Ya the whole 3 swims per event(excluding distance ones of course) is not really the best way to approach this. I think perhaps doing it like the long races, but only adding swimmers and using all 10 lanes for finals. We certainly would get a lot more out of the stars of the sport, and many could add events they could shine in too… Your fix doesnt seem like a fix to me, they would still have to swim 3 times and sandbagging would still be a factor. It only fixes the once in a blue moon event like what happened today.
And especially now that they have added so many more events to the program over the past couple cycles, all those 50’s and extra relays is causing a traffic jam in the daily programs, that now last 8 days too!!
I think in both 200 frees, the semis were split 2 and 6. It’s happening too often, and I agree my thought for advancing from semis doesn’t solve the main problem, which is too many swims.
Just finished watching them. Seems like the mens 100 free is now fully entered into a new era, 46+ will be the new 47+. Loved the “FUCK” when summer hit the wall in the 2nd fastest time ever in that 200 fly. She was swimming like she was all alone, and really was being 3 seconds ahead of 2nd. But seeing a 2;01.99 was some consolation, at least on the same second as one of the last of the suit records…
PB split from Katie, so nice head space for both those ladies going into the 800. Really should be the race of the meet, at least most anticipated. Can’t help but think that if our 3rd leg on that really swam it like a 200 instead of 100, that it would have been a US win or at least a wall touch in 100th’s deciding.
And how about Pouch? Has to be the happiest dude at the meet, hope he can pull something out in the final tomorrow. Womens 200 breast is going to be a great race, may have to do a WR to win it too. And super stoked for Shane, PB in that 200IM and so close to an American record now. Wonder what he was referring to as some dark stuff these past years holding him back?
Kind of bummed we dont get to see Leon swimming more, guess this is his version of an off year after a big Olympic Games. Many actually taking it off, so at least we get to see peak swims from him fully rested…
I like her reaction too… I think she did just barely enough so far in this meet to save for that race. Just hope it’s her applying the pressure here, not some external factor. Maybe the US$30K lol. 800 will be fair and awesome - they both have prelims then nothing til the final the following evening.
Douglass shut it down final 50, should be a WR watch. Pouch looked great, I don’t think he shut it down so much so he needs to avoid the final 50 piano.
Men’s 100, Popovici got out quicker than usual, no wash, crushed it. I think we’re closer to 45.xx than anyone would have thought possible even a handful of years ago. Now the waiting game on when the 200 is going to get the big drop like SCY where suddenly everyone is sub-1:30, when 1:42 going to become an A-final requirement?
My theory on that is how much the legs take energy. Sure you can control your effort but if you have a big kick powering you along, rather than more for balance, its harder to hold out for 15 minutes.
Most of the best distance swimmers (most but not all) have very light kicks or more for balance / body torque. Dont know if you have ever tried to swim where you cross your legs over, but when you do it right you get a bit of torque / rotation to drive against. Bobby Finke does that thing where he crosses his legs over, kind of like Chase K did that you can see from the 2021 olympics in the 400 IM. Greg Palt does it as well
Phelps would have been very good at 1500 but he also was a 100 flyer as well, so its a bit of a strange event to choose for, when you can already kill it in the sprints. Most distance swimmers have no 50 or 100 speed so they just go up, and up, and up. And then you get the OWs.
SO not the race we expected in that 200 breast for women. And how about all turns and finish being super long, and yet she wins and gets 2nd fastest time ever. Then the bad luck continues into the 50 fly prelims 15 minutes later with a super long finish, which cost her a spot in the final.
Alexy really needs to be on that 4x200 relay, put him in and they win…
US decision making for relays is just so suspect. I don’t get it. Kind of a bummer of a session outside of the Douglass 200 BR, with cleans walls that’s a WR. I don’t know if Jack has the speed for the win tomorrow. But tomorrow should be exciting obviously with the 800, the 100 fly is real tight I hope Liendo takes it. And let’s just expect a US disaster in the mix 4x1FR so we don’t get our hopes up.
Well if they put Jack, Gretchen, and Torri on it, would be really hard to fuck it up. But the way they are going, seems they will find a way…Huske seems to be mostly out of her sickness funk, so could be ready to do her usual 52+.
What do you think of lochte and Phelps going on social media and having a it bit of a dig and joke about USA swimming? I’d be pretty upset if I was involved in USA swimming like Nat coughlin
They do need a wakeup call. USA swimming is a mess, CEO search debacle, tons of BS. Not sure anything changes with how crappy their BoD is until people like Phelps and Lochte start calling them out. I believe they have tried internal avenues, so if nothing is gonna stick do it publicly.
Oh… @monty… I didn’t want to be right but Pouch picked up a baby Steinway on his final 50.
