympics as Megan Quann
but just missed making the team four years ago, claimed the expected second
spot for Beijing in 1:07.50 -- one-hundredth of a second ahead of Tara Kirk.
Three-time Olympian Amanda Beard missed her first chance to get back on
the team, finishing sixth in 1:08.80. She also failed to advance from the
semis of the 200 IM, leaving the 200 breaststroke as her last opportunity to
make a fourth Olympic team.
[Associated Press; By PAUL
NEWBERRY]
Copyright 2008 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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