Ryosuke Irie...can he do it without the suit?

Today in an article, Japan's Ryosuke Irie talked about his mission to break a World Record in an approved suit this weekend at the Japan Open. (It was at this meet last year, you might remember, that Kosuke Kitajima broke the 200 Breast World Record and Irie himself first went under the 1:55 barrier in the 200 Back.) The question: can he do it? And if so, the 200, the 100, or both? We shall soon find out.

Who will win...?

...the Men's 100 Free and 100 Back at US Trials?
100 Free:
Nathan Adrian 8.1%
Matt Grevers 11.3%
Cullen Jones 4.8%
Jason Lezak 22.6%* (Note: Lezak has opted not to contend for a spot in Rome, so his name has been removed from the latest version of the poll.)
Ryan Lochte 1.6%
Michael Phelps 45.2%
Garrett Weber-Gale 6.5%

100 Back:
Randall Bal 8.5%
Matt Grevers 4.2%
Ryan Lochte 19.7%
Peter Marshall 0%
Aaron Peirsol 46.5%
Michael Phelps 15.5%
Nick Thoman 5.6%

...the Men's 4x100 Free Relay in Rome?
USA 46.2%
France 51.3%
Australia 2.6%


Who had the best swim of the Charlotte Ultra-Swim?
Fred Bousquet, 50 Free (21.33) 28.6%
Aaron Peirsol, 100 Back (53.32) 33.8%
Michael Phelps, 200 Free (1:46.02) 26%
Amanda Weir, 100 Free (54.06) 5.2%
Dagny Knutson, 400 Free (4:09.60) 5.2%
Peter Vanderkaay, 400 Free (3:26.04) 1.3%


Polls for the 4x100 Free Relay (here) and Men's 100 Free and 100 Back are once again open. Vote until the July 25 (relay) and July 1 (100 Free/100 Back).

Note: if you answer "other" for any poll, it will not count UNLESS YOU SPECIFY! Thank you!

WOW!

Talk about fast! 47.80 from Jason Lezak! We are talking! He beat Nathan Adrian's 49.14. Too bad (especially for the relays) that he won't be at Worlds. (He's going to the Maccabiah Games in Israel.) He's now ranked second in the world!

Also, KING's Ariana Kukors swam a 31.10 in the B-Final of the Women's 50 Breast at the Mel Zajac meet in Canada. 13th in the world, but REALLY good for a 200-400 IMer! To put that into perspective, Jessica Hardy's American Record is 30.63. It was waaaay faster than any time in the A-Final.

JEI Results
Mel Zajac Results

Peter Marshall's Long Course Return...Deeked

If you look at the results of the men's 100 Back at the Janet Evans Invite, you will see Eugene Godsoe on the top of the results. However, he only won because Peter Marshall was DQ'ed for an unknown reason.

After a poor, tenth-place showing at last summer's Olympic trials, Marshall planned to retire, but first he would travel the world, swimming in the World Cups. While on tour, he set three short course World Records (2 in the 100 Back, 1 in the 50), and he currently holds the Short Course Meters 100 Back American Record, 49.63.

After a winter of short course racing throughout Europe, Marshall swam for the first time Long Course today in the 100 Back at JEI. He ended up winning the event in 54.19. Even though the time was thrown out and the victory taken away, this is extremely significant. While it means very little in the grand scheme of things today (ranking him 20th in the world), it is only 0.09 off his personal best, from the 2004 Olympic trials, when he was outtouched for the second spot in the 100 Back by then-World Record holder Lenny Krayzelburg by 0.04. It was MUCH faster than he swam at trials, and it would have put him into the finals in the 8th spot. He's currently training hard with Dave Salo. Despite the DQ, tonight proves one thing: Peter Marshall is back.

I'll be back with full previews of the World Championships and US Nationals and other huge lead-up meets such as Santa Clara and Paris Open starting Friday (after I finish high school finals).

