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Ryan Lochte appeared to be in control of every stroke in the 200 IM semifinal at the FINA world championships, but the three-time world champion in the event said he might have been too aggressive in the opening half of the race.
“I probably used too much legs on the backstroke instead of my arms,” Lochte said. “I felt it towards the last four or five strokes of breaststroke. But I just stopped swimming the last 25 meters of freestyle. I know there’s more left, so I’ll save it for tomorrow night.”
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Lochte is known for making radical speed changes at the end of races in which he appears to be in control and safely through to the next round. It isn’t coming as easy for him as it did back in 2009 when he won his first world title in the 200 IM, or in 2011 when he won the epic race against Michael Phelps to set the current world record of 1:54.00.
“Once I saw I had that lead, I just shut it down and tried to save as much energy as possible,” he said. “I’m 31. I need it!”
Lochte will be part of a 200 IM final that will be thrilling for any fans of the University of Florida. He’ll join former Gator swimmers Dan Wallace, Marcin Cieslak and Conor Dwyer in what will be a strong field.
“That’s pretty cool that our background … and where we’ve been training at (paid off),” he said.
Sophie Strangio
GO GATORS ????