Swimming Blogs - Chris DeSantis

Looks like I really stirred things up with round one. I'm sorry if some of my rationale's came off a bit cavalier. To be honest, I decided this time around that I would make a few emotional picks even though my rational strategy worked last time.

Jeff, the quality of your Canadian support rings true. I was so scared that I tried to anticipate your moves by hunting down Jeff Rouse to counteract the possibility of Mark Tewksbury posting for you. Unfortunately, Rouse was unavailable.

Day 2 picks!

Women's 100 fly:

1. Libby Trickett

2. Jessica Schipper

3. Jemma Lowe

Rationale: I'm hoping that Libby wins this in world record time. Then, I won't have to look at Inge De Bruijn's name on the world record list anymore. Nothing against Inge, but her name always gave me fits and Trickett really just roles off the tongue. Schipper seems like a clear second and has the best back half in the field. I picked Lowe for third for two reasons. First, I like the name Jemma, and she even has a teammate named Gemma to spice things up. Second, she's a swimmer on the rise who has dropped a lot of time in the last year.

Men's 100 Breaststroke

1. Alexander Dale Oen

2. Brendan Hansen

3. Kosuke Kitajima

Rationale: I think I said it so many times at trials that Garrett's ears are still bleeding: breaststroke is the hardest stroke to be consistent in. This is an event that always seems to have an upset, from Kitajima's minor one four years ago to the sudden emergence of Domenico Fioravanti. There wasn't anyone Danish to pick so I went with a Norwegian, another name I'd like to here Rowdy Gaines repeat. If I was picking purely with my heart I would go with Hansen and have Kitajima miss the semi-final, but these guys are too good to get beat by the likes of Rickard or Cook. I left Dubosq off because he medaled four years ago and almost no one medals in back to back games in breaststrokes. Kitajima and Hansen will make history just not the kind they would like to.

Women's 400 Freestyle:

1. Federica Pellegrini

2. Katie Hoff

3. Kate Ziegler

Rationale: Manadou is the European female who gets the most attention but Pellegrini has deserved it more this year. The only woman to have been 4:01 has had months to get primed for this race and should be racing with confidence. Hoff should come home strong but may be a little more taxed than Pellegrini even though its only Day 2. I honestly think we didn't see the best of Ziegler in Omaha, she looked tired and her legs were heavy. If she's got a little leg drive coming home, she could mow more than a few swimmers down the last lap.

Men's 4x100

1. USA

2. France

3. South Africa

Rationale: Swim fans across American can breath a sigh of relief when team USA brings the gold home in this event. Just recently things were looking grim. Remember last summer when Dave Walters won nationals with a 48.9? Then France dropped bomb after bomb with huge time drops from all of their sprinters. Fortunately for the US, Cullen Jones got his mojo back, Garrett Weber-Gale decided to arrive, and Jason Lezak aged like fine wine. Toss in a little Michael Phelps and I predict the US will be 3:10 in this event. France will come up just short and will have to be on their toes to beat defending champ South Africa. While Ryk Neethling and Roland Schoeman haven't looked as sharp as in years past, I think they will swim surprisingly well in Beijing and Gideon Louw gives them another serious log to throw on the fire.