OMAHA – The big question before the Olympic trials was if Michael Phelps could beat Ryan Lochte. Now, after knocking off his rival for a second time in three tries Saturday night, the question returns to a more familiar refrain.
By Andrew Weber, US Presswire
Michael Phelps beat Ryan Lochte to win the men's 200-meter individual medley final at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials on Saturday in Omaha.
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Can he win eight gold medals in back-to-back Games?
Bob Bowman, his coach, said it's a crazy question to ask, that such a thing is too much to ask of anyone. But Phelps, on his 27th birthday, fresh off another stirring win against Lochte, was willing to entertain the crazy question. After all, he is on course to qualify in the same events in London that he entered in Beijing.
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"I actually thought I would never try it again," Phelps said. "When we were talking to Bob about the event program, I thought, 'Wait a minute. It's essentially going to be eight again.' And he's like, 'Yeah. You didn't think about that?'
"And I was, like, 'No. I didn't think I would do it.' But I don't know. Who knows? I don't know. I can't tell you. I'm so tired right now. I just want to go home right now and go to sleep."
Phelps had good reason to feel tired — and Lochte more so. Phelps won the 200-meter individual medley against his rival and then qualified for Sunday's final in the 100 butterfly. Lochte won the 200 backstroke, finished second in the 200 IM and then also qualified for the 100 fly final.
The 200 IM was another instant classic. Phelps bested Lochte by nine-hundredths of a second as the rivals pounded to the finish, churning water stroke for stroke. Phelps' time of 1:54.84 is the fastest in the world this year. Lochte is the world recordholder at 1:54.00, set last year.
Phelps swam fresh while Lochte was about half an hour removed from his victory in the 200 backstroke. And Phelps' strategy was to turn that to his advantage.
"I kind of used Ryan having the 200 back before," Phelps said. "I tried to set the pace early. I know the 200 back long course is a very tough race, and it takes a lot out of your legs. So I wanted to jump on it in the first 100 and see what happened."
The 100 fly is one of Phelps' specialties, so the odds are he will come away with three head-to-head wins in four finals here. Phelps qualified first and Lochte sixth in the semis.
What has Lochte learned about Phelps here? He shrugged, as if to say there was nothing new to learn.
"I'm used to racing against him," Lochte said. "I've been doing it for eight years now. So he's one of the toughest competitors out there. And the past four years I've gone a lot faster. I know what my body can handle. And I know this meet was just steppingstones for what I really want to do in London."
Lochte is right about that. Their rivalry will be settled there. The top two in each final here earn berths to London, and both qualified in each final in which they've gone head to head. So the races that count, the ones that will be remembered, are still to come.
"It doesn't really matter here," Phelps said. "The bigger races are a couple of weeks down the road. … I know that."
Still, Phelps has planted a seed. Lochte came in having dominated Phelps in the world for the past couple of years. Phelps served notice that he is ready for the Games, as usual. Now he needs to stop playing cat-and-mouse games. That's the term Bowman uses to criticize the two rivals for being so intent on staying with each other that they can forget to race against the clock.
"I think our backstroke we kind of let off a little bit," Phelps said of the 200 IM. "We were probably playing the cat-and-mouse game again. And then, of course, the last 50 we just went crazy."
Lochte won the 400 IM in Round 1 against Phelps on Monday — by eight-tenths of a second. Phelps won Round 2 on Wednesday in the 200 freestyle — by five hundredths of a second. And then came Saturday's nine-hundredths race. There is only a hair of difference between them.
"I'm just happy to have a good race like that," Phelps said. "Kind of pulled it all together. I think one of the things I wanted to do in the IM is try to nail back the breast turn and try to keep the breaststroke together. I watched some things on the video yesterday and saw some weak points in my race that I thought I could fix."
That's Phelps. He is always analytical, trying to tweak every turn and every stroke.
"Those were two all right races," Phelps said of his night. "I'm pleased with the fly, and I'm OK with the IM. A win is a win. But I'm sure that is not going to be the end of us going back and forth."
Phelps praised Lochte for his toughness. Phelps said he likes to race against him.
"Neither one of us wants to lose," Phelps said. "When we get in the water, we race as hard as we can. … They're fun exciting races, and Ryan has proven he's been the best the last couple of years. And for me, I've always been about racing the best."
Or being the best — maybe even eight times again.
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