Top 50 Swimmers of 2012 - 50 to 41

The second annual Speed Endurance Top 50 Swimmers of the Year is upon us. There is no set-in-stone criteria, but as you would expect, this year the Olympic Games carried the most weight in the decision making process. Other outstanding achievements away from London were also acknowledged, but it took an extraordinary feat to better an Olympic medallist. Also worth noting, relay medals were not valued highly, however race-changing relay contributions were.

Thanks for reading Speed Endurance in 2012, we look forward to welcoming you back next year. Let's get this list started...

50. Brendan Hansen - 2012 Highlight - Exacting revenge on long-time arch rival Kosuke Kitajima to win bronze in the 100 breaststroke in London

While some of his breaststroke rivals were under-performing in London, Hansen saved the best swim of his superb comeback to the sport for the Olympic final. Hansen's bronze medal winning time, 59.49, was the exact same time that Cameron van der Burgh (who will feature higher up this list) swam in Shanghai at Worlds last year to also win bronze. Repetitive numbers were a theme for Hansen this year as his wife gave birth to a baby girl on 12-12-12. Hansen also swam a sharp 59.19 breaststroke relay leg as part of the gold medal winning USA medley relay team.

49. Oussama Mellouli - 2012 Highlight - For the sake of this list (pool accomplishments only), Mellouli's highlight was his hard earned bronze medal in the 1500 freestyle in London.

Despite losing his Olympic crown to Sun Yang, Mellouli actually swam faster in London than he did in Beijing four years earlier. Finishing a full 10 seconds ahead of fourth placed Park Tae Hwan, Mellouli confirmed his status as one of the great distance freestyle swimmers the sport has seen. Had he taken part in the 400 freestyle, he would have had a great shot at the bronze medal... and a sizeable jump up this list.

48. Yulia Efimova - 2012 Highlight - Winning bronze in the Olympic 200 breaststroke final, the fastest women's 200 breaststroke final of all-time.

Efimova, along with Satomi Suzuki (silver), made the 200 breaststroke final a lot closer than many had expected it to be. While Rebecca Soni was setting a new world record, Efimova had the fastest closing 50m leg of the entire final to win bronze and set a new European record of 2:20.92. Efimova's closing 50m was enough to just push Denmark's Rikke Moller Pedersen, 4th in London and World SC champion, out of the Top 50 and onto the bubble. A disappointing 7th in the 100 breaststroke halted Efimova's rise further up the list.

47. Aya Terakawa - 2012 Highlight -  Securing the bronze medal in the 100 backstroke in London, one of the most hotly contested finals on the women's side

At the age of 28, Terakawa finally won a medal at a major global championships. A model of consistent swimming for years, she was able to save her fastest swim of the year for when it mattered the most. Swimming 59.3 or quicker 6 times in 2012, she also set up the Japanese women's bronze medal winning 4x100 Medley relay team with a great lead-off leg.

46. Cesar Cielo - 2012 Highlight - 21.38 in the 50 freestyle at the Maria Lenk Trophy in April. A new textile best time for the Brazilan superstar.

I've chosen Cielo's highlight of the year as his lightning fast swim from the Maria Lenk Trophy, rather than his bronze medal in the 50 free in London. Although the medal was one of only two Brazilian medals from London, Cielo would have hoped for a shinier colour. Having been the dominant sprinter for the last Olympic cycle, he didn't get it right in the Olympic final finishing in 21.59. He does end the year ranked second in the world, just 0.04 behind Florent Manaudou's textile best time from London. Cielo will need to produce something special in 2013 to regain his sprint dominance with Manaudou (and if Istanbul is anything to go by, Morozov) ready to take over. Cesão will turn 26 in January, he's got a lot of years left in the tank. The emerging competition in the men's 50 free makes it one of the most fascinating events in swimming right now.

45. Yevgeny Korotyshkin - 2012 Highlight - From lane 8 in the 100 butterfly final, finishing with a joint second place finish with Chad le Clos

During the 100 fly final in London, all eyes were focused on lanes 4 and 5 (Phelps and le Clos), with some added spice coming from early leader Milorad Cavic (lane 6) and Tyler McGill (lane 3). After qualifying eighth for the 100 fly final, Korotyshkin executed his race perfectly. He turned in fourth, ahead of Phelps and le Clos, but as the rest of the field dropped back, the Russian showed great strength on the final 50m. Only Phelps got past the veteran Russian flyer. Undoubtedly McGill and Cavic underperformed in the final, but when you are just 0.23 seconds behind Michael Phelps, and tie with Chad le Clos, both of whom will feature much higher in this list, you've done well. Korotyshkin finished the year by becoming European SC champion in the 100 fly.

