ONE WORLD RECORD AND TWO AMERICAN RECORDS FALL AT THE MUTUAL OF OMAHA DUEL IN THE POOL

One world record and two American records fell on the first night of competition at the 2011 Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool. The women’s 400m medley relay broke the short course world record with a time of 3:45.56 while Natalie Coughlin (Vallejo, Calif.) and Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.) each earned American records in individual events. The Duel in the Pool, a two-day competition taking place at the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, is a dual meet between the U.S. and a team of European All-Stars.

The U.S. women’s 400m medley relay team of Coughlin, Rebecca Soni (Plainsboro, NJ), Dana Vollmer (Granbury, Texas) and Missy Franklin (Centennial, Colo.) beat the European All-Stars in a world record time of 3:45.56. Coughlin got the U.S. out to the lead after the first 100 meters in 55.97, breaking her own American record from last year’s Short Course World Championships. 

“We have four really great girls on this relay,” said Natalie Coughlin after the swim. “We were really confident going into the race and that helped us get the world record.”

Hungary’s Katinka Hosszu got the E-Stars their first victory coming in the women’s 400m IM. Caitlin Leverenz (Tucson, Ariz.) pulled into the lead after the breaststroke leg but Hosszu captured the win with her freestyle portion of the race and touched the wall at 4:24.37, just ahead of Leverenz who came in second at 4:24.62. Leverenz’s time earned her an American record as well. U.S. teammate Elizabeth Beisel (Saunderstown, R.I.) finished third at 4:26.48.

Ryan Lochte (Daytona Beach, Fla.) won two events Friday - the men’s 400m IM and 200m back. In the 400m IM, Lochte took the lead in the final 50 meters to come into the wall at 3:59.52 ahead of fellow American Tyler Clary (Riverside, Calif.), who finished in 4:00.35. Current European record-holder, Hungary’s Laszlo Cseh, came in third at 4:02.91. In the 200m back, Lochte led from start to finish to win the event in 1:48.90. Radoslow Kawecki of Poland was second in 1:50.12 and Clary was third in 1:51.22.

Brendan Hansen (Havertown, Pa.) won a close race in the men’s 200m breast with a time of 2:03.64. Hansen was behind the entire race but took the lead in the final 50 meters to earn the win. Hungary’s Daniel Gyurta was second in 2:03.64 and Mike Alexandrov (Champaign, Ill.) was third in 2:05.08. 

Ricky Berens (Charlotte, N.C.) won the men’s 100m free with a time of 46.60. Garrett Weber-Gale (Milwaukee, Wisc.) placed second in 46.79 and European All-Star Vladimir Morozov of Russia was third in 47.21.
Missy Franklin picked up her second win of the night in the women’s 200m back. Franklin swam a 2:00.14 for the win and was followed by Great Britain’s Elizabeth Simmonds, who set a European record with a time of 2:00.83. Elizabeth Pelton (Ruxton, Md.) was third in 2:02.16.

Soni won the women’s 200m breast with a time of 2:17.69. She battled neck and neck through the first 100 meters with fellow U.S. swimmer Amanda Beard (Irvine, Calif.), but pulled ahead in the second half of the race. Beard placed second in 2:19.69 and Leverenz was third in 2:19.84.

The women’s 100m free went to the European All-Stars with a win by Ranomi Kromowidjojo of the Netherlands. Kromowidjojo won the event in 51.87. Francesca Halsall of Great Britain was second in 51.95 and Coughlin was third in 52.40. 

Other wins of the evening included Matt Grevers (Lake Forest, Ill.) in the 100m fly (50.54), Chloe Sutton (Mission Viejo, Calif.) in the 400m free (3:58.07) and Michael Klueh (Evansville, Ind.) in the men’s 400m free (3:40.05). 

The U.S. team leads the E-Stars 93.5 to 28.5 with 16 more events to come on Saturday. 

The bi-annual Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool is a made-for-TV event, designed to showcase the sport’s most exciting swimmers. Competition will be broadcast on NBC, December 17 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. ET.

This is the fifth Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool in the history of USA Swimming. Past Duels were held in 2003, 2005, 2007 that pitted All-Star teams from the U.S. and Australia against each other and 2009 featured the U.S. against European All-Stars. The U.S. is 4-0 in the history of the Mutual of Omaha Duel in the Pool. For more information about this year’s Duel