(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Unsurprisingly, after Friday’s routing of the Europeans, the US clinched the 2011 Duel in the Pool in Atlanta, GA Saturday evening in dominating fashion.
The US team, led by many of the biggest names in swimming, won 12 of 14 events on Friday, and 10 of 16 events on Saturday against some of the top European swimmers. The final tally after the two day dual meet wound up 181.5 points for the Americans and 80.5 points for the European all-stars.
There were many highlights throughout Saturday’s competition, particularly in the 200m free in which the US team swept the podium in both the men’s and women’s events. In the women’s race, 16-year-old phenom Missy Franklin took the win (1:53.19), followed by Dana Vollmer, and Katie Hoff. On the men’s side, Ricky Berens took the win, with Matt McLean and Conor Dwyer finishing 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
The European team did have some strong showings, particularly in the women’s 400m, where the multi-national team of Jeanette Ottesen (DEN), Francesca Halsall (UK), Aliaksandra Heresimenia (BLR), and Ranomi Kromowidjojo (NED) set the fastest mark ever swam, 3:27.53. Of course, it is not a world record since the athletes are from different countries.
There were some notable absences from this year’s competition. Michael Phelps declined to attend in order to focus on his training for the 2012 Olympics in London. Also, many of the top European swimmers did not compete. There was only one Russian and one German swimmer and none from France, a traditional swimming powerhouse.
For full results, check out SwimmingWorldMagazine.com
As a special treat, here are interviews with Ryan Lochte and Missy Franklin. Two athletes with very different personalities. (via US Swimming)
Ryan Lochte:
Missy Franklin:
