Michael Phelps Third In 200 IM In Santa Clara
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Coach Bob Bowman was satisfied with Michael Phelps' performance in the Santa Clara Grand Prix after doubling his meet workload.
Phelps finished third in the 200-meter individual medley Sunday, and fellow Olympic champion Missy Franklin won the 100 backstroke.
Phelps led the through the first three laps, before tiring to finish in 1 minute, 59.76 seconds. Olympic gold medalist Conor Dwyer won in 1:59.49, and Chase Kalisz was second in 1:59.53.
"It's a pretty credible swim," Bowman said. "He hasn't done much training and to be under two minutes is very good."
Phelps, the 18-time Olympic champion racing in his third meet since coming out of retirement, swam the 200 IM for the first time since winning the event in the 2012 London Olympics.
It was his fourth event in three days. He swam in two events in each of his first two meets since returning to competition. Phelps was second in the 100 free and 200 free and tied for first in the 100 butterfly.
"It lets us know exactly what we need to work on," Bowman said. "He needs to have endurance. He's only going to get better."
Franklin won the 100 back in 1:00.99. Amy Bilquist was second in 1:01.44.
"I'm happy with the race but not the time," Franklin said. "It's an indication of what I need to work on. A lot of stuff I'm still figuring out. I've been trying some new things and I'm excited to get back and work."
Franklin just finished her first year of college and was coming off a tiring training camp in Santa Cruz.
"I'm more mentally exhausted than anything," Franklin said. "It's fun to learn a lot of new stuff but that can be draining."
Dwyer wrapped up the Grand Prix Series points race to earn a $10,000 bonus and a one-year lease on a BMW. Arkady Vyatchanin, the 100 back winner in 54:34, was second.
"It was either win or go home with nothing," Dwyer said. "It was nice to put my hand on the wall. It's my best in-season time ever."
Dwyer closed in on Phelps following the breaststroke and overtook him in the final 50 meters of freestyle.
"I wanted to really nail the breaststroke," Dwyer said. "When I saw I was even with him after that, I felt I had a chance. Michael is the greatest Olympic swimmer of all time and has earned the right to be world-renowned. He's helped elevate the sport. I'm just trying to have fun."
In other events, Andreina Pinto won the women's 200 butterfly in 2:10.59, Sebastien Rousseau took the men's 200 fly in 1:58.50, Laura Sogar won the women's 100 breaststroke in 1:09.15, Kevin Cordes touched first in the men's 100 breast at 1:00.91, and Caitlin Leverenz won the women's 200 IM in 2:12.61.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
