Ledecky, Adrian steal opening night show at U.S. nationals
INDIANAPOLIS » Katie Ledecky keeps makes winning look easy. Nathan Adrian continues to prove experience matters when things get close.
Either way, the result was the same Tuesday night in Indianapolis: The two Olympic gold medalists qualified for another American world championship team.
Ledecky, as usual, dominated the women’s 800-meter freestyle, winning by nearly 9 seconds. Adrian, meanwhile, rallied in the closing meters of the men’s 100 free and outtouched Caeleb Dressel by 0.01 seconds to win the men’s 100 free at the U.S. National Championships.
“That’s kind of what we’ve built into my nervous system,” Adrian said. “I’ve always tried to go out and bring it back in the back half. Now maybe we can figure out what to do in the front half.”
Adrian doesn’t have much time for fine-tuning before heading to Budapest, Hungary. The meet is scheduled for July 23-30.
But after taking Olympic gold in the 100 free in 2012 and picking up a bronze in the same event last summer in Rio de Janeiro, Adrian returned to Indianapolis this year under completely different circumstances.
At age 28, he was easily the oldest competitor in the final, almost 61/2 years older than the oldest competitor, Ryan Held.
And with the retired Michael Phelps and suspended Ryan Lochte not around, Adrian has accepted his role as Team USA’s elder spokesman.
The good news is that he appears to be as strong as ever.
After qualifying fourth in the morning prelims, Adrian charged back from the No. 6 spot at the turn and sprinted past five younger competitors to reclaim a title he first won in 2009, also in Indy. He won in 47.96 seconds. Dressel was next at 47.97.
“I didn’t know where they were and if I had looked, I probably would have lost it,” Adrian said after pumping his fist and taking a deep breath following the race.
The winners of each event qualify for the world championships. Runner-ups are also likely to join the team
Ledecky, as usual, provided no drama in an event she has owned for years.
The 20-year-old Stanford star took the lead in the first 50 meters and extended it by between 0.31 and 0.83 seconds on each ensuing lap through the first 600 meters. At one point, the Washington native was even swimming under her own world record pace.
She eventually finished 8:11.50, beating Leah Smith to wall by 8.96 seconds.
Ledecky did all that despite having through a selection process. in the only about 25 minutes between her sixth-place finish in the 100 free and the start of the 800 and without the benefit of changing her workouts before nationals.
“I didn’t rest too much for this. I’d say maybe compared to other trials/selection meets, this is probably the least tapered I’ve been,” she said. “I felt in control but by the time I got to about 400 or 50, I couldn’t pick it up any more.”
By winning, Ledecky has already given herself the option to compete in the 1,500 free at Budapest without having to swim the event Saturday.