2007
Missouri Grand Prix - Day 2 Finals
There is much to talk about regarding tonight’s timed finals of the 2007 Missouri Grand Prix. As posted earlier (minutes after it happened) we were witness to another world record by Michael Phelps. But there were also other standout performances from Katie Hoff, Aaron Peirsol, Natalie Coughlin, Peter Vanderkaay, and more.
Natalie got the crowd into it early on her way to a win in the 100 Free. She pulled away from the field to finish in 53.95, more than 2 seconds ahead of American Record Holder Amanda Weir’s 56.07 swim and Martina Moravcova’s 56.66. Swim Star Megan Romano finished 7th in the ‘A’ final with a 58.13 effort.
On the men’s side, Simon Burnett touched ahead of Cullen Jones to win in 49.66. Jones took second in 50.14. Jakob Andkjaer rounded out the top 3 with his 50.16 swim. In the ‘B’ final, Ian Crocker swam to a first place finish in 50.69, which was the 5th fastest race of the evening.
The next event was was the 200 Fly. Kim Vandenberg posted a personal best time en route to winning the event in 2:08.22. Katie Hoff claimed runner-up honors with her 2:11.99 swim while Mary Descenza finished 3rd — just .16 out of 2nd place — in 2:12.15.
Michael Phelps pleased the crowd in the men’s race by breaking his own world record unshaven and untapered. The new global standard of 1:53.71 was over 6 seconds faster than his nearest competitor. Trojan Swim Club’s Tamas Kerekjarto’s and Tuscon Ford’s Juan Veloz finished 2-3 in 1:59.79 and 1:59.86 respectively. Davis Tarwater, who will also be competing in the event at next month’s World Championships was not in the race as he only arrived in Columbia during the afternoon.
Mary DeScenza returned to the pool for the women’s 200 Back, which she went on to win in 2:15.32. World Championships teammate Ariana Kukors finished in 2:15.64, earning second place. Lauren English’s 2:17.40 time was good enough for third place. Megan Romano finished 7th with a 2:21.31 swim.
To no one’s surprise, Aaron Peirsol won the men’s 200 Back event. He touched in 1:56.27, well ahead of his Longhorn teammate David Cromwell (2:01.72). Thiago Pereira, of Brazil, took third in 2:05.00.
The final individual events of the night were the men’s and women’s 400 Free, which were both won by Swim Stars. On the women’s side, Katie Hoff cruised to a first place finish in 4:09.47. SMU’s Flavia Rigamonti finished second with a 4:13.56 swim and Club Wolverine’s Kalyn Keller was third in 4:14.18. Peter Vanderkaay used a late race surge to win in 3:48.92. He was challenged throughout the race by second place finisher Trojan Swim Club’s Ous Mellouli (3:49.55). Jan Wolfgarten, representing Gator Swim Club claimed third in 3:54.86. Erik Vendt, also of Club Wolverine, took 5th in 3:56.44.
