London 2012: Natalie Coughlin and What Santa Clara Reveals About US Olympic Team

Being only 21 days away from the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha, Nebraska, this weekend was the last high-level tune-up for many American swimming hopefuls.

The Santa Clara International Grand Prix was the last meet of the 2011-12 USA Swimming Grand Prix Series. Since the season is all but closed for many of the athletes, it is time for them to turn their full attention to the trials on June 25 to July 2.

And just like the athletes, it is time for us to turn our attention to the trials and the U.S. Olympic swimming team.

The next five slides will show some interesting storylines that came out of the last Grand Prix event in Santa Clara, and what those mean exactly for the U.S. team come the Olympic team trials—and beyond, to the Olympic Games in London.

Natalie Coughlin Losing her Lead?

It is always tough to see when one of the greatest athletes in a sport starts losing their step, or kick, to a young up-and-comer. Not to say that it may happen at this year's Olympics, but Natalie Coughlin sure does have some stiff competition right on her heels.

Although Coughlin will never give in and give the medley lead position to Missy Franklin, she does give high praise to the young swimming phenom (from Examiner):

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Missy has a ton of potential with what she can do at both the Olympic trials and then in London. She’s incredibly versatile and she very, very mature for a 16-year-old.

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Even if Coughlin does lose that top spot on the medley team, it would still seem like a lock for her to swim somewhere in the order. After all, at the Santa Clara Grand Prix this past weekend, she took on Australian superstar Emily Seebohm in the 100m backstroke—which was highly touted as one of the top races to see during the whole weekend.

Coughlin managed to keep pace finishing in third (but less than a second off the leader, Seebohm), showing she is still one of the top American swimmers.

Even with young swimmers like Missy Franklin and Rachel Bootsma, Coughlin has the talent and drive to be able to swim three of the four legs of the London Olympic medley, according to Mike Gustafson of USA Swimming.

Whichever direction the team takes come the Games will be an interesting storyline—whether they go with youth or experience.

Why are the Olympic Trials so Late?

It is not just me who is wondering this very question, but US Olympic star Natalie Coughlin as well.

Coughlin told Elliot Almond of the Sacramento Bee:

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I hate how late we have our trials - and I always have. There's this adage a lot of old-school coaches have that I really disagree with: that if you pick the Olympic team too far in advance you become complacent.

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Coughlin had to come into this final tune-up meet, against high-level competition, not knowing exactly what it was she is training for.

Sure, she is training to be in the Olympics, and she can most likely guess what events she will be swimming in (or have a good shot to swim in) come the 2012 London Olympic Games.

However, when you look at other Olympic teams, such as the Canadian, Australian, British and Japanese swimming teams, they get the opportunity to use this meet in Santa Clara to fully tune themselves up for the Olympics.

Their teams have already been chosen miles ago.

Coughlin, on the other hand, still has to put in so much effort—so close to the actual games—in order to just make sure she gets to travel to London. Imagine the wear and tear that takes on the body, not only physically but also mentally.

USA Swimming has to consider going a different route to make things easier on the athletes and take that heavy amount of stress off their shoulders early before the Olympic Games, keeping them focused and refreshed.

Adrian Splits Again, but 50-Meter Freestyle Looks Solid

Two Grand Prix events before Santa Clara, Nathan Adrian was able to pull off the win against the great American swimmer Michael Phelps. Beating Phelps by 12/100ths of a second was not the only thing that made him stand out on the night.

Right before his 100-meter freestyle event was to go off, Adrian split his swimming trunks while getting set on the starting blocks, according to Mike Dodd of USA Today. Who knows, without the tear, he might have been able to beat Phelps by more of a margin.

Coming into this weekend at Santa Clara, one of the biggest expected races turned into a no-go.

Adrian, along with training partners Anthony Ervin and Will Copeland, was supposed to provide the crowd with a race that would mimic the upcoming Olympic trials. It turned out that Adrian had plans to attend his brother's wedding in Washington, as reported by swimswam.com, and did not swim in the finals of the 100-meter freestyle.

He did not even swim at all in his 50-meter freestyle main event.

In the end, the solid 1-2-3 punch of Adrian, Ervin and Copeland in the 50-meter freestyle should make for an interesting Olympic trial as they battle it out for top spot.

Another Cal Great in the Making

Was this weekend the breakout moment for Caitlin Leverenz, or is that still to come at the US Olympic trials—or maybe at the Olympic Games?

Would that not be special for a swimmer who is getting such high praise: to show off her talents to the world?

Even competitor Natalie Coughlin—the swimmer who Leverenz is chasing—has very encouraging words for the young American (from Examiner):

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She’s matured a lot over the past four years, I think. I think she will be very, very strong, not only in the medleys but also in the breaststroke, and she’s a great team leader within the college team. One of the things I love about her so much is her feistiness. She’s ultra competitive, but she’s (supportive), and she’ll talk trash when it’s appropriate and be supportive when needed.

"

At Santa Clara this past weekend, she showed she had planned on improving on her third-place showing in the 200-meter breaststroke at the 2008 Olympic trials, according to Mike Gustafson of USA Swimming.

Leverenz showed that she will be a force come trial time in that same 200, as she was able to win the event. Her closest opponent was over a second off her pace.

In the individual medley events, she had tough competition, but they were also a good way to compare her talents. The defending Olympic gold medalist Stephanie Rice put herself up to the task of seeing exactly what this young Cal swimmer brought to the pool.

In the 200-meter individual medley, Leverenz was able to hold off a surging Rice to capture the win in the event.

As for the 400-meter individual medley, Rice got the better of her, forcing Leverenz into second position. But Leverenz did still managed to stay within just over a second of the gold medalist.

Phelps Still Gets Top Spot

Although he never did swim at the Santa Clara meet, Phelps gained the top spot on the U.S. Grand Prix circuit this year. He finished with 14 golds, three silvers and one bronze during the seven-race series.

The last race he competed in during the circuit came in Charlotte—the Grand Prix event held before last weekend's meet at Santa Clara.

At this meet, he lost in the 200-meter butterfly to China's Wu Peng. At the 2008 Olympics, Peng finished in fourth place but was able to hold the upper hand against Phelps at this meet, showing an impressive finishing kick.

Phelps talked about his lose and the direction he is heading, as reported by Fox Sports:

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I know this is not the Olympic trials, this is not the Olympic Games. It's a stepping stone heading in right direction for the end result. You've heard me say that so many times, but that's the truth. These are little things along the way — I like to call them quizzes — to really see what I need to improve on.

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Phelps did not compete in Santa Clara this past weekend in order to train in the mountains of Colorado for the next six weeks with his coach. He did, however, compete in a small competition in Austin, Texas.

The high-altitude training in Colorado is meant to whip Phelps into shape for the U.S. Olympic trials—and then to keep him at that level heading into London.

Even with a few losses in the past meets, Phelps is still America's top medal contender in almost all of the events he will enter—be it seven or eight.