3 THINGS TO LOOK FOR AT 2019 U.S. NATIONALS
July 29, 2019 | By
by SwimOutlet.com Staff
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We’re all still buzzing about the performances at the 2019 FINA World Championships with numerous world records broken and unprecedented medal hauls from Caeleb Dressel and Simone Manuel. So if we’re still talking about last week’s excitement in South Korea, imagine how the athletes are still feeling.
That does seem to make the 2019 Phillips 66 U.S. Nationals this week at Stanford seem to be a bit of an afterthought but the way this meet is shaking out, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Here’s our Three Things to Look for at 2019 Phillips 66 Nationals:
1) He’s BAAACK!
Ryan Lochte, who is often presented both as a swimming legend and a swimming bad boy, depending on your perspective, is returning to the competition pool following a 14-month suspension for receiving an intravenous vitamin infusion. There’s no denying that Lochte is one of the sport’s most-recognizable stars and his mainstream name recognition only helps raise swimming’s visibility. How he will perform and whether he has a legitimate shot to content in Tokyo will be a big question we can answer at this meet.
2) A final butterfly song
Dana Vollmer is a 5-time Olympic gold medalist, 10-time World medalist and winner of the 100m butterfly at the 2012 London Games. This week, Vollmer announced her retirement from swimming with the 2019 Nationals as her final competitive swim. Vollmer is an inspiration in and out of the as a role model, mother and overall sportswoman. She returned after giving birth to her first son in March 2015 to win bronze in the 100m fly in Rio just 18 months later. She will be missed but the swim community will have a final chance to cheer her on this week.
3) Who will carry the momentum (and focus) from Worlds?
A handful of swimmers who competed at Worlds this past week in South Korea are on the entry lists for U.S. Nationals. It’s always great to see top stars make appearances in the domestic meets after performing on such a global stage and it will be interesting to see if they can keep their energy and focus going through this meet all week. Keep an eye on Regan Smith – will she lower her new world records again, just one week later, as well as 50m backstroke world champ and 100m bronze winner Olivia Smoliga?
