Men’s 50 Meter Freestyle – US Nationals Preview – Adrian leads ‘splash-and-dashers’ into action

Men’s 50 Meter Freestyle – US Nationals Preview

• Day 5, Sunday, August 10
• Defending national champ: Nathan Adrian, 21.47
• Defending U.S. Open champ: Karl Krug, 22.19
• Time to make the 2013 US National Team (#6 Nationally at selection meets): 22.15 – Karl Krug

Since bursting onto the scene with double national championships in 2009, Nathan Adrian has pretty much been the reigning king of American sprinting. He’s won a national title in either the 50 or the 100 every year since, including dual titles in 2010 and 2013. So to say he’s the prohibitive favorite here is probably an accurate statement. The caveat, of course, though, is that in the shortest race in all of long course swimming (a race that lasts just about 21 seconds), the smallest details can affect the outcome in the most substantial ways. Unpredictability is what the 50 thrives on.

The 50 free is the drag race of professional swimming. One length of the pool, no flip turns, no pacing. It’s a race about straight-line speed and the ability to get a hand on the wall first. That’s an environment in which Adrian has thrived this season. His 21.66 from the Monaco Mare Nostrum meet is currently the fastest time put up by an American in the world this year. In fact, he’s the only U.S. swimmer to crack 22 on the season so far, and checks in at 4th in the world in the event.

Adrian has probably had more success in the 100 as of late, evidenced best by his 2012 Olympic gold medal in the longer race, and if there’s one caveat on his front-runner status, it’s that perhaps his training has been geared more towards 100 speed, which could temper his dominance in the 50. Still, speed is speed, and Adrian has it in droves.

One of the biggest upset bids is Adrian’s own Cal Aquatics training partner Anthony Ervin, himself an Olympic gold medalist, though that was now 14 years ago at the 2000 Sydney Games. Ervin has been knocking on the door of 21 seconds, going 22.09 at the Mare Nostrum tour’s Barcelona stop. At 33 years old, Ervin is a unique mix of veteran savvy and freshness after an extended retirement that took up most of his 20s. In most events, a swimmer on the wrong side of 30 would be widely expected to see a sharp decline, but Ervin has always been a special case. Consider him a legitimate title contender as well as this field’s top wild card.

In contrast to Ervin, who combines a tall, thin frame with a surprising amount of power, is New York Athletic Club’s Josh Schneider. Schneider, a former football player, brings the build of a mack truck to the splash and dash, but manages to be remarkably efficient for a man of his size. Schneider is what you’d consider a pure 50 freestyler – this will be his primary, perhaps only, focus of Nationals, meaning he’ll be spending the first four days watching, waiting and loading up his speed for this one race.

Jimmy Feigen is another rising young swimmer who looks ready to make the next step in his career. Already an accomplished relay member at the international level, Feigen finally broke through as an individual last summer, beating out Adrian for the silver medal at the World Championships in the 100 free. The former Longhorn is probably better in that slightly-longer distance, but seems to really be coming into his own as of late – could that maturation include a breakout 50 free this summer? It’s certainly possible.

There are plenty more names to keep an eye on. Karl Krug was the U.S. Open champion last summer, with many of the U.S.’s top athletes away at Worlds. He’ll try to earn his own right to swim at Worlds this summer by repeating that performance against the big dogs here. Count out SwimMAC’s Cullen Jones and you’ll get burned, or at least that’s what we all learned at the 2012 Olympic Trials. 6’8″ Matt Grevers is perhaps the world’s best backstroker, but those long levers make him an imposing force in this race as well. He finaled in the 50 at last summer’s nationals.

Stanford pro Alex Coville seems to be gaining steam with age, and has the 6th fastest time of any American this season with his swim at the Mesa Grand Prix. Some other former college standouts to watch: Florida’s Brad deBorde and Minnesota’s Derek Toomey broke 19 in the short course yards version of this race back in March and are beginning their post-graduate careers this summer. Utah’s Nick Soedel is one of the top college swimmers in the nation heading into his senior year, and though he wasn’t heavily recruited out of high school, he’s developed very, very well at Utah.

Caeleb Dressel, after some time off, hasn’t returned to form yet, which 8 months ago would have shocked everyone. Those looking for a young swimmer to make a breakthrough, though, need look no further than Auburn’s newest talent, Kyle Darmody, who turned into a freshman revelation for Auburn this season, though he’s got plenty still to prove in the long course pool. Incoming Michigan freshman Paul Powers is an extreme talent and one of the nation’s best young sprinters. Santo Condorelli is headed to Russia to train with Vlad Morozov, and if he gets the same bump from that training as Morozov gets, we could actually see Condorelli move as high as making Pan Pacs.

One other name worth mentioning is Texas sprinter Matt Ellis, who gets to train with Feigen every day. He had an easy summer last year, and so maybe fell out of the spotlight, but this year he’s back full-steam and settled in Austin. We like his chances at making a final in the 100 free more than this 50, but he’ll be hungry to remind the country of when he was the future of American sprinting after the 2012 Olympic Trials.

All that combines for a crowded 50 free crew in a race that can change in the blink of an eye. Start getting excited now, because this race will cap off U.S. Nationals in an absolute blur.

My picks:

1. Nathan Adrian (Cal Aquatics)
2. Jimmy Feigen (Longhorn Aquatics)
3. Josh Schneider (New York Athletic Club/Cincinnati)
4. Anthony Ervin (Cal Aquatics)
5. Karl Krug (SwimAtlanta)
6. Cullen Jones (SwimMAC)
7. Matt Grevers (Tuscon Ford)
8. Alex Coville (Stanford)

Note: Athletes are listed under the college/club that, to the best of our knowledge, they’re currently training with.