Preludiile lu' Shanghai 2011.... 02

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http://issuu.com/swimmingworld/docs/swm_dg_july_2011
iata predictiile lui Peter H. Bick

FINA World Championship Podium Predictions: Men's Edition -- July 11, 2011

Column by John Lohn, Swimming World senior writer PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico, July 11. WELCOME back to our loyal readers. After unveiling my early women's picks for the World Championships a week ago, I've been itching to reveal my preliminary selections for the men's competition. As the competition begins and psych sheets become finalized, it's my intent to release my final choices. Thanks to you all for your thoughts and comments, and we look forward to more give-and-take this week. So, without further ado, here is where I'm leaning for the guys. 50 Freestyle Gold: Cesar Cielo Silver: Fred Bousquet Bronze: Nathan Adrian **This is an event that could surely change depending on the outcome of Cesar Cielo's hearing with CAS in light of a failed drug test. 100 Freestyle Gold: Nathan Adrian Silver: Cesar Cielo Bronze: Brent Hayden **American's premier sprinter follows up his win at last summer's Pan Pacific Champs by ruling the globe. 200 Freestyle Gold: Michael Phelps Silver: Tae Hwan Park Bronze: Ryan Lochte **Honestly, this thing could go so many different ways. It should be the best event of the competition. 400 Freestyle Gold: Tae Hwan Park Silver: Sun Yang Bronze: Ous Mellouli **The Olympic champion could be the first man under 3:40. 800 Freestyle Gold: Sun Yang Silver: Ous Mellouli Bronze: Ryan Cochrane **A near-miss in the 400 free is eased with a victory over twice the distance. 1500 Freestyle Gold: Sun Yang Silver: Ous Mellouli Bronze: Ryan Cochrane **Can the most vaunted record on the books, Grant Hackett's historic performance, survive the onslaught of Sun? Time will tell if Sun is can do it, or is too worn down by his previous races. 50 Backstroke Gold: Camille Lacourt Silver: Liam Tancock Bronze: Junya Koga **Even a pure sprinter like Tancock can't stay with the Frenchman. 100 Backstroke Gold: Camille Lacourt Silver: Ryosuke Irie Bronze: Nick Thoman **This is where Nick Thoman breaks through in long-course action on a big platform. 200 Backstroke Gold: Ryan Lochte Silver: Ryosuke Irie Bronze: Tyler Clary **Wouldn't be surprised if any of these three took the gold medal. 50 Breaststroke Gold: Cameron van der Burgh Silver: Felipe Silva Bronze: Hendrik Feldwehr **I don't think any of these guys will factor in the 100 breast. 100 Breaststroke Gold: Kosuke Kitajima Silver: Alexander Dale Oen Bronze: Brenton Rickard **We all know Kitajima saves his best for Olympic years, but doubting him here would be unwise. 200 Breaststroke Gold: Naoya Tomita Silver: Kosuke Kitajima Bronze: Daniel Gyurta **Tomita takes down guys with highly impressive international portfolios. 50 Butterfly Gold: Cesar Cielo Silver: Matt Targett Bronze: Milorad Cavic **Cielo's status again throws in event in prediction disarray. 100 Butterfly Gold: Michael Phelps Silver: Milorad Cavic Bronze: Laszlo Cseh **The performance by Phelps at the Canada Cup in Montreal showed he's ready to roll in this event. 200 butterfly Gold: Michael Phelps Silver: Takeshi Matsuda Bronze: Laszlo Cseh **Yes, Phelps has dropped some 200 fly races of late. Won't happen on the world stage. 200 Individual Medley Gold: Ryan Lochte Silver: Michael Phelps Bronze: Laszlo Cseh **The Americans have finished gold-silver on a number of occasions in major competitions. 400 Individual Medley Gold: Ryan Lochte Silver: Laszlo Cseh Bronze: Tyler Clary **Lochte secures his third individual gold medal of the meet. 400 Freestyle Relay Gold: United States Silver: France Bronze: Russia **Another showdown between the United States and France goes the way of the Stars and Stripes. 800 Freestyle Relay Gold: United States Silver: Russia Bronze: China **The gap between the United States and its foes has lessened, but not enough. 400 Medley Relay Gold: France Silver: United States Bronze: Germany **A hunch has France holding on after building a sizable early lead. Follow John Lohn on Twitter: @JohnLohn