Ultra-Swim Wrap-up

The Charlotte Ultra-Swim is behind us, and Michael Phelps is back. Tonight, I noticed the athletes were good, but not great in most cases. Peirsol, Beisel, Phelps - all three were solid, but not out of this world.

Men's 200 Back: Peirsol/Clary

1:56.65 to 1:57.05, Peirsol just beat Clary. Obviously a much better swim for Clary than Peirsol. Peirsol not as good as he was in the 100 yesterday, but solid nonetheless. Peirsol and Clary now ranked 7th and 9th in the world in 2009.

Men's 200 IM: Pereira/Lochte

Pereira, coming off the Brazilian trials last week, which he was somewhat rested for, beat Lochte 1:58.25 to 1:58.71. Both solid swims, but really good for Lochte, who was completely unrested wearing an FS-Pro legskin, compared to Pereira's Blueseventy. They move up to 4th and 5th in the world this year, behind Darian Townsend (RSA), Ken Takakuwa (JPN), and James Goddard (GBR). Expect some good things from Ryan Lochte this summer.


Men's 100 Free: Bousquet/Phelps

Very similar to the 100 Back last night. Bousquet got a good lead on Phelps (a full second), and although Phelps made up a little ground, it wasn't enough, as the Jaked-clad Bousquet beat Phelps in FS-Pro leggings. Bousquet's 48.22 was a solid swim (out in 22.83, NOT under world record pace), his second best ever, and Phelps' 49.04 leaves him 37th in the world (think how fast this event has gotten!), but with plenty of room for improvement.

Race of the night: Amanda Weir, Women's 100 Free, 54.06

After her American record of 53.58 in 2006, Weir has fallen off the map a little bit, missing the Beijing Olympics, but she went a full second faster tonight than she did in the finals of the Olympic trials and is officially back. If the American women want to win the 4x100 Free Relay at the Worlds (which looks hard enough at this point), they need Weir, Kara Lynn Joyce, Lacey Nymeyer, and Dara Torres at their respective bests, and Weir is right on her way to that. By the way, you gotta feel bad for Joyce - 4th in both the 50 and 100 Free and out of the finals of the 200...ugh!

So, who had the best swim of the Ultra-Swim? Phelps in the 200 Free, Bousquet in the 50 Free, Peirsol in the 100 Back, or Weir in the 100 Free?
Results posted above.

Those Dang Shiny Suits

It's getting really annoying, those shiny black or red suits. It doesn't take a genius to realize that Peirsol was wearing the ILLEGAL Arena X-Glide tonight. Was a great swim, great time, but don't they understand they can't wear it?

I was impressed also by Fred Bousquet tonight. Coming off a short break following his sub-21 at French trials, Bousquet swam another killer 50 Free. 21.33 was the tied for the 5th fastest time in history. Even with the whole suit arguement (blah, blah, blah), it was impressive.

Those two swims tie for my swim of the night (Phelps' 200 Free ran away with the award last night). Phelps was right where he needed to be in the 100 Back. I wrote down 53.5-53.8 would be good, and he was 53.79. Now hopefully he'll put on the big suit and give "Freddy Biscuits" a run for his money in the 100 Free tomorrow.

A couple of shoutouts: Eric Shanteau, for his best time in the 200 Breast - those Japanese and Brazilian guys who have been throwing down 2:08s need to watch out; Dagny Knutson for her incredible race with Katie Hoff in the 400 Free - the future of American sprinting is right on target.

A point of clarity: my position on the new suit technology. No, I don't like how all the suits hang over the amazing swims we've seen like a cloud. But what I hate even more is Craig Lord of SwimNews.com going on about how undeserving these athletes are. He pretty much claims that athetes are wrong for using new, legal suit technology (not talking about the unapproved suits yet). One cannot take away the achievements of the athletes, because people can't just be lazy and put on a suit and drop 10 seconds; they are working hard. If FINA can't set regulations, it is the athlete's responsibility (if money is not a factor) to wear the best technology available.

That said, if a suit has not been approved, it should not be worn in competition. Alain Bernard was allowed to get away with it, and it has opened the door for the same thing with Yuliya Efimova, Ryosuke Irie, and now Aaron Peirsol. If it's not approved, don't wear it in competition. That simple.

Tomorrow: Peirsol's 200 Back will be sick. Like Phelps, he has returned to form more quickly than expected, and, especially if he wears the X-Glide again, I think he can swim 1:54-high in the 200 Back. Lochte, the American record holder, probably won't be much of a challenge, as he has been swimming in only the speedo and is obviously pretty beaten down at this point.

Anyway, things are looking good for American swimming.

100 Back Poll Results

Who will win the Men's 100 Back tonight at Ultra-Swim?

Ben Hesen 1.6%
Ryan Lochte 23.4%
Aaron Peirsol 29.7%
Michael Phelps 34.4%
Nick Thoman 10.9%

61 total votes

Some trends I noticed: Thoman was the early leader in the poll, but then Phelps and Lochte were neck and neck for a while. Peirsol has since gone by Lochte.

I think that the race will be from the middle of the pool, Peirsol in 4, Phelps in 5. I think Lochte and Thoman will battle it out for 3rd. I think at least the first two will go under 54, making an impact (small but substantial) on the world rankings. Currently, Lochte is the only American under 54 this year, with a 53.95 from the Orlando sectional meet. My list of times for what would be good for MP says 53.5-53.8, so we shall soon see. Finals are about to start. Go to Swimnetwork.com to view the live stream from the meet.

Wow, it's Phelps again!

Tonight, we saw a different Michael Phelps than we had seen in a while. It wasn't the Phelps that was caught sleeping at the Ohio State Grand Prix or falling out of a car and breaking his hand. It most certainly wasn't the Phelps that was caught smoking a bong at the University of South Carolina six months ago. It was the Phelps the entire world saw nine months ago, when he provided us with a week-long thrill ride that I will remember forever.

Before prelims this morning, I wrote down some times that I thought would be a good showing from Phelps. I said 1:46.3-1:47-flat in the 200 Free and 51.6-51.9 in the 100 Fly. I thought those times may be a little bit of a stretch. Phelps himself said he was expecting 1:47-high in the 200 Free. I knew that Vanderkaay would be good tonight, as he has posted some really fast times in the lead up. I thought that maybe he could beat Phelps. Instead, wearing an FS-Pro Legskin (compared to LZR full bodies for the others) Phelps threw down the second fastest time in the world (trailing China's Zhang Lin, 1:45.83), a time only three tenths slower than his best time last year at this point.

Same in the 100 Fly. Out in third place, he blazed home to a 51.72, ninth in the world this year, a time which would have placed anyone else third at the 2007 Worlds behind Phelps and Crocker. He moves one one-hundreth of a second ahead of Milorad Cavic, previously no. 9 at 51.73. Strange, anyone?

Some other points about finals:

• Davis Tarwater had a GREAT swim in the 200 Free of 1:47.35. I've been looking at the contenders for the relay lately, and that swim puts him into the front runner position to make the World Championship team in that event.
• Dagny Knutson also had a really swift 200 Free. Her 1:58.63 was less than a second off her best time from Jr. Pan Pacs, and will really help a relay in need of some help this summer.
• Mark Gangloff and Eric Shanteau both posted stellar times in the 100 Breast. Gangloff's 1:00.18 was only 0.08 off his PB (3rd fastest American in history), and Shanteau was also not too far off his best from the Austin Grand Prix (1:00.09), with a 1:00.63.
• Christine Magnuson and Mary Descenza put up solid times in the 100 Fly. I wrote down predictions for the US World team this past weekend, and they were my picks for the 100 Fly, so things are looking their way.
• Just a backstroker? Aaron Peirsol is proving this statement wrong, as he swam a 1:49 in the 200 Free and two 53.5s in the 100 Fly.
• Ryan Lochte had a poor swim in the 200 Free prelims, but rebounded a little bit to win the B-final wit ha 1:50.58, the fifth best time overall, behind Phelps, Vanderkaay, Tarwater, and Peirsol.

