By John Lohn
OMAHA, Nebraska, July 3. THE former world-record holder wants his standard back. The current holder wants to keep the mark in his pocket. When Aaron Peirsol and Ryan Lochte lock horns tomorrow night, the men's 200 backstroke could produce some of the biggest fireworks of the competition.
Peirsol, the defending Olympic champion and three-time world titlist, won the second semifinal and claimed the top seed for the final by clocking a time of 1:55.78. Lochte, meanwhile, bested the competition in the first semifinal, using a swim of 1:56.52 to get to the wall first. The world record of 1:54.32 is in severe jeopardy. At last year's World Champs in Melbourne, Lochte ended Peirsol's seven-year winning streak in the event and took his global standard.
Lochte will have a difficult night tomorrow as he's scheduled to contest the 200 individual medley final to go with the 200 backstroke. It's just part of the demanding slate that Lochte was anxious to embrace. What Lochte has proven over the years is an ability to handle all sorts of pressure and a grueling schedule.
Tyler Clary, who had a superb freshman year at Michigan, qualified in the third spot with a time of 1:57.30 while the fourth position was secured by Nick Thoman in 1:58.57. Following were Chris DeJong in 1:58.76, Patrick Schirk (1:58.97), Rexford Tullius (1:59.12) and Cory Chitwood (1:59.35).
"I was just trying to get under 1:56," Peirsol said. "I try to limit looking to the scoreboard to once per race."
Video Footage Removed Due to NBC Restrictions
Go to Swimming World's 2008 Olympics Landing Page for the most comprehensive coverage of the meet on the Internet.