44. Katinka Hosszu - 2012 Highlight - Cashing in the $100,000 cheque for winning the Top Female award on the FINA World Cup circuit

Hosszu had a disappointing Olympic games. Her best result came in the 400 IM when she finished 4th, however the time she swam at the Indianapolis Grand Prix in March would have been good enough for bronze (the same could also be said for Hannah Miley and her time from GB trials). She then finished 8th in the 200 IM, 3 seconds adrift of the rest of the field and failed to qualify for the 200 butterfly final. The Olympics were an unfortunate aberration in an otherwise stupendous year. She was USC's star performer at NCAAs, a triple European LC and SC champion and the star of the World Cup meets. The pinnacle of her year came at the recent World SC when she set a new meet record of 2:02.20 in the 200 butterfly, beating Olympic champion Jiao Liuyang in the process.

43. Melanie Schlanger - 2012 Highlight - Anchoring Australia's gold medal winning 4x100 freestyle relay, holding off a fast charging Ranomi Kromowidjojo

This selection may raise some eyebrows given that Schlanger did not win any individual medals in London. Not that she didn't come close, just 0.03 seconds away from bronze in 100 free final. Schlanger makes this list for her three relay swims. As I mention above, relay medals alone won't get you a place in the Top 50, but outstanding relay performances will. In the 4x200 free relay Schlanger, a 100 specialist, had Australia's fastest split, and with the help of Bronte Barratt had the AUS team 0.6seconds ahead of USA after two legs.  They went on to win silver. In the 4x100 medley relay, another silver for Australia, Schlanger had the fastest freestyle split of the entire race. Finally, the 4x100 freestyle relay. Schlanger had a 1.36 second lead over the Netherlands when she took over, seemingly insurmountable, but then Ranomi Kromowidjojo split a sensational 51.93. Had Schlanger split 53.30 (faster than every USA relay split) Australia would have lost their only gold of the games, however Schlanger kept her cool and raced to a superb 52.65 final split. Kromowidjojo and Schlanger were the only two swimmers to break 53 seconds in the free relay.

42. Lu Ying - 2012 Highlight - Beating the more fancied Alicia Coutts and Sarah Sjostrom to win silver in the Olympic 100 butterfly final 

Lu Ying converted her World bronze medal from Shanghai into a silver in London. After a strong heat swim, followed by a less than convincing semi-final, she saved her best swim for the final to beat out Coutts for the silver 56.87 to 56.94. Lu Ying finished the year strongly with victory in the 50 butterfly at the World Short Course Championships in Istanbul (25.14), that came after she had crashed out of the 100 fly in the heats.

41. Vladimir Morozov - 2012 Highlight - Breaking out as the next sprint freestyle star at the World Short Course Championships

Morozov doesn't make the list for his Olympic exploits, although he was a part of Russia's bronze medal winning 4x100 freestyle relay. Instead he breaks into the Top 50 for his stunning 50 free (20.55), 100 free (45.65) double in Istanbul as well as an even faster relay lead off of 45.52. His sheer speed on top of the water is frightening, at the Euro SC and World SC he was swimming away from world class sprinters. 2013 should be an even brighter year for the 20 year old from Siberia, via Southern California.


On the bubble

Bronte Barratt, Natsumi Hoshi, Rikke Moller Pedersen, Ryo Tateishi, Laszlo Cseh, Clement Lefert, Kosuke Hagino, Caitlin Leverenz, Peter Vanderkaay, Brent Hayden, Yi Tang, Marleen Veldhuis, Li Xuanxu, Hannah Miley, Alia Atkinson, Olivia Smoliga, Mie Nielsen, Ilaria Bianchi


Interesting note - If last year is anything to go by, being in the 41-50 range is a great stepping stone for future success. Olympic champions included in this tier last year: Yannick Agnel, Cameron van der Burgh & Tyler Clary.

Does Brazil's Nicholas Santos have the best start in swimming?

There are some great starters in swimming, but there might not be any quite as good as Brazil's Nicholas Santos. 



Watch Santos (lane 4) explode out of the blocks in the 50m Butterfly final. He's well clear of the rest of the field by 10m.

Is Santos swimming's fastest starter?

There are a number of other challengers for the title. Ryan Lochte, Cesar Cielo, Kenneth To, Roland Schoeman, Steffen Diebler and Florent Manaudou.

Here is Manaudou's start from the 50m free final.

Ryan Lochte from the 100 IM semi-final

...and Cesar Cielo from the 50m free in Dubai 2010

Unfortunately we don't have a definitive answer, but there is little doubt that Nicholas Santos is in rare company when it comes to getting off the blocks. 

Cesar Cielo Blasts a 21.38 50m Free - Can he be stopped in London?

(video courtesy of videosei and swimmers daily)

Cesar Cielo hooked up a huge 50m Free swim at the Maria Lenk Trophy in Brazil. His time of 21.38 was just 0.02 seconds shy of Fred Bousquet's textile best time of 21.36 set at the 2010 European Championships.

