Today, it's all swimming for UF's athletes, and it's a HUGE day for Ryan Lochte.
Phelps and Lochte will face each other for possibly the last time in today's 200 IM final
Lochte will be competing in the finals of both the 200 backstroke and the 200 IM. He is the current Olympic champion in the 200 back and the current world record-holder in the 200 IM. He will face significant competition in both events, however. Fellow American Tyler Clary is the #2 seed, but the field is stacked: China's Fengling Zhan and Japan's Ryosuke Irie are also expected to challenge for the podium.
And everyone will be talking about the 200 IM final, in which Lochte will swim his final race against Michael Phelps. They are expected to place 1-2, but in what order is anyone's guess. Lochte is having a pretty good meet; I think he's at the top of his form. Phelps, on the other hand, is a little off his game - but he is well-known to step it up a notch when the situation calls for it.
Other Gator swimmers in action today:
Brett Fraser (Cayman Islands) - did not advance to the semis in the 50 free, with a very disappointing 32nd-place performance in prelims.
Elizabeth Beisel - advanced to the semifinals of the women's 200 back, with the second-fastest time. Stephanie Proud (UK) - advanced to the semis in the women's 200 back, with the eleventh-fastest time. Incoming freshman Sinead Russell (Canada) - advanced to the semis in the women's 200 back, with the seventh-fastest time.
That's all for now. Stay tuned to this thread for results.
Ryan Lochte [spoiler]gets the bronze in the 200 back. Whiny bitch Tyler Clary gets the gold[/spoiler].
In the women's 200 breast, [spoiler]Rebecca Soni wins gold in a new world record time![/spoiler]
In the men's 50 free semifinal [spoiler]Cullen Jones and Anthony Ervin qualify 1-3, respectively. Looks like the final will be 25% African-American. Well, 18.75% if you want to get technical because Ervin is only half-black. But I get the feeling he's 100% homo, so that must count for something, diversity-wise.[/spoiler]