Laure Manaudou came out on fire in tonight’s finals session at the Athens Sectional meet on the University of Georgia campus, which is her first meet back after a lengthy hiatus. After being the 2nd-seed after the morning heats in the 200 free, Manaudou scorched a sub-two minute 200 free to take the win in 1:59.30. She showed some serious killer instinct, something that you can’t train for, by overtaking Georgia’s Megan Romano on the final 50 meters, as Romano ended up 2nd in a career-best 1:59.34.
For Manaudou, that’s the 13th-best time of her career, and had she swum it at French Nationals earlier this year it would have already put her back as a prelims swimmer on the 800 free relay with the country’s 5th-best time.
In the 100 backstroke final, she and Romano flip-flopped. This time, Romano took the victory in 1:01.05, with Manaudou taking 2nd in 1:01.12. The two were in a dead heat (28.99) at the 50-meter mark, but Romano nipped her French competitor at the finish in another career best time (her 3rd in as many events so far this weekend). That race puts both swimmers firmly into the World Rankings (Romano 30th, Manaudou 31st), and for Manaudou it makes her the fastest French swimmer in this event this year. That’s a remarkable feat for a woman who is only 16 months after giving birth and has only been back in training since September. This gives more proof as to why Manaudou is making the 100 backstroke one of her focuses: just like that, one meet in, and she’s already positioned herself for a berth in London.
Romano and Manaudou have put on a fantastic show so far in Athens. The two have been separated by an average of .04 seconds in their three races, with two victories (50 free, 200 free) going to Romano, and one (100 back) to Manaudou. They should have two more showdowns left on Sunday in the 100 free and 200 back.
Auburn’s Kyle Owens firmly asserted himself as a contender in the 100 backstroke at NCAA’s in 2012 with his win in 54.20. That time moves him to 19th in the World this year, and as the 6th-fastest American. He should be a lead contender for a medal at this summer’s USA Swimming National Championships. The podium was actually a sweep for Auburn, with Kohlton Norys taking 2nd in 55.58 and Max Murphy 3rd in 56.22. In addition to his ability to develop top-notch freestylers, Brett Hawke is showing a ton of skill in training up sprint backstrokers as well.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s session, where we will see USA Swimming National Team member Micah Lawrence in the 100 breaststroke (with the 200 coming on Sunday). After some struggles for two-straight years at NCAA’s while training in Auburn, she has moved to work with former Auburn coach David Marsh at SwimMAC Carolina. It will be interesting to see if she can recapture the magic she had in her first two years at Auburn (though Marsh left before Lawrence came to Auburn).
In the men’s 400 IM, 2011 NCAA Bill Cregar from Georgia took an easy win with a season-best 4:25.18. After former teammate Andrew Gemmell was promoted to an open water spot on the USA World Championship roster, Cregar was bumped up to a swim in this 400 IM at the World University Games.
A 4:28.83 from Alec Cohen, of Stingrays Swimming in Marietta, puts him at 7th Nationally in the Junior rankings this year. Earlier in the session, he won the 200 free in 1:51.19. It’s great to see him swimming well at the Gabrielsen Natatorium, as he is committed to be a Georgia Bulldog next year.
After a great freshman season where Melanie Margalis finished 9th at NCAA’s in the 400 IM and 6th in the 200, she is carrying her successes into the long course pool where she won the 400 in 4:46.94. That means that this summer alone she has dropped her personal best in this race by somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 seconds. This swim also ties her with Ariana Kukors as the 13th-best time by an American this year. The runner-up was Amber McDermott, the top overall recruit in the Class of 2011, in 4:52.41. She’s another one that will be headed back to Georgia in the fall.