After lowering his own textile personal best of 21.52 set at Worlds last year, it leads us to the question... In the 50m Free, can anyone stop Cielo in London?

As it stands currently Cielo is head and shoulders clear of his competitors in London. Bousquet's failure to qualify for the French Olympic team removes the only man faster than Cielo in the last 4 years.

Cielo has a number of strengths that his competitors can't currently match. His starts are sensational and he seems to have become even stronger since his move back to Brazil. To add to that, he has incredible mental strength which manifests itself during major competition finals. Since 2008 he has not lost a 50m Free in a major final (... and no, I am not including Pan Pacs as a major competition).

Here's a rundown of the main (sans-Bousquet) competition:

Bruno Fratus - Cielo's compatriot keeps his run of sub-22 second swims going. As long as he doesn't suffer a repeat of the final in Shanghai (5th - 21.96), he looks the safest choice for a medal outside of Cielo.
Nathan Adrian - The American has no shortage of talent having been 21.55 in textile, but has underperformed in recent major finals (with the exception of 2010 Pan Pacs where he beat Cielo).
James Magnussen - Last year he didn't appear to have enough speed to compete in the 50m Free, but his 21.74 swim at Australian trials dispelled that myth. Still needs to find a chunk of time to beat Cielo, but can't be written off.
Luca Dotto - The Italian was a little fortunate to make the Italian team given that he is the 3rd fastest Italian man in the event this year, but he is the silver medalist from Shanghai and at the age of 22 seems to be trending in the right direction in this event.
Florent Manaudou - Olympic medals run in the family and he made a big breakthrough last year into senior swimming at the age of 20. He's the type of swimmer that many won't think of as a potential medalist, but having been 21.86 this year has every chance in the always unpredictable 50m Free final
Andrey Grechin - Training partner of Ian Thorpe and under the tutelage of Alex Popov's old coach Gennadi Touretski. His 21.82 at Russian Trials moved him from darkhorse to serious medal contender.



To compare Cielo and Bousquet, here is the Frenchman's 21.36.

Maria Lenk Trophy

April 24 - 29

This week at the Maria Lenk Trophy Cesar Cielo gets his first chance to respond to rival James Magnussen's startling times set at the Australian Olympic trials.

As we saw last October, Cielo changed his race tactics in the 100m Free as a result of Magnussen's back end speed. At Pan Ams (at altitude) Cielo's stand out swim was his 47.04 relay split with a final 50m split of 24.53, a big shift in strategy from his homecoming split of 25.38 from Shanghai.

Unfortunately for the Brazilian, Magnussen still has the same back end speed he had in Shanghai and has added the front end speed to match (Magnussen's splits: 22.68 / 24.42 (47.10) ).

As it stands now on the eve of the Maria Lenk trophy, Magnussen is still a relay takeover faster than Cielo.

Psych Sheet
Competition Schedule
Results

Live Streaming - Showing finals at 19:00 BRT / 1:00am BST (h/t to swimswam for the video find)

Other Highlights:

Thiago Pereira - One of the most consistent performers over the last few years in the 200m IM & 400m IM,  needs to bounce back after a disappointing World Champs.
Fred Bousquet - Must still be sore after missing out on London, and goes up against his nemesis Cielo.
Bruno Fratus - Has emerged as one of the few men that can swim consistently sub-22 seconds over 50m Free, his semi final time of 21.76 in Shanghai would have been good enough for silver in the final, however he couldn't reproduce that form and ended up 5th.
Marcelo Chierighini - The sprinter with bags of raw talent has had an extended period of time at Auburn under Brett Hawke to hone his craft, it's time to see what time he can put up in the 100m Free.
Felipe Silva - The 50m speedster has shown the ability to make a splash in the 100m. His 1:00.01 from the heats of Shanghai highlighted his ability, but he underwhelmed in the semi final with a 1:00.73.
Jeanette Ottesen / Lotte Friis / Laure Manaudou / Mireia Belmonte - All four European women have qualified for London and it will be interesting to see where they are with their training 100 days out.

Top 51 Swimmers of 2011 - 21 to 11

As another year of great swimming comes to a close, here is a rundown of the Top 51 Swimmers of 2011. There is no set criteria, but clearly the World Championships in Shanghai carried a big weight in the decision making process. That being said, outstanding achievements away from Shanghai were still acknowledged.


Thanks for reading Speed Endurance this year. Next year should be something a bit special!


Here is the rundown from 21 to 11.

