Full coverage of the Duel in the Pool, including videos and photo gallery, can be found at our Event Landing Page.
ATLANTA, Georgia, December 17. THE final session of competition between Team USA and the European All-Stars is complete. The short course meter event took place in Atlanta, Ga.
Team USA completed the combined team win, 181.5 to 80.5, in the Duel in the Pool. The men won 100.5 to 30.5, while the women claimed an 81-50 victory.
Women's 800 free
Denmark's Lotte Friis put a charge into the world record in the distance freestyle event with a scorching-fast time of 8:04.77. Out nearly three seconds under world record pace early on, Friis could not keep up with the delirious pace Alessia Filippi set coming home during her world record of 8:04.53 from Croatia back in 2008. Friis' time came up just short of her second-ranked lifetime best of 8:04.61, but demolished her textile best of 8:07.53 from earlier this year.
USA's Chloe Sutton, the 400 free victor, couldn't keep up with Friis as she wound up taking second in 8:14.29 to pick up second-place points for Team USA. That swim jumped Sutton to 16th all time in the event history. Meanwhile Grainne Murphy, who is listed as representing Great Britain, but is Irish, finished third for Europe with an 8:18.03.
USA's Kate Ziegler (8:18.39) and Ashley Steenvoorden (8:26.10) also competed in the heat.
Team USA held a 96.5 to 34.5 lead after the race.
Men's 800 free
Faroes' Pal Joensen put on a show in the men's distance race for the day, turning in a victorious time of 7:36.24. That performance pushed him to a tie for sixth in the all time rankings with his consistent swim. USA's Michael Klueh gave Joensen a bit of a run early on in the swim, but faded to second in 7:39.90. He's been much faster with a ninth-ranked lifetime best of 7:36.47. Denmark's Mads Glaesner finished third in 7:42.27.
Klueh officially lowered the American record of 7:43.06 set by Jeff Kostoff back in 1983. The fastest American swim is a 7:33.94 from Chad La Tourette, but was not ratified due to a domestic techsuit ban by USA Swimming.
USA's Peter Vanderkaay (7:48.48) and Hungary's Gergo Kis (7:48.77) also swam in the finale.
Team USA nearly cleared 100 points after the race with a 99.5 to 40.5 lead.
Women's 200 free
USA's Missy Franklin continued her remarkable showing in her 16th year of existence. She dropped a time of 1:53.19 to win the 200 free, bettering her 12th-ranked lifetime best of 1:53.25 from the Berlin stop of the World Cup.
Franklin led a 1-2-3 finish for the Stars and Stripes, as Dana Vollmer took second in 1:53.92 to nearly clear her lifetime best of 1:53.67. Meanwhile, Katie Hoff snared third in 1:54.24.
The Netherlands' Ranomi Kromowidjojo (1:55.77), USA's Dagny Knutson (1:55.95) and Hungary's Evelyn Verraszto (1:57.11) finished fourth through sixth in the event.
Team USA led 108.5 to 40.5 after the end of the race.
Men's 200 free
The U.S. piled on the points in the men's 200 free with another top-three sweep. Ricky Berens raced to victory in 1:42.68 to move to 21st in the world rankings. Matt McLean clinched second for the U.S. with a 1:44.26, while Conor Dwyer edged Austria's Dinko Jukic, 1:44.45 to 1:44.59, for the third-place finish.
Poland's Pawel Korzeniowski (1:44.60), Great Britain's Robbie Renwick (1:44.87) and Switzerland's Dominik Meichtry (1:45.89) turned in the rest of the finishes in the race.
The U.S. built its incredible lead to 117.5 to 40.5 with the sweep.
Women's 100 back
Great Britain's Elizabeth Simmonds scored an upset for the European All-Stars with a 56.82 to 56.92 triumph over USA's Natalie Coughlin out of lane 1 in the event. Coughlin moved to third all time in the event with a 55.97 for the American record as the 100 back leadoff last night. Simmonds, meanwhile, missed her top time of 56.69 that ranks her ninth all time. Less than 20 minutes after winning the 200 free, Missy Franklin placed third in 57.49.
USA's Elizabeth Pelton (57.64), Ukraine's Daryna Zevina (58.63), Great Britain's Gemma Spofforth (58.72), The Netherlands' Sharon Van Rouwendaal (58.82) and USA's Elizabeth Beisel (59.32) completed the rest of the heat.
Europe cut the gap to 121.5 to 45.5.