FINA World Championship Podium Predictions: Women's Edition -- July 4, 2011

Column by John Lohn, Swimming World senior writer BASKING RIDGE, New Jersey, July 4. WITH less than three weeks separating us from the start of the World Championships in Shanghai, we begin our predictions for the competition with a look at the women's events. In two weeks, we'll provide picks for the men's events. We look forward to hearing your thoughts as well. 50 Freestyle Gold: Ranomi Kromowidjojo Silver: Britta Steffen Bronze: Therese Alshammar **The way the Dutchwoman has been performing this year prevented my selection of the reigning Olympic titlist. 100 Freestyle Gold: Femke Heemskerk Silver: Britta Steffen Bronze: Fran Halsall **Yep, another Dutch pick in a sprint-freestyle event, with Britta Steffen earning her second silver medal. 200 Freestyle Gold: Federica Pellegrini Silver: Kylie Palmer Bronze: Allison Schmitt **The way Palmer looks heading into Shanghai, she made me pause for a second before going with the incumbent. 400 Freestyle Gold: Rebecca Adlington Silver: Federica Pellegrini Bronze: Camille Muffat **This event should provide one of the finest duels of the women's competition. Expect Chloe Sutton to make a push for a podium position. 800 Freestyle Gold: Rebecca Adlington Silver: Chloe Sutton Bronze: Kate Ziegler **The pick of Ziegler sneaking in for the bronze medal is a hunch that she'll ratchet it up for her first World Champs since 2007. 1500 Freestyle Gold: Chloe Sutton Silver: Lotte Friis Bronze: Kate Ziegler **The longer the race, the better for Sutton. Not only is she an extreme talent, she's one of the more likable people in the sport. Everything about Sutton oozes a feel-good sense. 50 Backstroke Gold: Aya Terakawa Silver: Anastasia Zueva Bronze: Gao Chang **Not going to lie. I'm not a fan at all of the 50-meter stroke events. My preference sits with the Olympic program. 100 Backstroke Gold: Aya Terakawa Silver: Natalie Coughlin Bronze: Anastasia Zueva **Terakawa put down the world's top time of the year in April, but Coughlin has the experience and it wouldn't be a surprise if the two-time Olympic champ ruled. 200 Backstroke Gold: Kirsty Coventry Silver: Elizabeth Beisel Bronze: Belinda Hocking **Coventry hasn't done much this year, but history suggests she'll rise up. 50 Breaststroke Gold: Rebecca Soni Silver: Yulia Efimova Bronze: Leisel Jones **This event will be the toughest for Soni in her pursuit of a breaststroke sweep. 100 Breaststroke Gold: Rebecca Soni Silver: Leisel Jones Bronze: Yulia Efimova **Looking for Soni to go 1:04 and reaffirm her standing over Jones. 200 Breaststroke Gold: Rebecca Soni Silver: Yulia Efimova Bronze: Amanda Beard **There was a real urge to pick Amanda Beard for the bronze-medal slot, so I went with it. 50 Butterfly Gold: Therese Alshammar Silver: Sarah Sjostrom Bronze: Marieke Guehrer **The veteran Alshammar has long been the class of this event. 100 Butterfly Gold: Sarah Sjostrom Silver: Dana Vollmer Bronze: Alicia Coutts **With her home country behind her, Liu Zige is a strong pick for medal in her weaker butterfly event. 200 Butterfly Gold: Liu Zige Silver: Jiao Liuyang Bronze: Kathleen Hersey **Another hunch pick with Hersey in the bronze position. 200 Individual Medley Gold: Ariana Kukors Silver: Stephanie Rice Bronze: Ye Shiwen **Alicia Coutts would have been a medal pick, but her 100 fly final earlier in the night will take some out of the Australian. 400 Individual Medley Gold: Stephanie Rice Silver: Elizabeth Beisel Bronze: Li Xuanxu **Had a real tough time picking what is a jammed-up event. 400 Freestyle Relay Gold: Netherlands Silver: United States Bronze: Australia **This was a fairly easy selection given the way the Dutch have looked this year. 800 Freestyle Relay Gold: Australia Silver: United States Bronze: China **The Aussies made themselves the favorites with that impressive demonstration of power and depth at their World Champs Trials. 400 Medley Relay Gold: United States Silver: China Bronze: Australia **Not a good feeling for this event. It could go a lot of different ways. Follow me on Twitter: @johnlohn