Day 4 Finals

What did we learn tonight?
1) We learned that old is nothing more than a figure of speech. 32 year-old Jason Lezak became the third American in history to break the 48 second barrier in the 100 Free and reclaimed his American Record in the process. Lezak's 47.58 is just .08 away from the current World Record. The 100 Free Final is going to be exciting as six out of the eight swimmers in the race will have their ticket punched for Beijing. Ryan Lochte has scratched from the finals even though he was seeded fifth. Lochte is swimming the 200 IM and the 200 Back tomorrow, he holds the World Record in the latter. Swimming both of those semi-final races tomorrow night is going to be tough enough, and adding a 100 Free in between them would not provide for enough warmdown time before the 200 Back.

2) We learned that Katie Hoff is the best female swimmer in this country and quite possibly the entire world. Going back-to-back in the 200 Free and 200 IM was tough. Winning both was even tougher. Winning both in American Record times is something really special. When all is said and done Hoff could very well be known as the greatest female swimmer of all time. What she does in Beijing will go a long way to determining that.

3) We learned that sticking the finish is important. Take another look online at the finish in the Women's 200 IM. It seems as if Ariana Kukors took an extra stroke at the wall which allowed Natalie Coughlin to sneak into the second place spot, .08 ahead of Kukors.

4) We learned that heartbreak is as much of a part of this meet as triumph. There was Davis Tarwater finishing 3rd in the 200 Fly, Kukors in the 200 IM, and Kaitlin Sandeno calling it a career after the final of the 200 IM. Sandeno is a two time Olympian and a multiple medal winner, including a gold medal and World Record in the 800 Free Relay in Athens. If you get the chance take a look at her interview with Andrea Kramer after the 200 IM at nbcolympics.com. Sandeno was very classy in acknowledging her swimming career is over.

5) We learned the fundamental disciplines taught at an early age can come in to play on the biggest stage. Coughlin took second in the 200 IM because she didn't breathe inside the flags on the finish and because she got on her side as she hit the wall. Gil Stovall finished the 200 Fly with a great kick (closing in 29) and with an amazing breakout off of the last turn. A strong kick, good turns, strong and fast breakouts off of each wall, not breathing on the finish and getting on your side as you hit the wall. These disciplines all come into play every single race. Hats off to Coughlin and Stovall for their performances tonight.

Tomorrow:
Jamie Marks (200 Breast), Bill Cregar (200 IM), and Mike Joyce (200 IM) are all in action during tomorrow morning's prelims. The top 16 in each event will make it back to the semi-final heat tomorrow night. I'm guessing its going to take a sub 2:03 performance to make the semi-final in the 200 IM. Bill is seeded 44th with a 2:06.0 and Mike is seeded 72nd with a 2:06.88.