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In other races, the women?s 100m butterfly proved to be the tightest race of the evening, with five-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif. / Cal Aquatics) edging fellow Olympian Rachel Komisarz (Louisville, Ky. / Lakeside) by one-hundredth of a second. Coughlin?s final time of 57.78 was just two-tenths of a second off the American record, and she and Komisarz finished with the third and fourth-fastest times in the world this year.
Mary DeScenza (Naperville, Ill. / Athens Bulldog) was third in 58.80.
Klete Keller (Phoenix, Ariz. / Club Wolverine) made a run at his own American record in the men?s 400m free but fell short in the last 50 meters of the race. The Olympic bronze medalist in this event, Keller led the field from start to finish and was almost two seconds ahead of American record pace at the 250-meter mark.
He finished with a time of 3:44.27, 16-hundredths of a second off the AR. Keller?s Club Wolverine teammate Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) was second in 3:46.81, while Larsen Jensen (Bakersfield, Calif. / Trojan) was third in 3:48.01. They finished with the top three fastest times in the world this year.
?I was hoping for a little faster time,? Keller said. ?I wanted to do a best time. That was my goal. I?ve got to work on going out fast and being able to bring it back that fast. I need two of those first 200s.?
In the final race of the night, world record holder Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md. / Club Wolverine) held off Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.
/ Daytona Beach Swimming) for a win in the 400m IM. Phelps was out ahead of world record pace through the 200-meter mark, but fell behind after the breaststroke leg and had to fight off a charging Lochte in the freestyle.
Phelps finished with a final time of 4:10.16, followed by Lochte in 4:11.53 and Club Wolverine?s Erik Vendt (North Easton, Mass.) in 4:12.69.
?In all, that was a pretty disappointing swim,? Phelps said. ?I feel like I should have gone faster, but that?s how it goes. Ryan had a great swim, and so did Erik. It?s better than we were last year, but by no means is this where I want to be right now.?
The 2006 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships continues Wednesday with prelims and finals of the men?s and women?s 100m backstroke, the men?s and women?s 200m freestyle, the men?s 200m butterfly and the women?s 400m free relay.
For complete coverage from Nationals, including links to results, flash quotes, agate and more, visit the USA Swimming media section and follow the link for the special USA Swimming Nationals media page.
About USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for competitive swimming in the United States, USA Swimming formulates the rules, implements policies and procedures, conducts national championships, disseminates safety and sports medicine information and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition. USA Swimming has more than 300,000 members nationwide and sanctions more than 7,000 events each year.
In other races, the women?s 100m butterfly proved to be the tightest race of the evening, with five-time Olympic medalist Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif. / Cal Aquatics) edging fellow Olympian Rachel Komisarz (Louisville, Ky. / Lakeside) by one-hundredth of a second. Coughlin?s final time of 57.78 was just two-tenths of a second off the American record, and she and Komisarz finished with the third and fourth-fastest times in the world this year.
Mary DeScenza (Naperville, Ill. / Athens Bulldog) was third in 58.80.
Klete Keller (Phoenix, Ariz. / Club Wolverine) made a run at his own American record in the men?s 400m free but fell short in the last 50 meters of the race. The Olympic bronze medalist in this event, Keller led the field from start to finish and was almost two seconds ahead of American record pace at the 250-meter mark.
He finished with a time of 3:44.27, 16-hundredths of a second off the AR. Keller?s Club Wolverine teammate Peter Vanderkaay (Rochester, Mich.) was second in 3:46.81, while Larsen Jensen (Bakersfield, Calif. / Trojan) was third in 3:48.01. They finished with the top three fastest times in the world this year.
?I was hoping for a little faster time,? Keller said. ?I wanted to do a best time. That was my goal. I?ve got to work on going out fast and being able to bring it back that fast. I need two of those first 200s.?
In the final race of the night, world record holder Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md. / Club Wolverine) held off Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.
/ Daytona Beach Swimming) for a win in the 400m IM. Phelps was out ahead of world record pace through the 200-meter mark, but fell behind after the breaststroke leg and had to fight off a charging Lochte in the freestyle.
Phelps finished with a final time of 4:10.16, followed by Lochte in 4:11.53 and Club Wolverine?s Erik Vendt (North Easton, Mass.) in 4:12.69.
?In all, that was a pretty disappointing swim,? Phelps said. ?I feel like I should have gone faster, but that?s how it goes. Ryan had a great swim, and so did Erik. It?s better than we were last year, but by no means is this where I want to be right now.?
The 2006 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships continues Wednesday with prelims and finals of the men?s and women?s 100m backstroke, the men?s and women?s 200m freestyle, the men?s 200m butterfly and the women?s 400m free relay.
For complete coverage from Nationals, including links to results, flash quotes, agate and more, visit the USA Swimming media section and follow the link for the special USA Swimming Nationals media page.
About USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for competitive swimming in the United States, USA Swimming formulates the rules, implements policies and procedures, conducts national championships, disseminates safety and sports medicine information and selects athletes to represent the United States in international competition. USA Swimming has more than 300,000 members nationwide and sanctions more than 7,000 events each year.
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