Women's 800 Meter Freestyle

This is the longest event in the pool for the women in Beijing. I don't get why they skip the 1500 and men skip the 800, but oh well. This is the oldest World Record in swimming. An ancient and hallowed time set by a swimmer with one of the ugliest strokes ever seen. She was a woman so far ahead of her competition that it's taken 2 decades for everyone else catch up. Naturally I speak of Janet Evans whose WR of 8:16.22 was set all the way back in 1989! Still, she's 2 seconds faster than anyone else. Those two seconds could disappear in the finals in Beijing.

Katie Hoff again leads America into the pool in this event (8:19.70 is her best). She actually beat Kate Ziegler at trials, but Kate does have the second fastest time in history (8:18.52). About a year ago I thought Ziegler was poised to break the WR in Beijing, and she still might be, especially if her training has her peaking best then. It's bunk that women don't swim the 1500 in the Olympics, because Ziegler has already broken Janet's WR in that event.


Katie Hoff is only 19, she's a veteran only because she went to Athens at 15

Katie is a class athlete, there is likely no event in which she couldn't compete. That said, if there was one event to scratch from her program it would be the 800. Not because she cannot win gold, or even that it is the most competitive; it is just so much distance to swim this event twice. It adds a mile of racing, not swimming, racing to her workload. Power through Kate & Katie.


Can she? Will she? Ziegler takes gold in the longest event in the pool?

The fastest time of the year belongs to Britain's Rebecca Adlington, her 8:19.22 is the fourth fastest time in history (see Janet, we're catching up, kind of). When you put her, Katie Hoff and Kate Ziegler into a pool in Beijing at the same time and say race for the gold... that's why I say the oldest record in the books might finally get erased in Beijing. This is another one of those, "Where's Laure?" moments. Laure Manaudou has the third fastest time in history in this event, but I do think it is wise for her to pair down for the games, just not sure who is whispering those choices in her ear as the 400 might not be the one for her.

Ai Shibata of Japan will be returning to defend her gold medal from Athens. You never want to count out the defending champion, but with where times are going I don't know that gold is something she will get this time around, though she could get herself on the podium. Since the 1500 is left out of the program for women, Flavia Rigamonti of Switzerland has just one shot to get a medal, and she has the endurance to do it. If other people are dying at the end of the race she should be able to bring it home. Spaniard Erika Villaecija Garcia has this 6th fastest time this year at 8:24.08 at Euros and could drop some more time to take a spot on the podium.

 

Medal Predictions:

Video:

Janet Evans's Stroke: Could you imagine if she had today's tech & training?

Kate Ziegler holds off Laure Manaudou in Melbourne

Kate Ziegler breaks one of Janet's other WR's: the 1500

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