Trials Throwback: Men’s 200 Breast in 2008

Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

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Less than two weeks to go until Olympic Trials get underway in Omaha, Neb. But before the meet, we wanted to look back at some of the great moments from past editions of the meet held inside the CenturyLink Center. Welcome to #TrialsThrowback!

Only three weeks before the 2008 Olympic Trials, Kosuke Kitajima smashed Brendan Hansen’s world record in the 200 breast by almost a full second. The longtime rivals had exchanged blows over the years, but Kitajima had previously struck when it mattered most. He won gold in both the 100 and 200 breast at the Athens Olympics just weeks after Hansen had taken away Kitajima’s world records in both events.

With Kitajima rounding into form once again, the pressure was on for Hansen to throw down a response—if not breaking the world record then at least getting close. Hansen, after already earning himself a spot on the Olympic team by winning the 100 breast at Trials, took the blocks as the top seed in the 200 breast final.

The race proceeded as expected early on, with Hansen staying in range of Kitajima’s world record pace and Eric Shanteau not far behind. Shanteau had been in the finals of the event at the World Championships the year before and had entered as the favorite for the second spot in Beijing.

Shanteau began to close the gap on Hansen at end of the third lap, touching just seven one-hundredths out of third place.

That’s when everything got really weird.

Hansen suddenly fell apart, fading from a 33.55 third 50 split to a 36.15 on the way home. He ended up fourth in 2:11.37.

Shanteau held on to get second in 2:10.36. After finishing third in both IM events in 2004, he finally made his first Olympic team.

Scott Usher, an Olympian in the event 2004, made a run at the end, but he had to settle for third in 2:11.00.

But the winner was Scott Spann, who had just transferred from Michigan to Texas and had been on almost no one’s radar. But with his 33.62 closing split—in comparison, Shanteau’s 35.07 was next-best—Spann clinched a spot in Beijing with his 2:09.97.

Spann went on to finish sixth in the event in Beijing, and Shanteau finished tenth after delaying surgery to remove testicular cancer to compete in the Olympics.

And Kitajima secured his standing as the greatest breaststroker in history when, once again, he won gold in both the 100 and 200 breast.

Photo Courtesy: OMEGA Timing

Check out our previous #TrialsThrowbacks:
Men’s 400 IM in 2008
Women’s 400 IM in 2008
Women’s 100 Back in 2008

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