Ya Pouch had to think he was king of the world coming off the last turn, looked like a 200fly blow up, not breast…
man there have to be some coaches hiding from the media after that 4x100 mixed, GB, Austraila, China, Sweden, and Hungary all missing out on the final by tenths. I think the old days of just putting in 2nd best are over, and coaches better get with the new paradigm. I mean if you are so good and deep, you can sub in an athlete or two, but you better have at least 2 of your guns to make sure you even get to swim again.
Us did great, but on the back of Juliano swimming out of his head and leading off with 47.6. Got another 47.6 roll from Kulow, then a nice swims from the two ladies, the last who got to even shut it down…I think with that great lead off he can stay on the team, then sub in Alexy, Walsh, and Huske. That team could win and break the WR too. Let’s see how smart they can be in light of all the prior fuck ups…
Would be fun to see Marchand step up for France with their 100 fly champion. Aussies have to be kicking themselves as they have so much speed they left off and now they are watchers…
Just finished watching, and some great redemption for the US team for sure. But swim of the night has to be Pallistar, she just never quit, got dropped, and was there for the final sprint to the wall. Summer not having her best swim, think Katie took it out so hard that she swam Katie’s race and not hers. But she did do a much better time in her trials, so something not quite right there.
Katie gets to sit on the Queen throne for another year at least, but like I mentioned earlier, like the 400, the world is catching up to her and her times.
Mixed relay was spectacular, great lineup and the men got that record for sure. Ladies swam ok, but not our best and room for another second for sure there. We have two 51+'s, just have to get them on the day with the mens 46+'s…
Loved Rowdy dissing the Aussies, saying they won both them mens and womens 4x100 relays in free, but could not get a team into the top a8 and final in the mixed…That could be the biggest shit the bed coaching decision of the meet, as they could have had a team to challenge for that win and record, which they held…
Watching the replay of the 800 free. Pallister hugs the lane rope for almost the entire 800m and get the max draft of Ledecky. Ledecky, seems to choose to swim closer to Pallister than to McIntosh. Meanwhile McIntosh seems to be giving away free draft swimming the entire race on the black line versus using all available draft hugging the lane rope. Maybe Summer is always so far ahead in her other races that she does not have to think about how to use the other swimmers. I don’t know, but this was like France vs USA in the 4x100 free in Beijing. I think Pallister used the full available draft and McIntosh used none of it. That’s just me viewing this from the replay.
Any thoughts on this?
I also think that McIntosh used her best 2:01 of swimming chasing the 200 fly world record only 1.5 days ago which was kind of a waste of energy in this meet. She will have other meets to get the 200 fly world record, but she won’t have too many world championships in her life with a shot at sweeping 200IM/400IM, 400free/800free and 400IM. If she swam 2:03 in the fly final versus 2:03 (almost) in the final 200m of the 800 free, that would be more valuable.
My 2 cents monday morning QBing this, is team Canada got to greedy, and the coaches should have asked her to save her all out effort for the last 200m of the 800 free not for the 200m fly. She won that from a “different time zone” compared to the other girls. That much effort was not neccessary in such a tough meet line up as she still had to cram in 800 free prelims afer the 200 fly finals before the 800 free finals.
Summer said exactly that… quoted in SwimSwam that she swam Katie’s race and basically messed up. The Aussies absolutely shat the bed and that was an embarrassment on par with the greatest medley relay nation, the US. I think it would have been tighter if they’d been there but US on top. Torri Huske needs to finish better but not everything will be perfect when you spent the last week in a bathroom.
The 800 lived up to the billing and agree, Lani’s swim was the eye opener.
I hope the US has figured out the relay management because there’s almost no excuse for the US not to gold the relays, though the men will have a race on their hands. Casas has to swim backstroke, we have nobody. Women should be locked in Smith, Douglass, Walsh, Huske. Let King swim prelims but they can’t do some sentimental bullshit and give her the final.
It’s been a fun week, all things considered. It’s a good thing that swimming is this fast across the globe.
Dev, I think you’ve got an 18yo kid that really really wanted that 2FL WR. YOLO… go for it. Learning experience. Tough to manage these absolutely asinine semifinals that are a complete joke and waste of everyone’s energy.
I had an odd thought… she’d raced every day and this was the first gap… morning prelims, no final, no prelim, and then the final. You know what they say about TdF rest days right? She almost needed a race swim in between.
She probably could have drafted better, I remember watching KL 800 at Ft. Lauderdale thinking that’s a crazy wave behind her for an 800. Lane lines are real good but they don’t muffle the whole current. If you’re gonna sit on your competitor’s hip you might as well take advantage of all of it.
Ah yes, good point about the equivalent of being flat “after a rest day”. Regardless I think Pallister executed a better drafting strategy than McIntosh (she literally never bothered)