July 2, 2008 - The U.S. Olympic Team Trials in swimming began June 29 and will run to July 6 in Omaha, Neb. The good news is that NBC and sister station USA are providing live and highlighted TV coverage of the event. The bad news for U.S. swimmers is that it’s a tough venue - no more than the top two swimmers in each event, aside from the 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle, are eligible to be named to the Olympic team.
Expectations are high and for good reason. Intense training, combined with the controversial LZR swimsuit, are causing world records to fall on an almost daily basis. In many cases, a sixth place this week would have been worthy of a gold medal last time.
Natalie Coughlin blitzed to a world record in the 100-meter backstroke to highlight another breathless day of action on Tuesday. Coughlin stormed to the wall in a time of 58.97 seconds, trimming 0.06 off her own mark to become the first woman to dip under 59 seconds.
A day earlier, Hayley McGregory knocked off Natalie Coughlin’s 4 1/2 -month-old mark in the 100 backstroke with a time of 59.15 seconds, only to have Coughlin take it right back in the next heat at 59.03.
Christine Magnuson, a Tennessee swimmer, booked a ticket to the Olympics with a win in the 100 butterfly. The victory was helped by Coughlin’s decision not to swim, even though she holds the American record. Jessica Hardy also claimed her first trip to the Olympics by winning the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:06.87 ahead of 2000 Sydney gold medalist Megan Jendrick.
Teenager Katie Hoff, who has claimed a world record in the 400 medley and two Olympic spots, looks poised to add to more events to her Beijing program after posting the top times in the 200-meter freestyle and 200-meter individual medley. Hoff is from the same North Baltimore club that launched Michael Phelps and is quickly becoming the sport’s other resident superstar.
With the trials as exciting as they are, will we see even more records fall at the Olympics?
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