At Last, Phelps Has Competition
It's on the Women's Side, As Hoff Now Has Four Wins at Olympic Trials

By Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 3, 2008

OMAHA, July 2 -- Before now, Michael Phelps appeared to have a stranglehold on this whole barrelful-of-medals pursuit. He continued it Wednesday night at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials, easing himself to another victory, his third in three events, dominating the 200-meter butterfly with a performance that seemed remarkable to an outsider, but one with which Phelps was, as he said, "not completely disappointed."

"I think I was too relaxed," he said after swimming the second-fastest time ever in the event, falling .11 of a second short of the world record he already owned. Apparently, when you are going after an unprecedented eight gold medals, the standards for performance are rather lofty.

But after Phelps delivered his self-flagellation, Katie Hoff dived into the pool. Four years ago, she announced her presence in American swimming at the trials as a 15-year-old, only to stumble at the Olympics. Here and now, though, she is reintroducing herself as perhaps the most intriguing female swimmer who will be in Beijing.

"She's swimming," Phelps said, "like Katie swims."

That is, by now, a high compliment. Wednesday night, Hoff pulled off possibly the most impressive achievement at an incredibly impressive trials, first winning the 200-meter freestyle and setting an American record, chilling out for all of 45 minutes, then returning to the pool to outduel Natalie Coughlin in a stirring 200-meter individual medley, setting another American mark.

Tally up Hoff's totals now, and put them up against those of Phelps, with whom she once trained at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. The 19-year-old from Towson, Md., now has swum in four finals here, and won them all. She has one world record, in the 400-meter individual medley, and now the two American marks.

"Man," said Bob Bowman, Phelps's coach who used to run the NBAC, where he will return this fall. "She just has done everything right. She's grown up."

That maturation has been on full display over the course of this week. It's possible, if Hoff qualifies for the Olympics by finishing first or second in her two remaining events -- the 800-meter freestyle, in which she will face Great Falls' Kate Ziegler, and the 100-meter freestyle, an event in which she wants to post a solid time so she could be named to the 4x100 freestyle relay -- she could go into the Games nearly as hyped as Phelps. She could be in six individual events and two relays.

Talk of such Phelpsian pursuits would not have come about, however, if Hoff hadn't learned to calm the nerves that begin overtaking her during the day, then follow her all the way to the starting block. As her coach, Paul Yetter, said Wednesday night, "The controlling of the nerves is a huge deal for Katie." Before each event here, she practices her stroke at the block, jangles her arm, anything to remain placid.

"I think it just has come with maturity and experience," Hoff said. "Four years ago, I felt like I was just a completely different person. Hadn't really experienced big competitions at all. . . . I still get just as nervous, but I've learned to control them."

She did so beautifully Wednesday, the hardest day of her slog here. Phelps, who swam the finals of three events on one night at the 2004 trials, has spent a good portion of his week paring down his program. Wednesday, he swam one heat of the 100 freestyle -- a move made to post a good time and get noticed for the relays -- and then dropped it, even though he swam faster than the old U.S. record. Afterward, he announced he would also scratch the 200-meter backstroke, an event in which 2004 Olympic gold medalist Aaron Peirsol and world record holder Ryan Lochte would provide ferocious competition.

"It just starts adding to a workload that is already big," Bowman said. "I think you have to be judicious about how much energy there actually is."

Bowman and Phelps do not, for instance, want to do anything to jeopardize Phelps's best events. He has none better than the 200 butterfly, a race in which he appears to simply swallow the water in front of him. Phelps entered the night with the nine fastest times in the history of the event. He is, in fact, his only competition. Knowing that, he attacked the first 50 meters a bit lackadaisically.

"You don't have any pressure on you to sort of push the boundaries of it," Bowman said.

Thus, Phelps is the only swimmer at this meet who could win his event by an astonishing 1.66 seconds -- as he did over runner-up Gil Stovall, touching in 1:52.20 -- and emerge from the pool long-faced, halfheartedly waving to the crowd.

"It's something to change for the next month," Phelps said.

Hoff might not change anything. Wednesday, she was pushed furiously by 18-year-old Allison Schmitt of Michigan over the final 50 meters of the 200 freestyle, and broke her own American record in 1:55.88 -- .04 of a second ahead of Schmitt, who also was faster than the old U.S. standard. She returned to the pool to face Coughlin, a swimmer capable of competing in both events Hoff tackled Wednesday, but who elected just one.

"She's a stud for doing the 200 free-200 IM double," Coughlin said. "That's an incredibly tough double. I don't know another female swimmer that could do it so successfully."

In the medley -- which combines the backstroke, butterfly, breaststroke and freestyle -- Coughlin shot out in the backstroke, her best discipline, and held the lead at the midway point. Hoff, though, reeled her in on the breaststroke leg, turning a 1.6-second deficit into a half-second advantage.

Her nerves were gone. The pool was hers. She touched in 2:09.71, taking back the U.S. record Coughlin had owned. And when she did, she ensured that Phelps wouldn't be the only American swimmer after a ludicrous haul in Beijing.