Nothing much else to say about finals. The 100 Back will be quite a race tomorrow. Lochte seems a little sluggish here, so I'm not so sure about his chances. I think it'll be Peirsol and Phelps, with Thoman and Lochte as darkhorses. Phelps vs. Bousquet on Sunday in the 100 Free will be quite a match race.

Fred Bousquet in Ultra-Swim

As just reported on the Morning Swim Show (Swimming World), David Marsh confirmed that Fred Bousquet JUST made the decision to swim at Ultra-Swim. Forget my old predictions for the 50 and 100 Free. He will win both. Fred vs. Phelps in the 100 will be AWESOME!

Watch the show here:

Men's Medley Relay

Remember when the US won the medley relay by four seconds at Worlds? I miss those days. In this era, I can think of six countries with somewhat of a shot to win the event at Worlds. Here are the teams:

USA - we don't know who yet

Australia - Delaney/Stoeckel, Rickard/Sprenger, Lauterstein, Sullivan

Japan - Irie/Koga, Tateishi, Kishida, Fujii

Russia - Vyatchanin/Donets, Geybel/Lakhtyukhov (both 1:00-mid/high), Korotyshkin, Grechin

France - Stravius/Stasiulus, Duboscq, Lefert, Bernard/Bousquet

Brazil (since when?) - Guido (he's put up some quality 50 Backs, still waiting for a good 100), Barbosa (59.12 - 2nd all time), Mangibeira, Cielo

When a country starts getting the swimmers of the various strokes, their medley relay gets good. Unfortunately for the Americans, it happens.

As for Duel in the Pool, the Japanese men seem more primed than the Aussies, so I think they will take out the medley relay. However, the Aussies will be tougher in Rome, but it will be a battle for any of the countries.

Charlotte Ultra-Swim Predictions

W 800 Free: K. Hoff/E. Bruneman/M. Bird
M 1,500 Free: P. Vanderkaay/J. Kinderwater/C. Peterson

W 200 Free: K. Hoff/D. Knutson/J. Smit Or: M. Descenza
M 200 Free: M. Phelps/P. Vanderkaay/R. Lochte
W 100 Breast: L. Sogar
M 100 Breast: M. Gangloff/E. Shanteau
W 100 Fly: M. Descenza/C. Magnuson/J. Lowe
M 100 Fly: M. Phelps/C. Swanepoel/T. McGill Also watch: D. Tarwater
W 400 IM: E. Beisel/J. Smit/D. Knutson
M 400 IM: T. Pereira/R. Lochte/T. Clary*

W 200 Fly: M. Descenza/J. Lowe/E. Beisel
M 200 Fly: D. Tarwater/A. Vanderkaay/M. Patton
W 50 Free: K. Joyce/A. Weir/C. Magnuson
M 50 Free: C. Jones/G. Bovell/N. Brunelli
W 100 Back: H. McGregory/G. Spofforth/M. Descenza
M 100 Back: R. Lochte/A. Peirsol/M. Phelps
W 200 Breast: L. Sogar
M 200 Breast: E. Shanteau/C. Burckle/M. Gangloff
W 400 Free: K. Hoff/D. Knutson/C. Burckle
M 400 Free: P. Vanderkaay/R. Lochte/M. Patton

W 1,500 Free: E. Brunemann
M 800 Free: J. Kinderwater
W 200 IM: D. Knutson/J. Smit/E. Beisel
M 200 IM: R. Lochte/T. Pereria/E. Shanteau
W 200 Back: E. Beisel/H. McGregory/M. Descenza Don't forget: G. Spofforth
M 200 Back: R. Lochte/A. Peirsol/T. Clary
W 100 Free: K. Joyce/A. Weir/K. Hoff Others: J. Smit, C. Magnuson, D. Knutson
M 100 Free: M. Phelps/C. Jones/R. Lochte Or: Nick Brunelli

*Pereira just swam a somewhat-rested 4:14-flat at the Brazilian trials, so I think he will be fast. Clary took time off after NCAAs, so I don't expect him to be anywhere near peak.