21. Zhao Jing – 2011 Highlight – Winning one of the most exciting races at Worlds, the 100m Back, in 59.05

Zhao Jing produced her best swim of the year at exactly the right time. She added the world title to her Asian Games gold from 2010 and has topped the world rankings in each of the last two years. She beat Zueva by the slimmest of margins, but goes into 2012 with a great couple of years behind her. The world now waits to see the impact Missy Franklin will have on the event.

20. Daniel Gyurta – 2011 Highlight – Making up a deficit of half a second on the last 50m to win the 200m Breast in Shanghai (2:08.41)

Gyurta once again was under the radar for most of the year before producing the goods when it mattered the most. Trailing Kosuke Kitajima at 150m, he used his trademark strong finish to win gold. He ended the year with a textile best time and 3rd fastest swim in history in the short course 200m Breast (2:02.37) at Euro SC. He couldn’t produce the same time a week later when he raced Brendan Hansen at Duel in the Pool, but that doesn’t change how strong a year Gyurta had.

19. Jiao Liuyang – 2011 Highlight – Hanging on to win the 200m Fly in Shanghai in a time of 2:05.55, with a winning margin of just 0.04

Jiao Liuyang was involved in the two best 200m Fly races of 2011. At Chinese Nationals she finished second in an incredible time of 2:04.44, just 0.04 behind Liu Zige. However, Jiao Liuyang turned the tables on her team mate in Shanghai winning the world title with Liu Zige back in 3rd. As we enter the Olympic year, the Chinese-British battle for the 200m Fly title should be great. After a dominant 2010 and a world title in 2011, the favourite at this stage has to be Jiao Liuyang.

Cesar Cielo 47.84 100m Freestyle, 47.07 Relay Split (With Video)

Apparently 2011 still has more fast long course swimming to offer. At the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Cesar Cielo posted a smoking 47.84 in the 100m Freestyle. If the time looks familiar it is because Cielo equalled Pieter Van den Hoogenband's previous long standing world record (and former textile best time).

Cielo remains 0.35 seconds shy of James Magnussen's 47.49 relay lead-off leg from Shanghai, but his swim serves as a reminder that he will be a major force in London after a disappointing 4th place at the World Championships.

It seems like Magnussen's way of the racing the event (conserving energy on the first 50 and blowing past the competition on the 2nd 50m) has changed the way Cielo is swimming the race. In Shanghai Cielo went out in 22.63 and came back in 25.38. In Guadalajara he turned in 22.84 and came back in 25.00. It's a smart move from the Brazilian. Magnussen currently enjoys a mental edge over the competition, knowing that he can catch and pass the field. When you can see that you are catching and passing other swimmers it gives you a huge lift, a "second wind" if you like. Think of how many races you see seemingly unsurmountable leads overcome with a stunning last 50m split. If Cielo is able to limit the rate at which the Australian catches him, we're yet to see how it will affect Magnussen's sprint to the wall.

Cielo's relay split of 47.07 further highlights this new race pace. He turned in 22.54 (with the aid of a relay start this probably converts to a 23.0/23.1 from a flat start), before turning on the jets on the second 50m with a split of 24.53. If you watch the video below (starting at 7:25) you can clearly see Cielo increase his stroke rate and leg kick at 45m going into the wall, before going all-out on the second 50m. Reports coming out of Brazil are that Cielo is doing a lot more metres in his training than he did at Auburn. This seems to be paying off with his new found endurance on the second 50m of races.

Brett Hawke Writes Off Fred Bousquet's Chances in the 50 Free

Tomorrow's Morning Swim Show features Auburn Head Coach Brett Hawke.  As always with Hawke it is an interesting 10 minute interview, but one thing stood out. At 6:15 the discussion moves on to the 50 Free:

Peter Busch: "On the 50 side, can you see anyone touching Cielo right now?"
Brett Hawke: "No. Not really. If I'm going to be honest, Cesar is built for that race and he loves that race, and to win that race with all the nonsense that was going on in the lead up to the World Championships... I was really proud to see him win that..."
Peter Busch: "Do you ever miss training him?"
Brett Hawke: "Absolutely, it was a great time in my life training him."

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Hawke currently training Cielo's arch rival Fred Bousquet? The fastest man ever in a textile suit. I don't know what the decision making process was for Hawke in making this statement.... but I can't imagine Bousquet is going to be happy when he watches this clip.

FYI - I honestly believe that if Bousquet had not had the disastrous heat swim that he did in Shanghai, the 50 Free final was his for the taking.

Cesar Cielo Cleared to Race in Shanghai - Swimmer's Reactions

According to Swimming World, Cesar Cielo has been cleared to swim in Shanghai. Without inside knowledge of the case, I won't sit here and say whether this decision is right or wrong. Naively or not, I'll put my faith in the court of arbitration chaired by three guys from Australia, Switzerland and USA.

