USA is Pooling for Worlds Dominance

Mar 29, 08:02 AM

Current Headlines: By Vicki Michaelis

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Brendan Hansen knew when he saw teammate Leila Vaziri, a world swimming championships rookie, set a world record in the semifinals of the 50-meter backstroke Wednesday that the U.S. team's momentum here had reached a remarkable level.

"It's like, who doesn't break a world record now?" he said. "It just seems like everything is going our way."

Through the halfway point of the last major international meet before the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the U.S. swimmers appear on pace to again be big winners at the Games. An expected threat from China has yet to materialize, and usual nemesis Australia is weaker after Ian Thorpe's retirement and Grant Hackett's shoulder surgery. U.S. swimmers, meanwhile, had won 15 medals and set five world records entering today.

"It's fun to see us being as dominant as we should be," U.S. head coach Mark Schubert said.

With 28 medals, led by Michael Phelps' eight, swimmers contributed the most of any sport to the U.S. medal haul in the 2004 Olympics. That number will be crucial to maintain, or even improve upon, if the USA is to win the overall and gold medal counts next year.

U.S. swimmers have won eight gold medals in worlds. Phelps has three, with three individual events and two relays remaining.

Even the USA's shortfalls here seem surmountable before Beijing. The USA failed to medal in the women's 200 freestyle and the women's and men's 400 freestyle but posted fourth- through sixth-place finishes in all three.

"I guess we're doing something right in the pool back home," Phelps said after winning the 200 butterfly Wednesday by 3.04 seconds over China's Peng Wu, lowering his own world record by 1.62 seconds. It was his second world record in as many days.

U.S. teammates Aaron Peirsol and Natalie Coughlin also improved on their own world records in their respective 100 backstroke events, Peirsol while being pushed by teammate Ryan Lochte. Lochte also was expected to challenge Phelps in the 200 individual medley, scheduled for today. Lochte finished second to Phelps in the 200 IM in the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"It's good. It gives us a chance to go 1-2 in all the events," Lochte said of trying to break through in events his teammates dominate.

It gives the U.S. team a chance to collect more medals, which it will need to top the overall medals table for a fourth consecutive Summer Olympics next year.

Threats to that dominance are expected to come from China, Russia and Germany. But the U.S. swimming team so far isn't seeing ominous signs from those countries.

Wu's silver in the 200 butterfly was the first for China in these worlds, prompting questions over whether the Chinese brought their best swimmers. China's coach, Zhang Yadong, told reporters before the competition began that 90% of the Chinese competing in Melbourne this week also will be in Beijing.

"You have that nagging thought in the back of your mind of, 'When are they going to pull the trigger and you're going to see somebody do something really good?'" said John Collins, coach of the U.S. women.

While China might still be a sleeping giant, U.S. coaches are seeing singular swimmers emerge from countries that don't normally produce them. Tae Hwan Park of South Korea, in the 400 free, and Oussama Mellouli of Tunisia, in the 800 free, won the first world swimming titles for their countries this week.

Laure Manaudou of France, swimming a program as ambitious as Phelps', won the 200 and 400 free and became the only other woman in history besides Coughlin to finish the 100 back in less than a minute.

"They come from all over, and we have plenty of challenges," Schubert said.

This week they also have had plenty to celebrate.

"When you're surrounded by people who are swimming fast, you're going to swim fast," said Hansen, who has a gold in the 100 breaststroke and a silver in the 50 but won't be swimming the 200 after coming down with a virus late Wednesday. "It's like if I played a round of golf with Tiger Woods, I think I'd shoot better than an 89."

*For coverage of this morning's events from Australia, including Michael Phelps' showdown with Ryan Lochte in the 200 individual medley, go to

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