Poll on Men's 100 Back closed - results to be posted before race.

They're at it again!

At the Australia vs. Japan Duel in the Pool in Canberra, a man and a woman each closed in on world records in their respective events. Libby Trickett swam a 52.89 leading off the mixed 4x100 Free Relay (talk about deja vu!) and backed that up 90 minutes later with a 52.95. Just several minutes later, she anchored the women's 4x100 Free Relay in 52.95, a very impressive swim considering the circumstances. Those two swim rank as second and third all-time, and now she has swum under 53 seconds twice (no one else has ever).

In the Men's 100m Back, Japan's Ryosuke Irie back-halfed his way to a ridiculous 52.56, missing Aaron Peirsol's World Record (what I consider the best display of backstroke ever), and zooming him past Randall Bal, former Japanese record holder Junya Koga, Nick Thoman, etc, etc (Phelps in there as well). The scary part: he has two more chances for a world record tomorrow. He will swim the 200 Back first, where he has already swum only 0.08 off Ryan Lochte's World Record, and then leadoff the men's Medley Relay in a big race with the Aussies. Peirsol's record will once again be in danger. Priyant's recap of Duel in the Pool for Swimming World.

In Brazil, Felipe Silva swam a 26.89 in the 50 Breaststroke, breaking Cameron van der Burgh's short-lived World Record in evening prelims. Also in prelims, Joao Luiz Junior swam a 27.14, becoming the fourth fastest man all-time (behind Silva, van der Burgh, and Ukraine's Oleg Lisoger). They ended up 1-2 in finals. Full Swimming World coverage.

Click here to find out why Jason Lezak won't be swimming at the World Championships this summer.

Jessica Hardy Suspension Reduced

After testing positive for banned substance Clenbutrol at last summer's Olympic trials, Jessica Hardy was suspended for two years, but the sentence was reduced today to one year after it was decided it was a result of a tainted supplement. Unfortunately, it appears she still cannot swim at Nationals this summer, because her suspension does not end until July 31. Click here for the full story on Swimming World Magazine.

As her suspension covers Worlds, the Russians Yuliya Efimova and Valentina Artemyeva will have almost a free 1-2 finish. A message to them: Don't get used to it!

Michael Phelps

It's been a long time since the king of swimming (and really sports) has been the title of one of my blogs. But MICHAEL PHELPS IS COMING BACK! He will be swimming the 200 Free and 100 Fly (Friday), 50 Free and 100 Back (Saturday), and 100 Free at the Ultra-Swim in two weeks in Charlotte. Katie Hoff will be swimming the 100-200-400-800 Freestyles, and Ryan Lochte will have the 100-200-400 Free, 100-200 Back, 200-400 IM. The 100 Back will be a very exciting race, with Phelps, Lochte, world-record holder Aaron Peirsol, Nick Thoman, and Ben Hesen all slated to contend. Phelps will face off against Lochte, hometown favorite Cullen Jones, Nick Brunelli, and Lochte in the 100 Free. The top 3 Americans all-time, Phelps, Lochte, and Olympic Bronze Medalist Peter Vanderkaay, will face off in the 200 Free. Other stars will include Hayley McGregory, Elizabeth Beisel, Kara Lynn Joyce, Amanda Weir, Mary Descenza, Christine Magnuson, Mark Gangloff, Alex Vanderkaay, Tyler Clary, Dagny Knutson, and Julia Smit, as well as Brazilian Olympian Thiago Pereira and British Olympians Jemma Lowe and Gemma Spofforth. One of my coaches (an Ultra-Swim vet) commented that this was by far the fastest Ultra-Swims he had ever seen. Click here to view the psych sheet.

