By PAUL NEWBERRY, AP
Posted: 4:37 am
July 4, 2008
OMAHA, Neb. - In the first major stunner of the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, Brendan Hansen failed to make the Olympic team in the 200-meter breaststroke last night.
The world recordholder less than a month ago, Hansen won't even swim the event in Beijing after finishing fourth in the event last night. His only solace: He still has a spot on the Olympic team in the 100 breast and, most likely, the 400 medley relay.
"I did my best," said Hansen, the last of the eight finalists to leave the pool deck. "I gave everything in the pool tonight. I left it all out there. It just wasn't there. It wasn't my day."
Hansen wasn't the only big name to falter on the fifth night of the meet.
Katie Hoff, who already had qualified for four individual events and one relay, failed to advance out of the semifinals of the 100 freestyle, denying her a chance to go for as many as eight medals at the Olympics.
But Hoff putting up the 11th-best time against a field that also included Natalie Coughlin and 41-year-old Dara Torres wasn't all that surprising - the 100 was by far the longest shot on the 19-year-old's grueling program.
Hansen, on the other hand, has long been this country's top breaststroker, and it was downright shocking to see him touch the wall behind three other Americans.
He led over the first 150 meters, only to fade badly on the final lap as winner Scott Spann went on by. So did runner-up Eric Shanteau and third-place finisher Scott Usher.
"I came to the pool tonight and didn't have a very good feeling about warm-up and just everything in general," Hansen said. "I might have been worrying too much about what I needed to do to get this done and didn't worry about the guys that were gunning after me at the same time."
Hansen labored to the finish in 2 minutes, 11.37 seconds - nearly 3 seconds slower than his American record, which also stood as the world's fastest time until Japanese rival Kosuke Kitajima broke it June 7 with a time of 2:07.51.
Hanging on the lane rope, he stared at the scoreboard in disbelief while Spann and Shanteau celebrated.
"I just, I don't know," said Hansen, the last man to leave the pool deck. "It's been a long week, and it hurt me a little bit."
Spann won in 2:09.97 - far off Kitajima's pace. Shanteau locked up the expected second spot on the team in 2:10.36.
Coughlin was the top qualifier heading to Friday's final in the women's 100 free. She won her heat in 53.64, touching just ahead of Torres, the four-time Olympian who has twice retired from swimming but is back again - 24 years after her first U.S. trials. Torres also moved on to the final with the second-best time (53.76).
But Hansen's flop was the talk of the night.
"He just didn't come home like he usually does," said good friend and trials roommate Aaron Peirsol, the fastest in the 200 backstroke semifinals.
Garrett Weber-Gale locked up his first trip to the Olympics, winning the 100 freestyle at 47.92 - nearly a half-second off the world record held by France's Alain Bernard. Weber-Gale beat out two-time Olympian Jason Lezak, who led at the turn but touched second in 48.05, still locking up a spot on his third team. Elaine Breeden won the 200 butterfly in 2:06.75, ahead of Kathleen Hersey. Breeden also is expected to swim the 100 fly in Beijing after taking second in that event.
