Women's 200 Meter Individual Medley

Australian Stephanie Rice is the woman to beat in the 200 IM. She broke a WR that was more than a decade old at Aussie Trials this year with a time of 2:08.92, but she will face stiff competition from Americans Katie Hoff & Natalie Coughlin and Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe. Coventry was the only one of these four women on the podium in Athens, but has slowest time of the four this year (2:10.08). Rice also broke Katie Hoff's WR in the 400 IM at trials, which Katie reclaimed in Omaha.

There are 3 American women worth mentioning in this race. Unfortunately only 2 swimmers make the Olympic team, and so you won't be hearing the name Ariana Kukors in Beijing due to 8 hundreths of a second (she's the 5th fastest swimmer this year). Worse, it appeared as if she took an extra stroke coming into the wall, a stroke I'm sure she'll remember for a long time.

Katie Hoff beat Natalie Coughlin in the finals in Omaha, beating the old WR with a time of 2:09.71, but not the new one set by Rice. Coughlin had the American Record until that final, her best being 2:09.77. Natalie has 3 strongs strokes, but her breaststroke is just bad, and she thinks she has some sort of mental block on how to approach this event. This is the race that Coughlin failed to qualify for in trials for Sydney when she was recovering from shoulder surgery.


Katie Hoff & Natalie Coughlin will take on a tough field in the 200 IM in Beijing

This is going to be an awesome race. The IM is a race of ups & downs. Rice is strong in the butterfly so expect her to take the early lead with Natalie real close. Coughlin and Coventry are stellar backstrokers, I expect them each to get a gold in the back events. When we finally get to the breaststroke leg of the IM, that is when Hoff should make her move to be even with or ahead of the rest of the field at breast-to-free turn. Coughlin struggles in this leg of the race. Then it's just a race to put your hand on the opposite wall first.


Coventry, Hoff & Rice didn't have to contend with Coughlin in Melborune

Medal Predictions:

Video:

Watch Hoff rise up to the challenge from Coventry and Rice in Melbourne

Stephanie Rice breaks an 11-year-old WR in the Aussie Trials

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