There has already been an immediate reaction from the swimming world:

FINA/ARENA Swimming World Cup - Rio de Janeiro *Including Start Lists*

September 10th - 12th, Parque Aquático Maria Lenk, Rio de Janeiro

In all the excitement of August's major competitions, the World Cup series seems to have been overlooked by many in the swimming world. Big mistake. The swimming world cup series always offers some quality racing. It also offers a chance for someone to break a World Record in 2010. Going to be pretty hard though.

Not sure I can mention his name on the blog any longer, but just for fun how about a Cesar Cielo, 50m & 100m Free time prediction... to get the ball rolling I'm saying 20.8 and 46.2.

The first stop on the global tour starts tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro.

Rio de Janeiro (BRA) 10 – 12 September 2010
Beijing (CHN) 12 – 13 October 2010
Singapore (SIN) 16 – 17 October 2010
Tokyo (JPN) 20 – 21 October 2010
Berlin (GER) 30 – 31 October 2010
Moscow (RUS) 2 – 3 November 2010
Stockholm (SWE) 6 – 7 November 2010


*Speed_Endurance Blog Exclusive* - Start Lists - HERE (credit where credit is due)

Participating Countries: 
Argentina, Germany, Brazil, Singapore, Colombia, China, Ecuador, USA, Holland, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, Sweden

Selection of swimmers competing (dominated by Brazilians, but still a good selection of top class international swimmers): 
Cesar Cielo, Kaio Almeida, Thiago Pereira, Nicholas Santos, Felipe Silva, Henrique Rodrigues, Tales Cerdeira, Tatiana Lemos Barbosa, Guilherme Guido, Fabiola Molina, Joanna Maranhao (BRA)
Steffen Deibler, Jenny Mensing, Kerstin Vogel, Marco Koch (GER)
Sakiko Nakamura, Kazuki Otsuka (JAP)
Peter Marshall, Randall Bal (USA)
Therese Alshammer, Joline Hoestman (SWE)
Hinkelein Schreuder (NED)
Arkady Vyatchanin, Nikolay Svortsov (RUS)
Omar Pinzon (COL)
Cecilia Biagioli (ARG)

Results will appear - HERE

The event will be shown on Brazilian TV Station - Canal SporTV (will look for a link to view the competition online).

Schedule of Events

Day 1 – Heats at 18:00h (06:00 pm) - Friday, 10TH September 2010
Finals at 10:00h (10:00 am) - Saturday, 11TH September 2010

800m Freestyle Women
100m Freestyle Men
200m Freestyle Women
50m Breaststroke Men
100m Breaststroke Women
400m IM Men
100m Butterfly Women
100m Backstroke Men
50m Backstroke Women
200m Butterfly Men
200m IM Women
400m Freestyle Men
50m Freestyle Women
200m Breaststroke Men
100m IM Men
200m Backstroke Women
50m Butterfly Men

Day 2 – Heats at 18:00h (06:00 pm) - Saturday, 11TH September 2010
Finals at 10:00h (10:00 am) - Sunday, 12TH September 2010

1500m Freestyle Men
100m Freestyle Women
200m Freestyle Men
50m Breaststroke Women
100m Breaststroke Men
400m IM Women
100m Butterfly Men
100m Backstroke Women
50m Backstroke Men
200m Butterfly Women
200m IM Men
400m Freestyle Women
50m Freestyle Men
200m Breaststroke Women
100m IM Women
200m Backstroke Men
50m Butterfly Women

Swimming Fix

After the excitement of August's major swimming competitions, we find ourselves in a bit of a lull in terms of competitive swimming. Here are some links to keep your swimming fix in order:-

- If you look at the picture at the top of this blog, you'll see I'm a sucker for underwater swimming photos. These photos from the European Championships are some of the best I've seen for a while. Image 22 of 24 of Nikita Lobintsev looking like a torpedo is my personal favourite, closely followed by Image 16 of Sebastien Rouault and Image 4 of Laszlo Cseh's head.

- Chris De Santis, a US collegiate coach and blogger, takes a look at what makes Rebecca Soni so fast, comparing her stroke to Leisel Jones and Amanda Beard. Interesting stuff, particularly the observation 'There is no doubt in my mind- Soni does not pull or kick as hard as either of the other two.'

- Semi retired swim blogger David Rieder announces his August Swimmers of the Month. Agree with most of the picks although I do have one issue:-

Issue.) As good as Nathan Adrian has been this year, I don't believe he has done enough to be anointed 'the best sprinter in the world.' Adrian is not at the top of the world ranks on either the 50m or the 100m Free. Yes he beat Cielo at Pan Pacs, but Cesar did not look on top form on the Freestyles and crucially he has proven himself on the biggest stage of all. Adrian hasn't... yet.

When he came up against the French guys earlier this year he lost to Fabien Gilot and tied with Yannick Agnel at the Paris Open. To be considered the best sprinter in the world I believe you need to be the reigning champion/fastest in the world in either the 50m Free or 100m Free. For my money if I had to pick a 'best sprinter in the world' right now I'd be torn between Bousquet and Cielo with Adrian (as well as Alain Bernard & Fabien Gilot) knocking hard on the door.

- Incase you missed it, ESPN ran an interesting article on Michael Phelps. The reporter stated that 'he is his sport'. This is contentious, but not all together wrong. Certainly opens up an entirely new issue, where would the sport of swimming be if Michael Phelps retired today. Would all the progress and exposure swimming has gained during the Phelps-era subside or would the sport react to Phelps' loss and continue to grow? Interesting one.

Paris Open - Recap

The Paris Open is over for another year. In NFL Draft style, I thought I would grade some of the star swimmers that were on display:-

Michael Phelps - C

Phelps himself is reported to have said he was 'disgusted' with his swims in Paris. That might be going a little far for a non-tapered event but certainly highlights the less than stellar year Phelps has had so far. Its a measure of his greatness that he can be upset after swimming 1:55.70 in the 200m Fly, 1:58.95 in the 200m IM, 49.44 in them 100m Free and 1:47.24 for the 200m Free.

Cesar Cielo - A

Just when it looked like Fred Bousquet was starting to establish himself as the no.1 50m Freestyler in the world, Cesar Cielo re-affirmed his supremacy. Of all the textile records in swimming, Alex Popov's 21.64 was the most iconic. Popov, wearing briefs, stunned the world with the time in 2000. Whilst Cielo's 21.55 will not go down in official record books, it will help towards Cielo going down as one of the sport's greatest sprinters. In his relatively short career (he is still only 23) here are Cielo's acheivements:-
Olympic Gold - 50m Free, Olympic Bronze - 100m Free,
World Champion - 50m Free and 100m Free,
World Record Holder - 50m Free and 100m Free,
Textile Best Time - 50m Free.

Alain Bernard - D

Bernard was the face of this year's Paris Open and despite lowering expectations before this meet I expected him to come out fighting this weekend. I predicted that Bernard would win the 100m Free and make the top 3 in the 50m Free, in the end he had to watch both finals from the stands. 22.73 and 50.44 are less than encouraging heat swims with Europeans not too far away. Bernard has a history of not getting it right in the heats and missing finals, something which might just come back to haunt him at major competitions in the future... He also has a habit of swimming fast (in finals) at the big meets.

Camille Muffat - B+

As I've mentioned before, Muffat, 20, is one of the most underrated female swimmers currently. Muffat took victory in the 200m Free (1:56.92) and 200m IM (2:11.18) and second in a tight 400m Free (4:05.49). Muffat moved to 2nd in the world on the 200m Free, 3rd on the 400m Free and 4th on the 400m IM.

She is also showing a tremendous level of consistency. She holds 5 of the Top 25 times in the 200m Free, 4 of the Top 25 on the 400m Free and 7 of the Top 16 times on the 200m IM.

Ranomi Kromowidjojo - B

Kromowidjojo underlined her favourite status for European's with strong performances in the 50m Free (24.54) and 100m Free (54.08). Kromowidjojo owns the Top 3 times in the 100m Free this year and after Therese Alshammar's 24.27 owns the next 3 fastest times in the world on the 50m Free. Excitingly for Dutch swimming enthusiasts, Kromowidjojo is still just 19 years of age.

Elizabeth Simmonds - B

In the 200m Back Simmonds came out on top in likely her only LC duel with American youngster Elizabeth Pelton in 2010. With the major global meets fast approaching Simmonds has shown herself to be the woman to beat on the 200m Back. She currently owns 6 of the Top 10 times in the world this year. Simmonds' fastest time this year of 2:06.79 is just 0.17 secs off Krisztina Egerszegi's textile best time of 2:06.62 set at the 1991 European Championships. Expect this to go at Commonwealths, if not at Europeans.

Nathan Adrian - B+

Nathan Adrian put in some strong times in Paris that certainly whet the appetite ahead of US Nationals and Pan Pacs in August. 22.01 on the 50m Free and 48.83 on the 100m Free are very strong times for Adrian's stage of the season.

Yannick Agnel - A

2010 was already a breakout year for Yannick Agnel but he made the world take notice by taking down Michael Phelps in the 200m Free. He bettered his own best time in the world this year in the 200m Free with a 1:46.30. With 3 of the top 4 times in the world this year on the 200m Free some might see him as favourite for the Europeans. I personally think Paul Biedermann will get the better of him in Budapest but to be swimming these times at the age of 17 is remarkable. He is also showing his strength in the 100m Free with a 2nd placed (tied with Adrian) finish in a time of 48.83.