Men's 100 back
USA's Matt Grevers claimed the title in 49.85, just missing the official American record of 49.64 set by Peter Marshall in 2008. Nick Thoman owns the world record with a 48.94 from 2009. USA Swimming decided that American records set in techsuits after Oct. 1, 2009 – when USA Swimming implemented the techsuit ban domestically – would not be ratified. This is the case even for times swum legally in international events where ban was not in effect yet.
Thoman, meanwhile, placed second in 50.13, while reigning two-time Swimming World World Swimmer of the Year Ryan Lochte took third in 50.65.
Poland's Radoslaw Kawecki (50.87), Hungary's Peter Bernek (53.13) and Great Britain's Marco Loughran (53.48) placed fourth through sixth.
Team USA finished just a point shy of claiming its fifth Duel in the Pool triumph in five tries. The Stars and Stripes led 130.5 to 45.5 after the sweep.
Women's 100 breast
USA's Jessica Hardy dominated the field, picking up a bit of an upset over reigning two time Swimming World World Swimmer of the Year Rebecca Soni. Hardy nearly caught her third-ranked all time lifetime best of 1:03.30 from the Berlin World Cup stop in 2009. Her swim bettered the American record of 1:03.98 set by Rebecca Soni in 2010. Soni, meanwhile, still maintains the fastest legal swim by an American with the world record of 1:02.70.
USA Swimming decided that American records set in techsuits after Oct. 1, 2009 – when USA Swimming implemented the techsuit ban domestically – would not be ratified. This is the case even for times swum legally in international events where ban was not in effect yet.
Hardy's time did, however, clear the textile best of 1:03.63 set by Leisel Jones back in 2010.
Soni took second tonight in 1:04.53, while Denmark's Rikke Moller Pedersen placed third in 1:05.50.
USA's Amanda Beard (1:05.75), The Netherlands' Moniek Nijhuis (1:06.34) and USA's Katy Freeman (1:07.57) also vied for the event title.
Team USA captured its fifth Duel in the Pool team victory with a 138.5 to 46.5 lead after the race.
Men's 100 breast
USA's Brendan Hansen completed a breaststroke sweep at the meet with a 57.47 for the victory. That swim pushed him to an 18th-place tie in the all time rankings. Hungary's Daniel Gyurta finished second in 57.62, well back of his fifth-ranked lifetime best of 56.72. USA's Mike Alexandrov earned third tonight in 57.81.
USA's Mark Gangloff (58.72), Lithuania's Giedrius Titenis (59.36), USA's Eric Shanteau (59.65) and Germany's Christian Vom Lehn (1:00.03) rounded out the field.
The team tally moved to 144.5 to 49.5 after the event.
Women's 200 fly
USA's Kathleen Hersey crushed the American record in the distance fly with a time of 2:03.49, in front of a hometown crowd. That swim far surpassed the 2:04.26 set by Elaine Breeden back in 2010. She moved to eighth all time in the event's history with the swim, and nearly cleared the textile best of 2:03.18 set by Yuko Nakanishi back in 2008.
Breeden checked in with a second-place time of 2:04.98, while Sweden's Martina Granstrom earned third-place honors with a 2:06.08.
Hungary's Zsuzsanna Jakabos (2:06.35), USA's Claire Donahue (2:09.27), USA's Dagny Knutson (2:10.97) and Slovenia's Anja Klinar (2:11.33) comprised the rest of the swims.
The Stars and Stripes built the lead to 152.5 to 50.5 after the butterfly.
Men's 200 fly
Hungary's Laszlo Cseh snagged the title in the distance butterfly with a strong final leg as he clocked a 1:51.18 for the win. Cseh came up just short of his lifetime best of 1:50.87 that put him ninth all time. USA's Davis Tarwater finished second in 1:51.90, smashing the American record of 1:52.26 set by Michael Phelps during the Berlin stop of the 2009 World Cup tour. Tarwater improved to 22nd in the world rankings with the swim. Hungary's Bence Biczo finished third in 1:55.26.
Poland's Pawel Korzeniowki (1:55.48) and USA's Tyler McGill (1:56.67) also competed in the event.
Team USA pushed its advantage to 155.5 to 56.5.
News also broke that Tyler Clary pulled out of the meet today with a rotator cuff injury in his shoulder, which could be a huge blow for the U.S. heading into the 2012 London Games.
Women's 50 free
The European All-Stars showed some spirit in the women's splash-and-dash as the squad picked up a sweep. The Netherlands' Marleen Veldhuis won the race in 23.43, just a bit back of her world record of 23.25. Her compatriot Ranomi Kromowidjojo finished second in 23.61, shy of her fourth-ranked 23.37, while Great Britain's Fran Halsall earned third in 23.73. Halsall has been a fifth-ranked 23.44 prior to today. Europe went 1-2-3-4 in the race with Belarus' Aliaksandra Herasimenia finishing fourth in 24.13.
