You knew Michael Phelps would be out towards the back of the pack, and he was (7th at the wall), as expected. His back half is so strong, and he was able to run down five of the six swimmers in front of him. It came down to the touch, and Tom Shields was there, getting his hand on the wall first for his second win of the meet. He touched at 51.29, only .01 seconds in front of Michael Phelps, at 51.30. Tim Phillips finished in third with his time of 51.54. Matt Ellis dropped .04 to finish fourth with his time of 51.73.
Ryan Lochte finished at 52.21 to finish fifth, followed by Giles Smith in sixth at 52.51.
Rounding out the top 8 in the men’s 100 butterfly is Matthew Josa and Santo Condorelli at 52.57 and 52.88.
Seth Stubblefield won a great race between the B-finalist with his time of 52.40. Jack Congerfinished second at 52.55, followed by Tripp Cooper at 52.62.
Alex Valente won the C-final of the men’s 100 butterfly with his time of 52.81. That time is .72 seconds faster than he was this morning.
Fantastic interview! The emotions he was feeling were palpable, but it seemed like he was able to control them somewhat because he knew that he deserved to win because of his preparation; he didn’t just win the lottery, he earned this reward through hard work! Also, his head is in the right place for success: he’s already thinking about preparation for Pan Pac’s, and it sounds like he’s making it his goal to get that #1 time.
Suddenly we have a field of men’s 100 fly swimmers as fast and deep as our 100 back swimmers!
100 back , 200 back , 100 butterfly and 200 butterfly is very strong for Usa right now on the men’s side . On the freestyle sprints , we have to wait Pan Pacs to see how it unfolds ….. Breaststroke is still improving .
So happy for the guy! After being written off as SCY swimmer for so long he is proving skeptics wrong?
Totally deserved ! All the best for Pan Pacs !
Tom Shields, you are the US Champion……not a fingernail champion, not a temporary champion……but the US champion, and we salute you. You also happen to be the future of US butterfly, so go out there and stake your claim against the rest of the world. All of these excuses from the NBAC/ Phelps crowd are to be ignored. We all can see that MP didn’t hit the turn well, missed the wall on the 100free, isn’t quite in the right shape etc, but all of that is completely “in the price”. Anyone who has a clue about swimming comebacks expects the ring rust to show, and the injuries to take their toll etc. All of this has nothing to do… Read more »
You are 100% right that all those factors are “in the price,” just as they were when he lost in London to LeClos. Which is why it drove me crazy in ’12 when some people grumbled after the 200IM that Lochte was “still the better swimmer” and bemoaned that he had the 200 back right before the 200IM and, and, and… Whatever you’ve done in the past, you’re as good today as you prepared to be today.
It is a great day for the U.S. when two younger swimmers beat Phelps or are right on his heels, while swimming great times. All told, even Phelps’ finals time would have qualified for 4th fastest in the world and Phillips’ for… Read more »
Or….after 16 strokes I knew that I was off the wall, glided in lost all my momentum etc. That is an explanation or an excuse, that we have heard ever since Mesa. Go back and look at those interviews. Nobody cares whether you miss your turn or hit it perfectly. The race encompasses all aspects including starts, turns, swimming, finish. Tom shields should be credited for nailing the whole race, and being the double fly champion. Sooner or later the pundits will figure out that MP has under performed some of their own ridiculous expectations:
2nd 100m fly(poor turn), great prelim 1st
7th 100m free(missed the wall by miles)
7th 100m back(haven’t done enough work)
200 IM… Read more »