Ryan Lochte won his latest showdown with the winningest Olympian ever, beating Phelps for the first time in the 400-meter individual medley at the U.S. swimming trials Monday night.
In taking the first spot on the Olympic team, Lochte extended his dominance of Phelps that goes back to last year's world championships, where the 27-year-old Floridian won five gold medals and both head-to-head races against Phelps.
"The first race is always the hardest," Lochte said. "I can take a deep breath now, relax and whatever happens, happens."
Phelps started strong on the butterfly leg, his best stroke, but Lochte took command when they switched to the breaststroke. He built a lead of about a half-body length and held off Phelps in the freestyle finish, cruising to the wall with one arm extended to post a time of 4 minutes, 7.06 seconds.
He got a kiss from his dad, Steve, as he came off the deck and a huge cheer from the crowd of more than 11,000 – including a group behind the starting block that waved "Ryan" signs and giant cardboard cutouts of his face.
Phelps claimed the second Olympic spot in 4:07.89, setting himself up for another eight-event program in London – something he insisted he wouldn't do again after the Beijing Games.
No comments:
Post a Comment