But back to the topic at hand. Phelps. There is nothing else to talk about with this guy. Universal Sports has a new commerical advertising their LIVE TV coverage of the meet. Enjoy.

French Nationals and Speedo Grand Challenge

Starting tomorrow, French nationals! Featuring Olympic champion Alain Bernard, short course World Record-holder Amaury Leveaux, Olympic finalist Coralie Balmy, and silver medalists Fabien Gilot and Fred Bousquet. The races for the single spots up for grabs in the 50 and 100 Free will be spectacular to say the least.To view the French swimming federation's homepage, click here. They run until Sunday, April 26.

In addition, one of Beijing's stars will return for his first meet in America since the Olympic trials. Yes, Jason Lezak is back, and he will swim at the pool where he was based for many years before he became his own coach in 2006. He will be joined by Tunisian Olympic gold medalist Ous Mellouli, who will star in the distance events. Other prominent names on the psych sheet include NCAA Champion and American record holder (SCY) Michael Klueh, Short Course National champion William Copeland, Olympic trials finalists Keri Hehn and Presley Bard, and Longhorn's Tanica Jameson, Dale Rogers, and Matt Lowe.

South African Nationals

Today the South African Nationals got off the a rousing start, and I just want to leave a few notes:

Roland Schoeman - 21.81! Pretty fast! I keep thinking he may go 21.5 or 21.6 tomorrow!

Cameron van der Burgh 1:00.28 in the 100 Breast - will challenge his national record of 59.96 (Beijing prelims) tomorrow. He sits well ahead of Neil Versfeld and William Diering, and just behind Eric Shanteau's number one world ranking (1:00.09).

Darian Townsend led off his club's winning 400 Free Relay with a solid 49.1 - needs to be better than that in the individual, but he's got time.

If you look at the results of the women's 50 Free and 100 Breast, you will see a somewhat familiar name in the 11th spot for both events: Jean-Marie Neethling. Yes, this 18-year old is the youngest sister of four-time Olympian Ryk Neethling. (Says so in his book, Chasing the Dream)

PLEASE vote on my polls! I've had very few votes so far.

Click here for full results from the meet.

Poll: French Nationals and South African Nationals

What do you think will happen in the men's sprints at the upcoming French and South African nationals?

France poll closes Wednesday, April 22, while South Africa poll closes Wednesday, April 15.

Current results - Men's 4x100 Free Relay in Rome - poll closes Sunday, May 2.
USA 40%
France 60%

Upcoming Meets

Trials season is in full swing for many countries around the world, and a series of upcoming meets will decide who's going to Rome. Some of these include:
April 14-19 - South African Nationals
April 22-26 - French Nationals
April 24-26 - Speedo Grand Challenge (Irvine)
May 14-17 - Charlotte Ultra-Swim

South African Nationals: THIS WEEK - starts Tuesday! I am really looking forward to this meet. This meet features swimming stars such as Roland Schoeman, who won three medals in Athens, along with his gold medal relay mates Lyndon Ferns and Darian Townsend. Schoeman and Ferns have returned to South Africa to train after many years with Frank Busch and Rick de Mont at the University of Arizona. Townsend, who is still at Arizona, is expected to post strong swims in the 100 and 200 Free, 100 Fly, and 200 IM. In December, he swam lifetime bests of 48.64 and 1:57.88 in the 100 Free and 200 IM, respectively. He also came up just shy of Lyndon Ferns' African record in the 100 Fly with a blistering 52.02. He also has a 47.5 relay split from Beijing to his credit. He will be on fire.* Also watch out for Olympic finalist Jean Basson (100/200/400 Free), Troyden Prinsloo (800/1,500 Free), Neil Versfeld (50/100/200 Breast), and Wendy Trott (400/800/1,500 Free), who all had stellar meets at the NCAA championships, winning one event apiece. Also, South Africa-based Cameron van der Burgh (WR-holder 50/100 Breast short course), who recently spent some time working with Kosuke Kitajima's coach, and Gerhard Zandberg will be present. Four-time Olympian Ryk Neethling and Auburn-based Gideon Louw will not be in Durban, Neethling possibly having retired. (Check out Ryk's new book, Chasing the Dream!)

