then began to fall just before the races halfway mark, | Forum
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Jan 10 '18
ATHENS, Ga. Peter Budaj Jersey . -- Michael Phelps surged to the wall and quickly searched for the scoreboard. He liked what he saw. Phelps turned in perhaps the most impressive performance so far in his comeback, posting the third-fastest time in the world this year while easily beating rival Ryan Lochte in the 100-meter butterfly at the Bulldog Grand Slam on Friday night. Despite some problems with his turn, Phelps had the packed house roaring when he touched in 51.67 seconds, considerably faster than the 52.11 he posted at the Santa Clara Grand Prix three weeks ago. Lochte was a distant second in 53.08. "I wanted to get under 52," Phelps said, breaking into a big smile. "I was sick and tired of seeing 52.1." He had no trouble finishing ahead of Lochte, though it really wasnt a fair fight. Phelps longtime foe also competed in the 200 freestyle, winning the "B" final less than an hour before he returned to the water to face a rested Phelps. More important for Lochte -- his left knee seemed to hold up well. This is his first meet for the laid-back Floridian since he reinjured the surgically repaired knee at the Mesa Grand Prix in April. It was initially hurt late last year when he tried to catch an exuberant fan and fell into a curb, requiring surgery. "I hope I lose," said Lochte, who plans to swim a grueling six events in Athens. "It will just make me more hungry." Phelps is set to swim three events at the weekend meet on the University of Georgia campus, a hastily arranged event that gave some of the top swimmers on the East Coast a chance to swim one more time competitively before the next months national championships in Irvine, California. The results from nationals, as well as the Pan Pacific Championships being held in Australia later in August, will determine the U.S. team for the 2015 world championships. Phelps seems to be right on course, at least in his signature fly, finishing just 0.46 off the time that won the gold at the 2012 London Olympics. The only faster times this year were Thomas Dals 51.44 in the Belgian Open and Viacheslav Prudnikovs 51.60 at the Russian national championships. "I am very pleased with being able to go 51," Phelps said. "But in the grand scheme of things, I think its just a small steppingstone to go where we hope to be." He is still struggling with the consistency of his stroke. When things are going well, Phelps needs 16 strokes to cover the first 50 metres, 18 for the return lap. When hes just a little off, he winds up gliding into the wall too much, either when hes making his flip turn or coming to the finish. "I was kind of bummed that I still cant hit a wall correctly," Phelps said. Added his coach, Bob Bowman, "He looked crazy coming off the wall." All in all, though, no complaints. Phelps, who retired after the last Olympics and stayed away from the pool for more than a year, didnt come back to tarnish his legacy, which includes 18 golds and 22 medals overall -- far more than any other Olympic athlete. "I always set high expectations for myself, no matter what Im doing," he said. "Bob and I have a plan of what I want to do. He knows what its going to take to get there." In other events, French Olympic star Yannick Agnel took the mens 200 freestyle in 1 minute, 47.27 seconds, followed by U.S. Olympians Conor Dywer (1:47.44) and Connor Jaeger (1:47.94). Lochte, swimming in that consolation final, actually posted the fourth-fastest time of the evening at 1:48.69, some 4 seconds faster than he went in the morning preliminaries while wearing a non-racing suit. Allison Schmitt, coming back strong after a disappointing post-Olympic year, won the womens 200 freestyle in 1:58.16. Winner of five medals in London, she struggled a bit with fame and didnt even qualify for the 2013 worlds. Shes back on track with the Rio Games just two years away. "I have more goals that I want to accomplish, which is why Im back," Schmitt said. "Im looking forward to this summer." In the 400 individual medley, Olympic gold medallist Tyler Clary blew away the field in the mens race. His time of 4:21.66 was nearly 4 1/2 seconds ahead of runner-up Kevin Litherland. Melanie Margalis finished first on the womens side. Micah Lawrence touched first in the womens 100 breaststroke, while the mens breaststroke was captured by Nicolas Fink. Seventeen-year-old Kathleen Baker took the womens 100 fly in 59.69, the only swimmer to break the minute barrier. Of course, Phelps drew most of the attention. His main foe was impressed by what he saw. "He swam a fantastic race," Lochte said. "That was really fast." Jonne Tammela Jersey . -- Fresh off their surprising run in the playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers have signed head coach Terry Stotts to a multi-year contract extension. Matthew Spencer Jersey . NORRIS COLE (Heat): Its funny, you watch a guy play and now really produce and it just jumps off the page at you - why? You put a young player with potential in a winning environment where there is veteran leadership, outstanding coaching and management and a way that things are done and its a wonderful environment for growth, improvement in a climate of constant accountability and expectation of achievement/production. ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -- Tiptoeing at high speed around a rain-slicked track under the pressure of a two-lap overtime, Brendan Gaughan handed away the lead to Chase Elliott. Then he snatched it right back a few corners later. Hed still have two more drivers to hold off on the final lap -- including a last-ditch charge from Alex Tagliani of Lachenaie, Que., the man who appeared to have the race all but won with a little more than a lap left in regulation. Gaughan already had gone sliding off the track a couple of times earlier. Oh, and his team forgot to bring a windshield wiper to install on his car. Through all that, Gaughan held on to win a rainy and wild NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Road America on Saturday. "I love racing in the rain," Gaughan said. "Its fun. And when youre good at it, it makes it even more fun. I havent smelled blood in a long time. Thats been something Ive been lacking lately is that killer attitude. When it started to rain, even without the wiper blade, I started to smell blood and said, Im coming." Gaughan won for the first time in the series, breaking through in his 98th career start. Tagliani was second, followed by Kevin OConnell, Elliott and J.J. Yeley as NASCAR drivers got a rare opportunity to race in the rain. It was the third time in Nationwide history that grooved rain tires have been used in a race; the previous two were in Montreal. NASCAR only uses rain tires on winding road courses, not on oval tracks. The rain added a tense new dimension to racing at Road America, a four-mile road course where the Nationwide Series already had shown an ability to put on a good show. "As we showed today, you can put on a hell of a race in the rain," Gaughan said. After watching his chance to win the race in regullation fizzle out, Tagliani -- who was leading when a late caution came out, ran out of gas and refuelled his car -- nearly charged all the way back to the lead when his crew put him back on slick tires to attack the drying track. Callan Foote Jersey. "It was pretty intense," Tagliani said. "The wet was tricky, but obviously we were good. So I dont know. Maybe I threw a bad spell on myself because I was saying, Its impossible that Im going to win this race. Somethings going to happen. On the white flag, something happened." Added Gaughan: "(Give) Tagliani one more lap, the track was dry enough that he would have probably got to us. It worked out in our favour." It was an impressive finish for Elliott, an 18-year-old rookie and the son of NASCAR icon Bill Elliott. But he wasnt exactly patting himself on the back after the race. He missed most of Fridays practice after missing a shift and causing his crew to change engines, briefly slid off the track earlier in Saturdays race, then felt like the threw away a shot at a win. "Failure No. 3 on the weekend for me," Elliott said in a radio interview. "Missed shift yesterday, ran off the track, and then couldnt get the job done. Im going to have to step up." The race started a little more than an hour late, as NASCAR officials waited for a slightly damp track to dry out; the grooved rain tires are designed to work best in full wet conditions. Slightly heavier rain then began to fall just before the races halfway mark, causing the race to go under caution for a few laps before instructing teams to put on rain tires -- resulting in a rare test of NASCAR drivers skills in the rain. "It was ridiculous," Elliott said. "It really was. It was a handful." Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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