Here's a stat worth keeping a close eye on over the next few years - Head-to-Heads vs. Michael Phelps in Finals - Agnel - 2, Phelps - 0.

Camille Lacourt - B+

Lacourt won the 50m Back (24.82) and 100m Back (53.73) at Paris. In doing so he took down some major competitors (Liam Tancock, Randall Bal, Aristeidis Grigoriadis). Lacourt's emergence could be very interesting for the French 4 x 100m Medley Relay team's chances. The freestyle team is well known and that leg of the relay is certainly taken care of. With Hugues Duboscq offering a strong Breaststroke and Lacourt now offering the French a world class Backstroke leg the Butterfly leg is the one piece missing in the puzzle. If Clement Lefert, Romain Sassot or even Fred Bousquet can keep the French within striking distance before handing over to Bernard or Gilot the French could cause a major upset this year or next.

*Newsflash* - Cesar Cielo breaks Popov's textile best mark

Cesar Cielo has broken the iconic former world record and textile best time of Alexander Popov. Cielo raced to win in a lightning quick time of 21.55 at the Paris Open to become the fastest man ever in a textile suit. Cielo can add this accolade to his non-textile suit WR of 20.91.

Popov's time of 21.64 was set in 2000.

Full result

1 CIELO Cesar Brésil 21.55
2 GILOT Fabien France 21.83
3 BOUSQUET Frédérick France 21.95
4 ADRIAN Nathan Etats-Unis 22.01
5 BOVELL George Trinite El Tobago 22.33
5 SCHOEMAN Roland Afrique du Sud 22.33
7 DOTTO Luca Italie 22.78
8 MANAUDOU Florent France 22.83

A Speed_Endurance Exclusive Start List for 4e OPEN EDF de Natation 2010 - Paris Open & Preview

This year's Paris Open has turned into one of the most anticipated meets of 2010. The lack of a major global competition this year means that this meet represents one of the few chances to see some of the world's best compete head-to-head in LC metres. This is no more apparent than in the men's sprint events.

The event organisers deserve a Toulouse-Lautrec sized 'chapeau' for their ability to draw the world's top male sprinters. Competing this weekend are the French contingent of Fred Bousquet, Alain Bernard, Yannick Agnel and Fabien Gilot, Brazil's sprint sensation Cesar Cielo, South Africa's Roland Schoeman, Trinidad's George Bovell, Italy's Filippo Magnini, Poland's up and coming sprinter Konrad Czerniak and most impressively the American duo of Nathan Adrian and.... wait for it..... Michael Phelps.

Phelps is set to compete in the 100m Free, 200m Free, 200m Butterfly and 200m IM. Whilst it is exciting to see swimming's biggest star race each and every time, especially on foreign soil, it's his decision to go up against the world's best in the 100m Freestyle that is perhaps the biggest talking point. Phelps will have to produce something very special to get the better of the swimmers listed above, especially given his relatively (by Phelps' high standards) slow start to 2010.

The women's events see the French going up a small but strong Dutch, British and American contingent. Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Femke Heemskerk and Hinkelien Schreuder head up Holland's challenge with Elizabeth Simmonds and Francesca Halsall representing Britain's interest. The US women include Allison Schmitt, Felicia Lee and Elizabeth Pelton with more international star power being added by Sweden's Therese Alshammar, Romania's Camelia Potec and Serbia's Nadia Higl.

The French will be looking to Camille Muffat, Coralie Balmy, Alexianne Castel and Aurore Mongel to fend off their international challengers.

Start List here (speed_endurance exclusive)

