Ryan Lochte & Michael Phelps are on track for a fast 100 fly this summer, but can they get past Chad le Clos?
Michael Phelps returned to competition at the 2014 Mesa Grand Prix, but it was really the Michael Phelps and Bob Bowman show. In the post race press conferences, the Olympic star and his NBAC swim coach were all smiles, enjoying every second of it. The two have never appeared so relaxed or funny! Phelps is clearly back on track, despite his waffling about plans for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. True, he only swam the 50 and 100 butterfly, but his stroke is there, efficient and as deadly as ever.
At the Arena Grand Prix in Charlotte, Phelps will test the 200 freestyle, but he cautioned that he needs more altitude training before we can expect to see fast swims.
With Phelps’ 52.1 in the 100 butterfly at the Mesa Grand Prix, we can expect a fast peak meet swim this summer.
Prediction: The 100 meter butterfly at the 2014 Pan Pacific Championships will be the race of the year. Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte will both go sub 50.8, but only one of them will get past Chad le Clos.
What is your prediction for the men’s 100m butterfly this summer?
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I’m from SA and thought we are not in the PanPacs? Commonwealth Games yes but not Pans. So the match-up with Chad will have to wait until Worlds next year surely?
Dave – South Africa is eligible to swim at both the Commonwealth Games and the Pan Pacs, even though they are not a charter member of Pan Pacs. Le Clos has alluded several times he’ll race at Pan Pacs, as one would expect.
Roland Schoeman and the 400 free relay both earned bronze medals at Pan Pacs in 2010.
No one is going to go Sub 0:50 in the 100 fly this summer. No way.
I hope I am wrong.
You do understand he is not going 24/7. He is having fun with which I understood to mean you will not find 100 percent practice attendance, particularly understood him to say it is Monday-Friday gig when in town. And probably not doubles.
I like using 24/7 expression. 🙂
About Miss Pelton and breaststroke for a great 200 IM. Train breaststroke, eat breaststroke, drink breaststroke and sleep breaststroke 24/7 all year and you can be the best in the world in that event. I’m still waiting. 😆
About Missy Franklin and her starts and underwaters on backstroke.
And in that case about MP and 100% of his training based on speed work. And seriously, now he probably doesn’t swim longer distances anymore, he could take a few more pounds of muscle to look just a little more like a sprinter. He looked skinny next to Michael Andrew in Mesa. Fresh, a little more powerful and technically ready (the turn!), he… Read more »
If Michael is focusing 100% of his training on the 100 fly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him under 51 this year.
Sprint work and weight room 24/7 and everything will be fine.
yep! if Phelps put all his mind & training into the 100 fly, he certainly can go sub 51 this year.
God speed and so looking forward to seeing him again in the 100 fly race.
Go MP! :))
My bets are against Lochte dropping 0.6s in one summer. :/ If he does so in a sprint distance, he should consider the 100back over the 200back, because that event seems much more open right now, and another 52mid gives him a better shot at a medal than what he’s capable of in the 200free atm.
I’d be surprised to see Lochte go under 51 this summer.
Lochte crackes 51 seconds this summer, unless his injury holds him back. He was 51.9 unshaven in Mesa. He’s so sub 51 this year….
Yes, this time is faster than anything he was swimming when under the gators, but he also has a different regime now. I doubt he’s being beaten down as much as before, so faster times are expected. Still, the fact that Phelps was so close to Lochte in his come back race, without significant aerobic training (and clearly, without significant strength training), is an indication that Phelps probably own’t lose to him this summer. Afterall, Phelps has gone 50mid on less than optimal training before.
It’s been 9 years since someone other than Phelps has gone sub51 in textile, perhaps its made be skeptical that the flood gates would suddenly open
My prediction:
1. Michael Phelps
2. Lochte & le Clos (tie for 2nd place)
3. Can we have the Cavic’s comeback too?? 😛
Would it be possible for it to be such a great race between the three of them that we see 50 lows and maybe even a sub 50? That would definitely be exciting. I would love to see the 100 butterfly become a sub 50 on the regular but I imagine that will not happen for quite a few years. I would not have even thought of a sub 50 for awhile if USA swim stats hadn’t posted there 2016 medal predictions as gold being like 48.89 and bronze being 49.29.
Even without ridiculously fast times such as sub 50 butterfly, should be an astounding race between the three super stars.
I’d like to see them swim 50.4 or faster, the fastest 100 fly in a non-tech suit, which Ian Crocker clocked years ago.
Hey Sam, where did you see those crazy US Swim stats? I’d like to see them, but 48.8 to 49.2 is way too fast, sounds more like 2036. Could be one of them gets to 50 low this summer but my predictions are closer to Mel’s. Not sure who will win, but I’m worried about Lochte’s knee now, so I have to put him at 3rd right now until we get more updates about the knee. I know breast is harder on the ACL/MCL, so the IM is more at risk of being dropped, but fly can take some toll on them too.
LIquidassets, if you have a twitter account, do follow @usaswimstats. You need to scroll down quite a bit to the 30th April post for the 2016 medal predictions and times. I am not sure if they have an official web site.
Thanks Zanna, I checked them out. They’re all way too fast! Looks like they were done by some generic statistician who doesn’t have much knowledge about swimming. Even the bronze medal times are mostly at or below the world textile bests, and in some cases even below the rubber-suit WRs. I think my favorite was a 46.8 for bronze in the 100 free 😉 Maybe 2026??
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