French Nationals: The stars of the meet will probably be those four guys: Amaury Leveaux, Fabien Gilot, Frederik Bousquet, and Alain Bernard, the men who almost upset the American 400 Free Relay team in Beijing. Bernard, the gold medalist, has been pre-selected for the 100 Free, but may swim it anyway as the other three go for the final spot. Remember, the world record is Eamon Sullivan's 47.05, and Bernard's European and French record is 47.20. In the 50, Leveaux is the one who is pre-selected, based on his silver medal from Beijing. Bernard will take on Bousquet, the current world leader in the event, to try to earn the single spot. I really believe that Bousquet will break the world record of 21.28 (Sullivan) after his swims of 21.59 and 21.44 already this year. On the female side, Olympic finalist and former short course world record holder Coralie Balmy will headline the middle-distance and distance freestyle events.

Charlotte Ultra-Swim: The only thing I have to say: Michael Phelps' first meet since Beijing will be less than 200 miles from where I live, and I won't be there! We are only 33 days away...

Just saying... 2-time World Champion and World Championship record holder Filippo Magnini is ranked 1st in the world in the 100 Free (right now) at 48.11, a tine that means relatively little these days. This matches his best time from the semi-finals of the Olympics. If you put two and two together, you'll understand: a time that would have won all past world championships didn't make the final in Beijing. Scary.

*Regarding Darian Townsend: For four months, Darian has been blogging for floswimming.org. That's where I found the info about his times. Check it out!

Re-match Poll - Men's 4x100 Free Relay

Who will win the big re-match in Rome - USA or France? Results posted above.

Does Nick D'arcy DESERVE to swim in Rome and possibly London?
YES - 62.5%
NO - 37.5%

NEWS FLASH! Spain's Rafael Munoz has set a World and European record in the Spanish championships. The bronze medalist in the 50 Fly at the '08 European short course championships, Munoz achieved a long course 50 Fly standard of 22.43, absolutely DESTROYING Roland Schoeman's World Record of 22.96 from 2005 and Milorad Cavic's European record of 23.11 from last year. In the 100 Fly, he swam 50.58, tying Michael Phelps' gold medal swim from Bejing as the second fastest in history; it was a European record, one one-hundredth of a second ahead of Cavic's silver-medal winning time from the Olympics. For more information, click here. Also, Aschwin Wildeboer swam a stellar 52.93 European record in the 100 Back, making him the fourth fastest performer all-time (sixth fastest time), trailing Americans Peirsol, Bal, and Thoman.

100 Fly Poll Results

Here are the results from the Australian Women's 100 Fly poll:

DESERVES:
Galvez - 47.8%
Trickett - 52.2%

WILL
Galvez 26.1%
Trickett 73.9%

Galvez DESERVES, Galvez WILL 21.7%
Galvez DESERVES, Trickett WILL 26.1%
Trickett DESERVES, Galvez WILL 4.3%
Trickett DESERVES, Trickett WILL 47.8%

The official decision was made the day this poll closed (all votes received BEFORE this decision). It turns out most voters were wrong - Galvez will be swimming the 100 Fly in Rome.

Last chance to vote on Nick D'arcy's rights to swim in Rome and possibly London! Poll closes tomorrow! Tomorrow's new poll will highlight a classic rematch from Beijing, one that needs no introduction...

Editor's note: I know most big-time swim fans have already narrowed what this could be down to two!