U.S. Nationals: Day 5

The final session of finals at Nationals is about to get underway. Fairly nondescript prelims session today, but there will be some awesome racing in the six finals contested tonight in Irvine. The women's 800 free will kick things off, followed by the women's 100 free, men's 200 back, women's 200 breast, and men's 200 breast, and the men's mile will complete the meet's individual events. For me, the mile will be one of the most interesting races of the week. No one broke 15:10 at Nationals last year, but Chad LaTourette was busy posting strong times at the World University Games. There, LaTourette took second in the 1,500 in 14:53.77. He qualified first for the final in 15:03.75, the fourth fastest time in the world this year. He is a tough swimmer; he has an unbelievable pain tolerance, and he can just keep swimming.

LaTourette led all prelim qualifiers by ten seconds, but 400 free champion Peter Vanderkaay will be lurking from lane six. After posting a now-seventh ranked 15:05.96 at the Charlotte UltraSwim, Peter Vanderkaay is officially back in the mile. Look for an awesome race between him and LaTourette tonight, and it will be interesting to see if they can get close to the top time in the world, 14:56.83, held by Canada's Ryan Cochrane. The battle should be between those two, but also keep an eye on Arthur Frayler, a 16-year-old who has been dropping his best time all year. Swimming by himself, he posted a 15:36 in January, and then a 15:28 in April. He dropped time again in prelims, finishing with a fifth-ranked 15:15.57. Look for this guy for many years to come.

Final Updated Predictions:

Women's 800 Free

1. Chloe Sutton

2. Kate Ziegler

3. Emily Brunemann

Women's 100 Free

1. Dana Vollmer

2. Natalie Coughlin

3. Kara Lynn Joyce

4. Jessica Hardy

5. Amanda Weir

6. Missy Franklin

Men's 200 Back

1. Ryan Lochte

2. Aaron Peirsol

3. Tyler Clary

Women's 200 Breast

1. Rebecca Soni

2. Caitlin Leverenz

3. Micah Lawrence

Men's 200 Breast

1. Eric Shanteau

2. Clark Burckle

3. Scott Spann

Men's 1,500 Free

1. Chad LaTourette

2. Peter Vanderkaay

3. Michael Klueh