MICHAEL PHELPS BREAKS TWO POOL RECORDS AT THE ERIC NAMESNIK MICHIGAN GRAND PRIX

MAJALAH AKUATIK INDONESIA-ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps (Baltimore, Md.) broke two pool records Friday night, winning both the men’s 200m free and 100m fly at the 2011 Eric Namesnik Michigan Grand Prix in Ann Arbor, Mich. The meet, taking place at the University of Michigan, runs through Sunday, April 10.
Phelps took home his first win of the night in the men’s 200m free. His pool-record win came in a time of 1:48.45 which edged out Olympic gold medalist Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.). Lochte finished in 1:48.69 and Austria’s Markus Rogan earned third in 1:49.23.

“Both of us [Phelps and Lochte] hate to lose,” Phelps said post race. “He’s somebody who has made a lot of improvements in and out of the pool and it shows in all of his races. I didn’t know we were going to take it down to the end. When I looked over and saw him, I just wanted to touch the wall first.”
Phelps earned his second pool record of the night with his win in the 100m fly. He took the lead at the first 50 meters and held on to win in 52.30. Poland’s Marcin Cieslak was second in 53.08 and China’s Wu Peng was third in 53.26.

The women’s 100m fly saw a close race between Olympians Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas) and Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.). Vollmer swam the third-fastest time in the world this year in the event to set the pool record in 57.50. Coughlin was second in 58.05 and Daynara Paula of Brazil was third in 58.69.
Two-time Olympian Katie Hoff (Towson, Md.) won the first women’s event of the night, earning the top spot in the women’s 200m free. Hoff, who broke the pool record in her morning preliminary swim, broke the pool record again tonight in 1:58.24. Jasmine Tosky (Walnut Creek, Calif.) was second in 1:59.60 and Whitney Myers (Oxford, Ohio) was third in 1:59.98.

The 400m IM was won by Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.) on the men’s side and Caitlin Levernz (Tucson, Ariz.) on the women’s side. Clary was just off the pool record, winning the event in 4:16.74. Robert Margalis (St. Petersburg, Fla.) was second in 4:20.96 and Lithuania’s Vytautas Janusaitis was third in 4:21.86. Leverenz won the event in 4:40.71. Stina Gardell was second in 4:41.83 and Brazil’s Joann Maranhao was third in 4:47.93.

In other races, Asphalt Green’s Annie Zhu won the women’s 100m breast with a time of 1:11.17. Sara Lajnef was second in 1:11.63 and Allie Szekely was third in 1:11.85. The Brazilian men swept the men’s 100m breaststroke, earning the top three spots in the event. Felipe Franca Da Silva was first and set a meet record in 1:01.62. Joao Luiz Gomes Junior was second in 1:01.95 and Felipe Ferreira Lima placed third in 1:01.99.