PHOENIX, Arizona, January 21. FAST swimming continued on Day Three of the 2008 Toyota Southern California Grand Prix in Long Beach Sunday, and SwimmingWorld TV was on deck to talk to the swimmers gearing up for this summer's Olympic Trials. Click the button on the right to view the 10-minute video.
Mel Stewart, 1992 Olympic gold medalist, interviewed some of the evening's top winners, including Kara Lynn Joyce, Tara Kirk and Kaitlin Sandeno.
Matt Grevers caught up with Stewart after a big night in the pool, where he won the 200 free and 50 free. Realizing his wins put him near the top of the rankings for the $20,000 prize given to the top point scorer, Grevers said, "I might as well attend the rest (of the Grand Prix meets) and see what happens."
The Long Beach Grand Prix featured a small contingent from Great Britain, coached by former American sprint star Bill Pilczuk. One of his swimmers included Commonwealth Games champion Matt Clay, who talked about the differences between the British and Americans in terms of sprint training.
Michael Phelps had to deal with malfunctioning goggles on his way to a near-record swim in the 400 IM. "You have to deal with things that come your way," he said, "and I just tried to swim as fast as I could with the situation."
One more day remains at the Belmont Olympic Pool, but Jonty Skinner, former 100 free world record holder and current director of USA Swimming's performance science division, summed up the performances so far as remarkable.
"It's a great boost of confidence for those kids that can train that hard and still swim that fast," he said. "They're just going to get better and better."
Our highlights from the Long Beach Grand Prix are presented in conjunction with the World Championship Sports Network, the premier destination for Olympic and lifestyle sports.
