Swimming Blogs - Chris DeSantis

Well folks, believe it or not trials is less than a month away. No doubt that the attention being payed to our sport and our swimmers is building as the meet approaches. Once the team is selected the wave of momentum for our Olympic sport will carry through to Beijing.

When I hear people discussing trials, the discussion inevitably drifts to a discussion of favorites. What I mean by that is that swimmers like Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Katie Hoff or Natalie Coughlin dominate coverage. To some extent this is deserved, they are the best in the world at what they do. From them coverage trickles down to a second tier, swimmers who have garnered name recognition only in swimming circles by way of their accomplishments at the NCAA level (Matt Grevers) or their steady presence as a swimmer #1 or #2 in the US but just off the world's best (Rachel Komisarz). As I was thinking about it, it seems to me there is yet another tier of swimmers that despite consistently fast swimming receives almost no media attention. In particular, I'd like to focus on the swimmers who finished in the most agonizing of positions at the 2004 trials: 3rd (or 7th for those relays where 1-6 were selected). For some, it can be a trying culmination of years in the sport, and ultimately lead to retirement. And yet others have made the decision to endure the training necessary for four more years and another chance. I will attempt to profile a few in this space.

Eric Shanteau- If I didn't love as a fan of USA swimming how deep our team can be, I would wish Eric drew citizenship from another nation. In 2004 Eric finished 3rd at trials in the 400 IM and the 200 IM. In what has been for a long period of time a pair of criminally loaded events for the US, he would finish 2004 ranked 8th and 6th respectively in the world. Four more years of swimming held little hope for Shanteau with swimmers like Phelps and Lochte younger than him- only Vendt who beat him in the 400 was older and Lochte has since passed him in the 400. Talk to any number of people and they will tell you that it is a foregone conclusion that those two will make the team in both IMs (if Lochte chooses both). Yet you could make the argument that Shanteau has a very strong chance of making the team in either the 400 IM or the 200 breast. Continuing his swimming after a very successful college career, he has improved his 200 breaststroke to 4th best in the world in 2007 (2:10.65). He repeated that performance in 2008 with a 2:10.59 which he used to defeat Brendan Hansen head to head. He stands one spot ahead of Hansen in the current world rankings and 9th overall behind only performances made at other nations trial's performances.

Hayley McGregory: Like Shanteau, Hayley McGregory had to persevere through a Long Beach meet where she finished 3rd twice, both in the 100 and 200 backstrokes. In many people's eyes, Hayley should have made the meet. At 18 she was viewed by some as a young talent who could fill the void in the American women's greatest weakness, the 200 backstroke. Coming into trials she had been 1:01.84 in the 100 and 2:12.79 in the 200 without the benefits of a taper. However, at trials she would swim a disappointing 1:01.94 in the 100 and 2:13.24 in the 200. In an instant, it seemed, McGregory would drop off the international swimming radar, still competing in NCAA meets after a transfer to USC in 2006. In 2005 she was just 1:02.42 in the 100, in 2006 she further regressed to 1:03.36. Who could have guessed that after two years of getting slower in what should be the prime of her career McGregory would make a sudden comeback? In 2007 she reversed her curve with a stunning 1:00.93. In 2008 she joined the host of women dropping under 1 minute in the 100 backstroke with a 59.81 that ranks her 6th in the world. She also set a since broken world record in the 50 backstroke earlier this year. I consider her a favorite to occupy the #2 spot in the 100 backstroke in Omaha.

These two swimmers are just another example of the panorama of athletic stories to be found in the Omaha trials. As we build towards the meet, I will try and share with you the stories of some other swimmers who for one reason or another you may not be hearing too much about going into the meet.