USA's Jessica Hardy (24.18), Natalie Coughlin (24.31) and Amanda Weir (24.41) placed fifth through seventh in the event.
Europe pushed its team total to 65.5 points against Team USA's 155.5.
Men's 50 free
USA's Nick Brunelli touched out Russia's Vlad Morozov by the slimmest of margins, 21.28 to 21.29. Brunelli came up .10 seconds short of his lifetime best of 21.18 that stands 25th all time. Notably, both Brunelli (lane 8) and Morozov (lane 1) topped the field from the outside lanes. USA's Matt Grevers followed up his 100 back triumph with a third-place time of 21.38.
USA's Garrett Weber-Gale (21.42), Great Britain's Adam Brown (21.47), Poland's Konrad Czerniak (21.65), USA's Jimmy Feigen (21.73) and Hungary's Krisztian Takacs (21.90) also cleared 22 seconds to complete the field.
Team USA increased its tally to 161.5 compared to Europe's 68.5 after the race.
Women's 200 IM
USA's Caitlin Leverenz put the pedal to the metal in the breaststroke leg with a triumphant time of 2:04.91. That swim jumped to the top of the world rankings this year by more than two seconds, and moved her to third all time in the event's history. Her time smashed the ratified American record of 2:06.09 set by Ariana Kukors back in 2010, but remained behind the world record of 2:04.60 set by Julia Smit in 2009. Evelyn Verraszto stands second all time in the event with a 2:04.64.
Notably, Leverenz bested the textile best of 2:05.73 set by Mireia Belmonte last year.
USA Swimming decided that American records set in techsuits after Oct. 1, 2009 – when USA Swimming implemented the techsuit ban domestically – would not be ratified. This is the case even for times swum legally in international events where ban was not in effect yet.
USA's Elizabeth Pelton finished a distant second in 2:07.27 to move to 16th all time in the event's history. Hungary's Katinka Hosszu, who stands 11th with a lifetime best 2:06.88, took third tonight in 2:07.64.
USA's Katie Hoff (2:07.77), USA's Julia Smit (2:08.67), Hungary's Evelyn Verraszto (2:10.18), Czech's Barbora Zavadova (2:11.39) and Grainne Murphy (2:14.36) completed the field.
The U.S. pushed its overall lead to 169.5 to 69.5.
Men's 200 IM
USA's Ryan Lochte cruised to his third victory of the meet with a 1:52.98 in the shorter distance medley. His top time in the event is a world record 1:50.08. Hungary's Laszlo Cseh finished second in 1:53.31, just back of his ninth-ranked 1:52.85. Austria's Markus Rogan claimed third in 1:53.93.
USA's Conor Dwyer (1:55.21), Austria's Dinko Jukic (1:55.92) and USA's Eric Shanteau (1:58.51) also swam in the race.
Team USA built its lead to more than 100 points, 174.5 to 73.5.
Women's 400 free relay
The European All-Star squad of Jeanette Ottesen, Fran Halsall, Aliaksandra Herasimenia and Ranomi Kromowidjojo clocked a world best in the relay with a blistering time of 3:27.53. That swim bettered the world record time of 3:28.22 set by The Netherlands back in 2008, but as the relay was made up of multiple nations, it did not qualify for a world record.
Team USA's Natalie Coughlin, Jessica Hardy, Dana Vollmer and Missy Franklin finished second with an American record time of 3:28.46. That effort bettered both the ratified American record of 3:29.34 from 2010, and the un-ratified fastest time by an American squad of 3:28.89 from Manchester in 2009.
USA Swimming decided that American records set in techsuits after Oct. 1, 2009 – when USA Swimming implemented the techsuit ban domestically – would not be ratified. This is the case even for times swum legally in international events where ban was not in effect yet.
Men's 400 free relay
Ricky Berens did his best Jason Lezak impression with a scorching anchor leg to snatch the title in the event with a 46.14 final split as Matt Grevers (47.08), Garrett Weber-Gale (46.99), Nick Brunelli (47.01) and Berens won the final race of the meet with a 3:07.22. That performance came up short of the official American record of 3:06.10 from 2010 in Dubai, and is well off the world record of 3:03.30 that is the un-ratified fastest time by an American foursome.
Konrad Czerniak (47.17), Adam Brown (46.85), Vlad Morozov (46.56) and Krisztian Takacs (47.40) placed second in the race with a 3:07.98.
