While Michael Phelps is arguably the most well-rounded swimmer of all time, one thing he is not, is a breaststroker. You can classify Phelps as butterflier, an IM’er, or a freestyler, but he’s not a breaststroker. It’s nothing personal against Phelps – in fact, neither are Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin, or Missy Franklin, for that matter.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (USA Swimming) – Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.) and Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas) collected their second gold medals of the meet during the third night of the Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix. Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.) picked up his second medal of the meet with a silver in the 200m fly.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (USA Swimming) – Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas), Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, N.J.) and Jessica Hardy (Long Beach, Calif.) each earned a gold and silver medal on the second night of action at the Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix. Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.) collected a silver medal in the 200m free.
Attending the Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix is like diving into the rabbit hole of awesome swimming: Everywhere you turn, there’s another aquatic superstar. Because it’s in an intimate venue, the Charlotte UltraSwim will have the most National Teamers per square inch of deck space of any meet this year. That, combined with hospitality offerings like sweet iced tea, pulled pork sandwiches and unique vendor stands, makes this Grand Prix – in the words of Tina Turner — “simply the best.”
But there’s more on the line than southern hospitality and meet-and-greet opportunities: Officially, six weeks remain before the 2012 Olympic Trials. For many swimmers, this weekend’s UltraSwim provides the final opportunity to race, tweak strategy, fine-tune strokes and gauge progress. It’s one of the final litmus tests before The Big Show. Which means more pressure, better racing, and fiercer competition…
As always, here are Five Things To Watch:
Olympic gold medalists Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.), Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) and Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.) will headline the talented group of swimmers competing May 10-13 at the Charlotte UltraSwim Grand Prix. The meet is the sixth stop of the 2011-2012 USA Swimming Grand Prix Series and will take place at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte, N.C.
Additional National Team members who will compete in Charlotte include Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, NJ.), Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.), Brendan Hansen (Havertown, Pa.), Jessica Hardy (Long Beach, Calif.), Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.), Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Mark Gangloff (Akron, Ohio), Eric Shanteau (Lilburn, Ga.), Cullen Jones (New Brunswick, N.J.),Allison Schmitt (Canton, Mich.), Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill.), and Charlotte native Ricky Berens(Charlotte, NC).
Timed finals on Thursday will begin at 4 p.m. ET. Prelims in Charlotte will start at 9 a.m. ET, Friday through Sunday, with finals beginning at 6 p.m. ET. Visit www.usaswimming.org for a complete schedule of events. Tickets may be purchased at the door or through the Charlotte UltraSwim website online. USA Swimming will also provide a live webcast of the event while Universal Sports will broadcast the event LIVE from 6 – 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 12 and Sunday, May 13.
The meet is the sixth stop of the 2011-2012 USA Swimming Grand Prix Series with the series concluding June 2, 2012 in Santa Clara, Calif. Swimmers are awarded five points for a gold medal, three points for a silver medal and one point for a bronze medal. The top scoring swimmer at the conclusion of the Series will be awarded $20,000. Phelps currently sits atop the standings with Schmitt in second. Reigning Grand Prix Series ChampionMissy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) rounds out the top three. A leaderboard for the USA Swimming Grand Prix Series can be found online at www.usaswimming.org/grandprix.
The USA Swimming Grand Prix Series serves as an opportunity for swimmers to race against some of the best competition in the country as they continue their preparation for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials in Omaha, Neb. as well as the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
AUSTIN, Texas (USA Swimming) – Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.) and Allison Schmitt (Canton, Mich.) each won their third gold medal Sunday on the final night of competition at the Austin Grand Prix. It was also Phelps’ fourth medal of the meet, winning a bronze medal in the 100m back.
AUSTIN, Texas (USA Swimming) – 2008 Olympian Allison Schmitt (Canton, Mich.) broke a pool record Friday on the first night of the 2012 Austin Grand Prix. Schmitt won the women’s 400m free with a time of 4:05.90, breaking the pool record set in 1988 at Olympic Trials by Janet Evans (Placentia, Calif.). Evans, who was also back competing in Austin, earned a 2012 Olympic Trials cut in the morning prelims of the 400m free, turning in a time of 4:17.27.
The U.S. Olympic Committee has named the women’s 400m medley relay that competed at the 2011 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool as its Team of the Month.
Natalie Coughlin, Rebecca Soni, Dana Vollmer and Missy Franklin kicked off the meet, held Dec. 16-17 in Atlanta, Ga., with a short course world record, turning in a time of 3:45.56.
Coughlin led off the relay in 55.97, setting an American record. The U.S. women beat the European All-Stars relay team by 5.5 seconds and broke the World Record by nearly 2.5 seconds
