By John Lohn
OMAHA, Nebraska, July 2. RIDING the momentum of her Beijing qualification in the 100 butterfly, Elaine Breeden was the swiftest performer during the preliminaries of the 200 fly. The Stanford standout, swimming in the 11th of 13 heats, turned in a time of 2:07.72, well ahead of the rest of the semifinal qualifiers.
Breeden was consistent throughout the 100 fly and has always been known as strong in the longer of the fly events. If she can maintain her standing through to the finals, Breeden could land a second Olympic invitation. Breeden was followed in the second slot by Tanya Krisman, as the 18-year-old checked in with a time of 2:08.98.
"It was an unbelievable heat, really," Breeden said. "Kim Vandenberg has been the fastest American for awhile, but there are so many people out there. It's going to be a really fast event."
They will be gunning for one of the longest-standing records on the books, as Mary T. Meagher's meet record from 1984 still stands as 2:07.53.
Kim Vandenberg, the United States' top entry in this event the past couple of years, qualified in the No. 3 spot for the semifinals with Kathleen Hersey, the 2007 Pan-American Games champ, in fourth. They had respective times of 2:09.37 and 2:09.52, with Mary DeScenza following in fifth in 2:09.65. The sixth position went to Teresa Crippen in 2:10.42 and seventh and eighth were occupied by Lyndsay DePaul (2:10.47) and Katie Carroll (2:10.75).
"I'm focusing on this race," Hersey said. "The 200 fly is my best event. I am just workingg on my pace in this race, but I'm confident in what I'm doing."
The semifinals will also include Leah Gingrich (2:11.15), Bridget O'Connor (2:11.42), Alyssa Anderson (2:11.80), Courtney Kalisz (2:11.92), Amanda Sims (2:11.93), Emily Kukors (2:12.15), Ava Ohlgren (2:12.26) and Kelly Nelson (2:12.58).
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.