Results will appear here

Predictions

Women

Women

50m Free

1. Ranomi Kromowidjojo
2. Hinkelien Schreuder
3. Femke Heemskerk

100m Free

1. Ranomi Kromowidjojo
2. Francesca Hansall
3. Femke Heemskerk

200m Free

1. Camille Muffat
2. Femke Heemskerk
3. Allison Schmitt

400m Free

1. Camille Muffat
2. Coralie Balmy
3. Allison Schmitt

800m Free

1. Camelia Potec
2. Grainne Murphy
3. Nuala Murphy

50m Back

1. Elizabeth Simmonds
2. Theodora Drakou
3. Alexianne Castel

100m Back

1. Elizabeth Simmonds
2. Alexianne Castel
3. Elizabeth Pelton

200m Back

1. Elizabeth Simmonds
2. Elizabeth Pelton
3. Alexianne Castel

50m Breast

1. Moniek Nijhuis
2. Maria Michalaka
3. Kate Haywood

100m Breast

1. Nadja Higl
2. Moniek Nijhuis
3. Maria Michalaka

200m Breast

1. Nadja Higl
2. Alena Alexeeva
3. Fanny Babou

50m Fly

1. Therese Alshammar
2. Francesca Halsall
3. Melanie Henique

100m Fly

1. Francesca Halsall
2. Aurore Mongel
3. Kim Vanderberg

200m Fly

1. Aurore Mongel
2. Lara Grangeon
3. Francesca Segat

200m IM

1. Camille Muffat
2. Lara Grangeon
3. Francesca Segat

400m IM

1. Grainne Murphy
2. Lara Grangeon
3. Francesca Segat

Predictions

Men

50m Free

1. Fred Bousquet
2. Cesar Cielo
3. Alain Bernard

100m Free

1. Alain Bernard
2. Cesar Cielo
3. Michael Phelps

200m Free

1. Michael Phelps
2. Yannick Agnel (Phelps v Agnel is the race I want to see above all others)
3. Sebastaian Verschuren

400m Free

1. Sebastien Rouault
2. Federico Colbertaldo
3. Massimiliano Rosolino

1500m Free

1. Sebastien Rouault
2. Federico Colbertaldo
3. Anthony Pannier

50m Back

1. Liam Tancock
2. Camille Lacourt
3. Randall Bal

100m Back

1. Liam Tancock
2. Camille Lacourt
3. Jeremy Stravius

200m Back

1. Eric Ress
2. Nick Driebergen
3. Aristeidis Grigoriadis

50m Breast

1. Lennart Stekelenburg
2. Fabio Scozzoli
3. Alessandro Terrin

100m Breast

1. Hugues Duboscq
2. Alexander Dale Oen
3. Fabio Scozzoli

200m Breast

1. Hugues Duboscq
2. Scott Spann
3. Alexander Dale Oen

50m Fly

1. Fred Bousquet
2. Roland Schoeman
3. Konrad Czerniak

100m Fly

1. Konrad Czerniak
2. Joeri Verlinden
3. Albert Subirats

200m Fly

1. Michael Phelps
2. Dinko Jukic
3. Stefanos Dimitriadis

200m IM

1. Michael Phelps
2. Dinko Jukic
3. Todd Patrick

400m IM

1. Dinko Jukic
2. Sebastien Rouault
3. Anthony Pannier

Ian Thorpe - Considering comeback for 2012?

The Herald Sun reports today that Ian Thorpe, 27, is considering a surprise comeback in time for London 2012.

It's understood Thorpe, 27, discussed his plans with Australia's current batch of crack male sprinters - Eamon Sullivan, Andrew Lauterstein, Ashley Callus and Matt Targett - at the Commonwealth Games trials in Sydney last month, allegedly saying: "Let's get the 4x100 in London."

I say this happens... Just three days ago at a sports convention in Dubai Thorpe revealed “I’ve walked away, not retired”. Thorpedo is media-savvy enough to know how this will have been taken and to have the story break so soon afterwards tells me that we'll get the welcome return of this century's first global swimming star.

Assuming it does happen, several questions remain:-

A) Will he get back into the kind of shape he needs to be to make the Australian team?

- Look at Geoff Huegill. Thorpe might not even be the biggest surprise comeback Olympian on the 2012 team.

B) Will he focus only on the 4 x 100 Free relay?

- If Thorpe can get down to a mid-48 on the 100 Free (what it will probably take to qualify comfortably for the Aussie team) then I'm guessing he could also swim a pretty mean 200m Free. You can add the 4 x 200 Free relay to his list. When it comes to individual events I think Thorpe needs to be in with a real shot at a medal (probably Gold) for him to consider it. The individual 200m Free would probably be the most suitable event for him and as a result his participation might depend on what Phelps/Biedermann/Agnel/Isotov etc. are producing. The endurance needed for the 400m Free might be a step too far even for Thorpe. I don't see him being able to match Cielo/Bernard/Sullivan for speed in the individual 100 Free.

C) Will Thorpe's presence be enough to win Gold for Australia in the 4 x 100 Free relay in 2012?

- It will certainly give the team a boost and should help Australia but it still might not be enough to claim gold.

France have to be considered favourites with the USA a close second. So far this year the fastest 4 French 100m Freestylers are:-

A Bernard - 48.32 (World Rank 1)
F Gilot - 48.52 (W.r. =2)
W Meynard - 48.79 (W.r 5)
Y Agnel - 48.99 (W.r 8)

This doesn't even include the seriously talented A Leveaux, F Bousquet, B Steimetz and G Mallet.

Australia's top 4 in comparison:-

E Sullivan - 48.52 (W.r =2)
T D'Orsagna - 49.35 (W.r 18)
J Magnussen - 49.43 (W.r 19)
K Richardson- 49.47 (W.r 25)

The US team will always challenge and have a wealth of talent available. (Phelps, Adrian, Walters, Grevers, Weber-Gale, Jones, new guys coming through... Lezak!)

D) If Thorpe does comeback, is it the best news in 2010 for the sport of swimming?

Yes.